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PIERRE BOAISTUAU (C. 1517-1566) and the EMPLOYMENT of HUMANISM in MID SIXTEENTH-CENTURY FRANCE

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PIERRE BOAISTUAU (C. 1517-1566) and the EMPLOYMENT of HUMANISM in MID SIXTEENTH-CENTURY FRANCE PIERRE BOAISTUAU (c. 1517-1566) AND THE EMPLOYMENT OF HUMANISM IN MID SIXTEENTH-CENTURY FRANCE by GEORGIOS DOUKAS A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY School of History and Cultures College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham September 2011 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT This study examines the manifestations of French humanism in sixteenth-century intellectual culture, through an analysis, for the first time, of the entirety of the works of Pierre Boaistuau. An eminent French humanist writer, on whose life little information exists, Boaistuau emerges far more prolific than any previous study has hitherto recognised. Thus, on a first level, his case offers the opportunity for an exploration of the developments of French print culture at the time. In addition, careful examination of the contents of his widely circulated works sheds new light on the ways humanist themes and values were incorporated into contemporary literary production, and were used for different purposes which surpassed the mere celebration of ancient learning. Boaistuau employed seven genres in order to compile seven books of different natures, all of them however grafted onto a humanist framework. Associated with narrative fiction, Renaissance philosophy, political theory, the study of history, and natural philosophy, his works demonstrate how the classical past and the humanist values of virtue, erudition, and self-discipline were used in a variety of ways in mid sixteenth-century France: for promotion of a moralising message, praise of the French monarchy, bolstering the Catholic faith, and enhancing the understanding of the natural world. To Dr Costas Gaganakis who introduced me to the world of sixteenth-century France. Historia vero testis temporum, lux veritatis, vita memoriae, magistra vitae, nuntia vetustatis – Cicero (106-43) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In writing a PhD dissertation one’s debts are many. The name that I must mention first is that of my supervisor, Dr Elaine Fulton, to who I owe my utmost thanks. Her advice, help, and support through all the stages of my work were invaluable, and her patience and generosity I will never be able to repay. I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work closely with her. I am also grateful for financial assistance to a number of sources. First of all, to the Herzog August Bibliothek in Wolfenbüttel for the three-month Rolf and Ursula Schneider-Stiftung, which enabled me to examine a rich collection of both primary and secondary sources. To the Society for the Study of French History (SSFH) for the travel grant which allowed my research visit to the Bibliothèque nationale in Paris. To the Royal Historical Society (RHS) for the research fund which enabled the examination of editions of Boaistuau’s works located in the United Kingdom. To the University of Birmingham and particularly to the College funding and the Roberts funding schemes, which made possible part of my primary sources research and my participation in conferences. I also thank the staff of all the libraries I have worked in during the four years of my research for their services, including the Bibliothèque nationale in Paris, the British Library and the Wellcome Library of Medicine in London, the National Library of Scotland and the University Library in Edinburgh, the John Rylands Library in Manchester, the Cambridge University Library, the Zeughaus and Augusta in Wolfenbüttel, and the Main Library and Special Collections department at the University of Birmingham. The original idea for my thesis was conceived due to a footnote on Pierre Boaistuau in Alexandra Walsham’s excellent Providence in Early Modern England. For this, I would like to extend a special thanks to her. My debts to other scholarly works I hope are attested in my footnotes. In addition, I am thankful to a number of scholars for their helpful comments and encouragement which made me to rethink my arguments and improve the quality of my work. In particular, Prof. Natalie Zemon Davis, Prof. Andrew Pettegree, Dr Malcolm Walsby, Dr Alexander Wilkinson, Dr Luc Racaut, Dr Elizabeth Tingle, Dr Margaret Small, Dr Penny Roberts, Dr John Hinks, Dr Graeme Murdock, Dr Hervé-Thomas Campagne, Dr Jenny Spinks, and Dr Justyna Kilianczyk- Zieba. I also want to express my gratitude to Christos Efstathiou and Varvara Mastrogianni, Dr Napoleon Katsos and Dr Nafsika Smith, Vasileios Asimakopoulos, Antigoni Chrysanthou, and Yoshihiko Iwasaki, for their help and accommodation during the course of my research. Other thanks to Daniel Bamford, Márton Zászkaliczky, and Patrick Brugh for their interest in my work and their stimulating feedback, as well as to Shelagh Rothero for her proof-reading of the text. Any remaining errors are entirely my responsibility. Last but not least, I would like to thank my parents, Androula Tritaiou and Dimitri Douka, who have patiently endured my labours all this time. My project would not have been possible without their support, and for this I am forever grateful. