Homer and the Politics of Authority in Renaissance FranceAt a time when the French monarchy traced its origins back to ancient Troy, Homeric epic was fated to play a significant political role. Homer came to Renaissance France packaged with an ancient interpretive tradition that made him an authority on all matters but also distinctly separate from Virgil and the Aeneid, rival Italy's foundational myth. Thus, once French humanists learned to read Homer in Greek, they quickly began putting him in the service of their king in order to teach him prudence and amplify his authority. Homer and the Politics of Authority in Renaissance France provides a stimulating perspective on how Homeric authority went from being used by humanists in the role of royal counselors to being exploited by both monarchical and anti-monarchical forces in the service of ideologies, most especially in the Wars of Religion (1562-1598). In turn, French writers of the period transitioned from being monarchical advisors to stirring crowds as actors on the larger political stage. In this study, Marc Bizer not only analyzes a number of works by key authors and humanists-including Michel de Montaigne, Joachim du Bellay, Guillaume Budé, and Jean Dorat, among others- but also examines their poetry, art, pamphlets, and plays. Although there have been several studies of the Homeric legacy in western literature and even in early modern French literature, none has analyzed the political role that Homer played in sixteenth-century France for this circle of important writers. The captivating results of this approach to the post-classical usage of Homer will appeal not only to historians and literary scholars, but also to political scientists, classicists, and art historians. |
Contents
| 3 | |
PART I MAKING HOMER FRENCH 15301560 | 15 |
PART II HOMER AND THE PROBLEM OF AUTHORITY DURING THE WARS OF RELIGION 15601592 | 119 |
Conclusion | 215 |
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Common terms and phrases
Achilles Aeneid Agamemnon allegorical ancient autres Beaune Begat Bellay Bellay's bien Boétie Boétie's Bude's c'est Calchas Catholic century ceste choses Christian classical commentary counselor Dieu divine Droz Edict enim Erasmus Essays estre Fontainebleau Franciade François Ier French humanists French king French monarchy friendship Garnier Geneva Grafton Greek Guillaume Budé Hector Henri Henri II heroes Homer Homer's authority Homeric epic hommes Huguenot humanists Iliad interpretation Jean de Sponde Jean Dorat Joachim Du Bellay Jouanna king's La Boétie Landino Latin maistre monarchical authority monarchomaque Montaigne Montaigne's Neoplatonic Nestor Odysseus Odysseus's Paquelin Paris Parlement Penelope peuple poetic poetry politique prince prudence Pseudo-Plutarch qu'il quod Rabelais reading Regrets religious Renaissance Rome Ronsard royal ruler Salel's Scaliger Servitude volontaire sixteenth sixteenth-century France sonnet sovereignty Sponde's subjects taigne texts tion tout tradition translation treatise Troade Trojan origins Troy tyrant Ulysses Gallery University Press Virgil Virgilian Wars of Religion weaving wisdom