Perhaps one of the most influential writers of the Renaissance era was the French politician and writer Michel Eyquem de Montaigne. He is famous for his skeptical question "Que sais-je?" ("What do I know?") and is best known for his Essais, which literally translated means ‘Attempts.’ These essays were the earliest  form of written discourse that became a hugely popular genre over the next four hundred years. Montaigne’s essays would go onto to influence the ideas of writers as diverse as Descartes, Nietzsche and Rousseau.
Although we know Montaigne for his literary achievements in his own lifetime, he was better known as a politician and statesman. He was born into a wealthy merchant family in Aquitaine in 1533. His father was a Roman Catholic and his mother was the daughter of a Jewish convert and a protestant father. This exposed the young Montaigne to a variety of religious ideas. His father had strict ideas about education and Montaigne received a rigorous education almost entirely in Latin. Part of his training involved him being sent to live with a poor family for three years in order to understand the concerns of the poor. He was also taught science, languages and music.
In 1539, Montaigne moved to Bordeaux, to study at the Collège de Guyenne. Upon completion of his studies he studies law the University in Toulouse and subsequently became a lawyer. After a decade as a counselor at the Court des Aides of Périgueux, Montaigne returned to Bodeaux to come a member of the high court in 1557. In 1561 the ambitious lawyer was appointed to the court of King Charles IX in Paris.
After 10 years in the spotlight, the 38 year old Montaigne retired from public life and returned to his family chateau and began to work on his essays.
The French Renaissance was a period of particularly brutal religious strife. Throughout the era known as The Wars of Religion Montaigne, a Roman Catholic, acted as moderating force on the Catholic King Henry III and his Protestant successor Henry of Navarre. The collection of writings called Essays was first published in 1580. In 1581, Montaigne was elected Mayor of Bordeaux and managed to keep a lid on the religious violence that was spreading to other parts of France. Following the assassination of Henry III in 1589, Montaigne also helped Bordeaux remain calm and loyal to the new king.
During this turbulent time, Montaigne continued to edit and revise his essays and a third updated version was published in 1588. He died in 1592 of complications from a chronic kidney disease .

Essays
First published in 1580, Essays is a collection of short meditations on a variety of subjects. Montaigne’s intent was to describe the true nature of man without artifice or political considerations. He often described himself and all his faults as a way of frankly discussing the foibles and struggles of all people.
His discusses techniques for mediating conflicts while retaining a rational and unemotional position. He discusses avarice and pride and advocates a detached attitude toward fame and wealth. He also discusses various forms of education and the importance of developing critical thinking.
As a witness to some of the worst religious bigotry in history, Montaigne was skeptical of much religious dogma and promoted a certain amount of skepticism. In his most famous essay ‘Apology for Raymond Sebond’ he utters his famous motto, "What do I know?"
Many of Montaigne’s ideas are quite modern. He recognized that other cultures should be respected and explored. He deplored the brutal treatment of the native people of the newly discovered Americas.  
While Montaigne was an avowed Catholic his work is often humanistic in scope and he makes reference to many pre-Christian writers from ancient Greece and Rome.