LARIVEY, PIERRE DE

born c. 1540, , Champagne, Fr. died Feb. 12, 1619, Troyes chief French comic dramatist of the 16th century, whose free translations of Italian comedy provided material for Molire and others. Larivey's surname was gallicized from his original Italian family name, Giunti (The Arrived), to a variation of the translation of it, L'Arriv. He lived in Paris, then returned to his native Troyes to become canon and there compiled almanacs and books of predictions. Larivey's most successful Comdies factieuses (1579, 1611) were free adaptations from Italian playwrights, with French settings and idioms added. These comedies of intrigue were popular for their sudden twists in plot, swift reversals of fortune, and realistic, racy language. Molire used situations from Larivey's Les Esprits and Le Fidle for his L'Avare and Les Femmes savantes.