The Edict of Châteaubriant was issued in France in 1551 to restrict Protestant books and unauthorised religious printing. It banned possession of condemned works and targeted material imported from Geneva. The edict shows how seriously states feared the speed and reach of printed language.

Censorship shaped French poetry by forcing writers to negotiate danger, disguise and patronage. Religious lyric, satire and translation all developed in a climate where a printed page could be treated as a political weapon.