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Chapter 1: Une vie presque inconnue: the life of Pierre Boaistuau 29 1.1: ‘Pierre Bouaistuau, natif de Bretaigne des parties de Nantes’ 33 1.2: 1540-1550: the education of a sixteenth-century humanist 40 1.3: 1550-1560: the travels and works of a humanist writer 48 1.4: Pierre Boaistuau’s literary profile: a retrospective 58 Chapter 2: Pierre Boaistuau and sixteenth-century French print culture 67 2.1. The publishing history of Pierre Boaistuau’s works 72 2.1.1. Le Théâtre du monde 75 2.1.2. Histoires prodigieuses 77 2.1.3. Histoires tragiques 79 2.1.4. L’Histoire de Chelidonius Tigurinus 81 2.1.5. Bref discours de l’excellence et dignité de l’homme 82 2.1.6. Histoire des persecutions de l’Eglise chrestienne et catholique 83 2.1.7. Histoires des amans fortunez 84 2.1.8. The translation of St. Augustine’s The City of God and other unpublished works 85 2.1.9. The reception of Boaistuau’s editions in Europe and the Americas 88 2.2. Manifestations of French print culture 93 2.2.1. The advent of print in France 96 2.2.2. The changing face of an industry 100 2.2.3. The readers and the writer 107 2.3. Pierre Boaistuau’s work as representative of French print culture 113 2.3.1. The centralized character of production 113 2.3.2. The physical nature of books 116 2.3.3. The rise of the vernaculars 122 2.3.4. The popular literature 127 Chapter 3: Humanism, narrative fiction and philosophy in Pierre Boaistuau’s work 134 3.1. Narrative fiction, Histoires des amans fortunez and Histoires tragiques 139 3.1.1. Histoires des amans fortunez 140 3.1.2. Histoires tragiques 153 3.2. Philosophy, Le Théâtre du monde and Bref discours de l’excellence et dignité de l’homme 166 3.2.1. Le Théâtre du monde 167 3.2.2. Bref discours de l’excellence et dignité de l’homme 184 Chapter 4: Religion, political theory and history in Pierre Boaistuau’s work 195 4.1. Political theory and L’Histoire de Chelidonius Tigurinus 197 4.1.1. The notion of monarchy in France 200 4.1.2. Mirrors for princes and the qualities of the ideal Christian ruler 208 4.1.3. The monarch as guardian of peace and defender of the faith 218 4.2. Historical writing and the Histoire de persecutions de l’Eglise chrestienne et catholique 228 4.2.1. The notion of history and the writing of ecclesiastical history 230 4.2.2. The persecution of Christians and the afflicted Church 238 4.2.3. The danger of heresies and the bolstering of faith 246 Chapter 5: Natural philosophy and the order of Nature in Pierre Boaistuau’s work 254 5.1. The knowledge explosion of the sixteenth century 259 5.2. Encyclopedism, wonder-books and the Histoires prodigieuses 268 5.3. Histoires prodigieuses as a book of the secrets of Nature 281 5.4. Histoires prodigieuses as a book of prodigies and monsters 291 5.5. Histoires prodigieuses as a book of natural disasters 305 Conclusion 319 Appendices 323 Appendix A. Tables of editions of Boaistuau’s works 323 Appendix B. Selection of sonnets dedicated to Boaistuau 330 Bibliography 343 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1: Map of French Atlantic fishing ports 38 Figure 2: Map of French medieval universities 45 Figure 3: Elizabeth I: The Clopton Portrait (c. 1560) 56 Figure 4: First page of Boaistuau’s dedication to Elizabeth I in Histoires prodigieuses 103 Figure 5: A monstrous child with four arms and four legs 103 Figure 6: Two maidens joined together at the forehead, from Histoires prodigieuses (Paris, V. Sertenas, 1560) 105 Figure 7: The 1570 earthquake in Ferrara, from Histoires prodigieuses (Paris, C. Macé, 1575) 105 Figure 8: Extract from the Introduction of Histoire des persecutions de l’Eglise chrestienne et catholique (Paris, R. le Magnier, 1576) 119 Figure 9: First page of Boaistuau’s salutation of Histoires des amans fortunez (Paris, V. Sertenas, 1558) 119 Figure 10: Title page of Histoires prodigieuses (Paris, V. Sertenas, 1560) 121 Figure 11: Title page of Le Théâtre du monde (Paris, J.
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