Marc Lescarbot (c. 1570–1641) was a French author, poet and lawyer. He is best known for his Histoire de la Nouvelle-France (1609), based on his expedition to Acadia (1606–1607) and research into French exploration in North America. Considered one of the first great books in the history of Canada, it was printed in three editions, and was translated into German. Lescarbot also wrote numerous poems. His dramatic poem Théâtre de Neptune was performed at Port Royal as what the French claim was the first European theatrical production in North America outside of New Spain. Bernardino de Sahagún, and other 16th-century Spanish friars in Mexico, created several theatrical productions, such as Autos Sacramentales. Biography Early life Lescarbot was born in Vervins, and his family was said to be from nearby Guise in Picardy. He wrote that his ancestors originated in Saint-Pol-de-Léon, Brittany. He first studied at the college in Vervins, then at Laon, now part of Reims. Thanks to the protection of Msgr. Valentine Duglas, the bishop of Laon, he was supported by the Collège of Laon to complete his studies in Paris. He had a classical education, learning Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and acquiring a wide knowledge of ancient and modern literatures. He also studied canonical and civil law. Early career After graduating as a Bachelor of Laws in 1598, Lescarbot took a minor part in the negotiations for the Treaty of Vervins between Spain and France. At a moment when the discussions seemed doomed to failure, Lescarbot delivered a Latin discours in defence of peace. When the treaty was concluded, he composed a poem "Harangue d’action de grâces", wrote a commemorative inscription, and published Poèmes de la Paix. In 1599 he was called to the Parlement of Paris as a lawyer. At this time he translated into French three Latin works: le Discours de l’origine des Russiens and the Discours véritable de la réunion des églises by Cardinal Baronius, and the Guide des curés by St. Charles Borromeo, which he dedicated to the new bishop of Laon, Godefroy de Billy. It was published in 1613, after that dignitary's death. Lescarbot lived in Paris, where he associated with men of letters, such as the scholars Frederic and Claude Morel, his first printers, and the poet Guillaume Colletet, who wrote a biography of him, since lost. Interested in medicine, Lescarbot translated into French a pamphlet by Dr. Citois, Histoire merveilleuse de