(William de Saluste du), a French poet, who lived in the 16th century. He was employed by Henry IV. of France in England, Denmark, and Scotland; and commanded a troop of horse in Gascony, under the marshal de Martignan. He was a Calvinist; and died in 1590, aged 46. He wrote a great number of poems; the most famous of which are, 1. The Week, or the Creation of the World, in seven books. 2. The Poem of Judith; and 3. The Battle of Ivry, gained by Henry IV. in 1590. Du Bartas wrote in a bombastic style.