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Representations of syphilis in sixteenth-century French literature Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Randall, Lesa Beth Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 28/09/2021 07:18:50 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/284029 INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. 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Ann Ariaor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 REPRESENTATIONS OF SYPHILIS IN SIXTEENTH-CENTURY FRENCH LITERATURE by Lesa B. Randall Copyright © LesaB. Randall 1999 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF FRENCH AND ITALIAN In partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 1999 UMI Number 9957975 Copyright 1999 by Randall, Lesa Beth All rights reserved. UMI' UMI Microform9957975 Copyright 2000 by Bell & Howell Infomfiation and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microfonn edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Trtle 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Infomfiation and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA ® GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of Che Final Examination Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by Lesa B. Randall entitled Representations of Syphilis in Sixteenth-Century French Literature and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Jonathan Beck I^^te Elizabeth Chesirey Zegura Date •7^ dl(i -S3 Irene D*Almeida Date Date Date Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate's submission of the final copy of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement. Dissertation Director Jonathan Beck Date 3 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This thesis has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this thesis are allowable without special permission, provided t.p.at accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the copyright holder. /""\ 7 // J c_t_~ _£) v SIGNED:_~/'v:[ ~ /lfo!~t( 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My deep appreciation, gratitude and admiration go out to my thesis director and friend, Jonathan Beck. His encouragement, patience and guidance have been invaluable in seeing me through the many different, challenging stages of this project. Thanks also go out to Irme d'Almeida and Elizabeth Zegura for their encouragement, time and contributions. 5 DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my parents. Jay and Dorothy Randall, who taught me commitment, perseverance and integrity, and whose love and support have sustained me in my endeavors. 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS 6 ABSTRACT 10 CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 12 A. Context and Contagion: Syphilis comes to Life and Language in Europe 15 B. Response to Deadly Disease: Theories of Reaction 19 C. Syphilis: Specific Reactions to a Unique Disease 25 D. Presentation of Chapters 29 E. Notes 35 CHAPTER n: THE TRIUMPH OF LADYSYPHIUS 37 A. PART ONE: The Pox and Sanctioned Social Discourse 37 B. A History of the Text 39 1. 16th Century Editions 39 2. Recent Editions 40 C. Exemplary Form and Style: Formal Features and Descriptions of the Texts 41 1. Preface 1 42 2. Preface n 43 3. The Stories of Cupid and Death 44 3.1 Authorship 44 3.2 The First Poem 46 3.3 The Second Poem 49 4. The Triumph: A Work to be Performed 52 4.1 Authorship 57 4.2 Formal Features 57 4.3 Two Elements of the Work: Text and Woodcuts 58 4.4 Conclusion 66 D. PART TWO: Dangerous Water, Dangerous Women: Metaphor and Prevention in the Triumph 68 E. Water and Women Transformed 70 F. Metaphor and Warning: (Women = Water=Syphilis) 78 G. Notes 82 CHAPTER IE: RABELAIS AND THE GREAT POX 87 A. Syphilis and Life Choices: A Motivating Factor 91 B. Mockery and Reversal: Syphilis and the Camivalesque 101 C. Blame and Male Subjective Discourse 109 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS - continued D. Notes 123 CHAPTER IV: POPULAR POETRY 129 A. PART ONE: Popular Syphilis Poetry 129 B. A History of Texts: Locations and Editions 132 L Les sept Marchans 132 2. La Ballade de la maladie de Naples 133 3. Les Plainctes d'ung Verolle 134 4. Rondeau d'ung paovre verolle 134 5. La Patenostre des Va-oUez 134 6. Ballade de la verolle 135 7. Rondeau de la verolle 135 8. Rondeau de la verole 136 9. Rondeau de la verolle 136 10. Autre rondel 136 11. Aultre en Triollet d'ung verolle 137 12. Ballade de la grosse verolle 137 C. Formal Features 137 1. The Seven Merchants 138 2. Ballad of the Neapolitan Sickness 140 3. The Complaints of a Syphilitic 140 4. Of a Poor Syphilitic 140 5. The Syphilitic's Lord's Prayer, With a Complaint about Doctors 141 6. Ballad of Syphilis 141 7. Round on Syphilis 141 8. Round on Syphilis 142 9. Round on Syphilis 142 10. Another Round 142 11. Another in the form of a Triolet on a Syphilitic 143 12. Ballad of the Great Pox 143 D. Syphilis as Theme: The Poems 143 E. PART TWO: From Personal Experience to Public Information 154 F. Syphilis as Loss and Alienation 156 G. Results of Rage: Blame and Warnings in Print 167 H. Notes 176 CONCLUSION 179 APPENDIX I 183 8 TABLE OF CONTENTS - continued A. Notice 183 1. Presentation of the text 183 1.1 Verse Numbering 183 1.2 Variants and Corrections 183 2. Spellings and Accent Use 183 2.1 The Allegorical Capital Letter 183 2.2 Diaeresis and Meter 183 2.3 Acute Accent on Final Tonic e 184 2.4 Compound Words, Single Words 184 B. Le Triumphe: Trancription 185 1. Prologue 185 2. Introduction 187 3. First poem 189 4. Second Poem 203 5. TheTriiunph 217 6. Epilogue 229 C. Notes and Variants 231 D. The Triumph: Translation 235 1. Prologue 235 2. Introduction 237 3. First Poem 239 4. Second Poem 246 5. The Triumph 252 6. Epilogue 259 E. Notes 261 APPENDIX n 262 A. Popular Poems 262 1. Les sept Marchans 262 2. La Ballade de la maladie de Naples 275 3. Les Plainctes d'lmg Verolle 276 4. Rondeau d'ung paovre verolle 278 5. La Patenostre des VeroUez 279 6. Ballade de la verolle 283 7. Rondeau de la verolle 284 8. Rondeau de la verole 285 9. Rondeau de la verolle 286 10. Autre rondel 286 11. Aultre en TrioUet d'ung verolle 287 12. Ballade de la grosse verolle 288 9 TABLE OF CONTENTS - continued B. Translation 290 1. The Seven Merchants 290 2. Ballad of the Neapolitan Sickness 297 3. The Complaints of a Syphilitic 298 4. Of a Poor Syphilitic 299 5. The Syphilitic's Lord's Prayer, With a Complaint about Doctors 300 6. Ballad of Syphilis 302 7. Round on Syphilis 303 8. Round on Syphilis 304 9. Round on SyphiUs 304 10. Another Round 304 11. Another in the form of a Triolet on a Syphilitic 305 12. Ballad of the Great Pox 305 REFERENCES 307 10 ABSTRACT Syphilis caused unprecedented terror as it rapidly spread through Western Europe at the onset of the sixteenth century. In France, a flourish of literary production specifically about syphih's provides an important record of various reactions to what constituted the first known experience of deadly disease, sexually transmitted. This dissertation examines three types of literary representations of syphilis in texts dating firom 1500-1550, by authors as familiar as Rabelais and Jean LeMaire de Beiges, in addition to many that remain anonymous. With a foundation of anthropological theories of sickness as danger and pollution, psychoanalytic theory is employed to elucidate the thought processes that led to the pervasive blaming and scapegoating of women, the most common social reaction to syphilis seen in this literature. Organization of texts on the same subject into separate units was achieved by considering the tone with which they deal with syphilis.