 As a young man, he earned the valuable patronage of Cardinal Richelieu, who was trying to promote classical tragedy along formal lines, but later quarrelled with him, especially over his best-known play, "Le Cid", about a medieval Spanish warrior, which was denounced by the newly formed "Académie française" for breaching the unities.He continued to write well-received tragedies for nearly forty years.Corneille was born in Rouen, Normandy, France, to Marthe Le Pesant and Pierre Corneille, a distinguished lawyer.