French Renaissance Literature - Introduction

Introduction

The sixteenth century in France was a remarkable period of literary creation (the language of this period is called Middle French). The use of the printing press (aiding the diffusion of works by ancient Latin and Greek authors; the printing press was introduced in 1470 in Paris, and in 1473 in Lyon), the development of humanism and Neoplatonism, and the discovery (through the wars in Italy and through Henry II’s marriage with Catherine de' Medici) of the cultivated refinement of the Italian courts (Baldassare Castiglione’s book The Courtier was also particularly important in this respect) would profoundly modify the French literary landscape and the mental outlook (or “mentalité”) of the period. There is a slow evolution from the rude warrior class to a cultivated noble class (giving rise to the idea of the “honnête homme” in the seventeenth century). In all genres, there is a great interest in love (both physical and Platonic) and in psychological and moral analysis.

This period saw: a proliferation of pamphlets, tracts, satires and memoirs; the success of short-story collections (“nouvelles”) as well as collections of oral tales and anecdotes (“propos and devis”); a public fascination with tragic tales from Italy (most notably those of Bandello); a considerable increase in the translating and publishing of contemporary European authors (especially Italians and Spaniards) compared to authors from the Middle Ages and classical antiquity; an important increase in the number of religious works sold (devotional books would beat out the “belles-lettres” as the most sold genre in France at the beginning of the seventeenth century); and finally, the publication of important works of moral and philosophical reflection.

The history of literature of the Renaissance is not monolithic: the royal court, the universities, the general public, the "noblesse de robe", the provincial noble, and the humanist all encountered different influences and developed different tastes. Humanist theater would come slowly to the general public; the old warrior class discovered court etiquette and polished manners only over time; and the extravagance of the Italian-inspired court was frequently criticized by detractors. Literacy itself is an important issue in the dissemination of the texts of the Renaissance: the culture of the 16th century remains profoundly oral, and the short story, the chivalric novel and Rabelais's works make this orality a central part of their style. Finally, the Renaissance book was a physical and economic object of great scarcity and — depending on its size and illustrations — of great prestige. A library such as Montaigne's was a rare occurrence for people other than lawyers and members of parliament who had had an elite education in the universities; for the public, the broadsheet or penny press (with woodcut illustrations) sold door to door by colporters would have been their only access to the written word.