From Wikipedia ...

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DESIDERIUS ERASMUS ROTERODAMUS

Erasmus' best-known work was The Praise of Folly, (Greek: Moriae Encomium) a satirical attack on the traditions of the Catholic Church and popular superstitions, written in 1509 and published in 1511 and dedicated to his friend Sir Thomas More.

* [Read his works at http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/e#a3026 ]

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FRANCOIS RABELAIS

As a doctor, he used his spare time to write and publish humorous pamphlets which were critical of established authority and stressed his own perception of individual liberty. His revolutionary works, although satirical, revealed an astute observer of the social and political events unfolding during the first half of the sixteenth century. Using a pseudonym, in 1532 he published his first book, Pantagruel, that would be the start of his Gargantua series (see Gargantua and Pantagruel). In his book, Rabelais sang the praises of the wines from his hometown of Chinon through vivid descriptions of the eat, drink and be merry lifestyle. Despite the great popularity of his book, both it and his follow-up book were condemned by the academics at the Sorbonne for their unorthodox ideas and by the Roman Catholic Church for its derision of certain religious practices. Rabelais's third book, published under his own name, was also banned. ...

His works are also known for being filled with sexual double-entendre, dirty jokes and bawdy songs that can still surprise - or even shock - modern readers.

*[Read his works at http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/r#a551 ]

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JONATHAN SWIFT

an Anglo-Irish priest, satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer, and poet famous for works like Gulliver's Travels, A Modest Proposal, A Journal to Stella, The Drapier's Letters, The Battle of the Books, and A Tale of a Tub. Swift is probably the foremost prose satirist in the English language, although he is less well known for his poetry. Swift published all of his works under pseudonyms -- such as Lemuel Gulliver, Isaac Bickerstaff, M.B. Drapier -- or anonymously.

*[Read his works at http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/s#a326 }