Debate and Dialogue: Alain Chartier in His Cultural Context

271 Pages·2006·2.09 MB·English

by  Emma Cayley

OXFORD MODERN LANGUAGES
AND LITERATURE MONOGRAPHS
EditorialCommittee
C. H. GRIFFIN E. M. JEFFREYS A. KAHN K. M. KOHL
M. L. MCLAUGHLIN I. W. F. MACLEAN
R. A. G. PEARSON
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Debate and Dialogue
Alain Chartier in his Cultural Context
EMMA CAYLEY
CLARENDONPRESS·OXFORD
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Preface
This book is the first full-length study of Chartier’s complete Latin
and French oeuvre in its cultural and material context and, as such,
is long overdue. The dearth of critical material available on Chartier
seems entirely unjustified given his reputation among contemporaries
andsuccessorsasamasterinhisfield;the‘peredel’eloquencefranc¸oyse’
as Pierre Fabri (1521) puts it. Recent criticism has all but passed over
Chartier,perhapsinfavourofmedievalauthorsmoreeasilyclaimedfor
modern theoretical movements. Chartier’s French verse debates have
oftenbeendismissedasformulaicandfrivolous.Ipresentarevisionary
take on these works in particular, based on their material context of
transmission and intertextuality. The interdisciplinary nature of my
study,whichdrawsonmodelsfromsociologyandgametheory,will,I
hope, appeal to scholars in diverse fields, and open up a wider future
investigationintotheworksofthispivotalfigure.
There are many individuals whose help and expertise has proved
invaluable to this study. First and foremost, my thesis supervisor, Jane
Taylor, whose constant support, advice, and encouragement, above
and beyond the call of duty, has helped me to navigate the often
fraught sea of academia, and without whom I would no doubt still
be floundering like Chartier’s shipwrecked sailor. I thank my thesis
examinersAdrianArmstrongandMirandaGriffinfortheirpenetrating
criticisms, excellent suggestions, and good humour. I also thank Tony
Hunt and Roger Pensom of Oxford University for their kindness and
expert guidance. This study has been much improved thanks to the
OUP’s specialist readers, whose astute observations and suggestions
I have attempted to address. Of the many medievalists who have
personally offered me advice, insights, and have commented on my
work, I would particularly like to thank Peter Ainsworth, Barbara
Altmann, Adrian Armstrong, Katie Attwood, Kevin Brownlee, David
Cowling, Rebecca Dixon, Francesca Galligan, David Hult, Michael
Jones, Sarah Kay, the inimitable late Elspeth Kennedy, Jim Laidlaw,
Peter S. Lewis, Linda Paterson, and Jean-Claude Mu¨hlethaler. I thank
GretchenAngelo,AdrianArmstrong,BillCalin,AshbyKinch,JoanE.
McRae, and Craig Taylor for allowing me to read their unpublished
work and to refer to it in my book. I would also like to acknowledge
vi Preface
the comments and suggestions I have received in response to the
papers drawnfrommyresearch forthisstudy,whichweredelivered at
numerousnationalandinternationalconferencesandseminars.Partsof
this book have previously appeared in different guises in print (listed
in the Bibliography): ‘‘‘Tu recites, je replique; et quant nous avons
fait et fait, tout ne vault riens’’: Explorations of a Debating Climate
in Early Humanist France’ (Chapter 2); ‘Collaborative Communities:
The Manuscript Context of Alain Chartier’s Belle Dame sans mercy’
(Chapter4,partII);‘PlayersandSpacesofPlayinLateMedievalFrench
Manuscript Collections’ (Chapter 4, part II). I thank the editors for
theirkindpermissiontoreusesomeofthismaterialhere.
I have been privileged to work in various libraries and archives
over the years and owe a particular debt to the Taylorian Institution,
Oxford;theBodleianLibrary;theBibliothe`quenationaledeFrance;the
Bibliothe`que de l’Arsenal; the Institut de Recherche et d’Histoire des
Textes; Cambridge University Library; and the British Library. I was
fortunateinsecuringanaffiliationtotheE´coleNormaleSupe´rieurein
Paris for a term, where I was able to pursue the codicological research
that forms the backbone of my book; further trips were made possible
through the generosity of the Queen’s College, Oxford, during the
tenure of my Laming Junior Research Fellowship there. I would have
been unable to carry out my research without the financial support
of Oxford University and St Anne’s College who jointly awarded me
the Paget Toynbee Olwyn Rhys scholarship to enable me to pursue
my doctorate. I am also grateful to the Arts and Humanities Research
Council, who financed me through my MSt and final year of doctoral
research.OtherthanksgotoKateandAdrian,andtomycolleaguesat
Exeterwhocontinuetosupportandencouragemyresearch.
InmemoryofNickHanlon,ourfriendandcolleague.
Finally,thisisformyparents,ChristineandDigby,whohavealways
believed it was possible; my brothers, Thomas and George, who may
readitsomeday;mybeautifulsister,Catherine,whosetsthestandard;
andforMichael,whoseendlesspatienceandlovekeepmeafloat.
Contents
ListofPlates ix
BibliographicalNote xi
Introduction 1
1. ‘Jevousdemandeparlaforcedujeu’
TheLiterary,Legal,andIntellectualAntecedentsofLate
MedievalDebate 12
2. ‘Turecites,jereplique;etquantnousavonsfaitetfait,tout
nevaultriens’
ExplorationsofaDebatingClimateinEarlyHumanist
France 52
3. ‘Clercexcellent,orateurmagnifique’
AlainChartierandtheRiseofaVernacularHumanist
Rhetoric 87
4. ‘Lave´rite´dujeu’
CollaborativeDebatingCommunitiesinLateMedieval
France 136
I. TextandContext:CollaborativeInventionand
CreativeModesintheQuerelledelaBelleDamesans
mercy 136
II. ‘Lejeudeseschaz’:PlayersandSpacesofPlayinthe
BelleDamesansmercyCycleManuscripts 162
Conclusion 189
AppendixA
TableofContentsofParis,Bibliothe`quedel’Arsenal,3521,
and3523 199
AppendixB
ManuscriptTables 202
Bibliography 215
Index 249
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List of Plates
1. AlainChartier,Dialogusfamiliarisamicietsodalis(theAmicusand
SodalismeettodebatetheplightofFranceinfrontofanaudience)
Paris,Bibliothe`quenationaledeFrance,fr.126,fol.210r 95
2. AlainChartier,Quadrilogueinvectif (Franceaddressesherchildren,
Chevalier,Clerge´,andPeuple)
Paris,BnF,Rothschild2796,fol.5v 118
3. AlainChartier,Quadrilogueinvectif (theHouseofFranceindisarray)
Paris,BnF,fr.24441,fol.5v 119
4. AlainChartier,LaBelleDamesansmercy(theBelleDameandher
suitorplaychess)
TheHague,KoninklijkeBibliotheek,71E49,fol.9r 167
5. GuillaumedeSaint-Andre´,verseadaptationofJacobusdeCessolis’s
Lejeudeseschazmoralis´e(theKingandaphilosopherplaychess)
Paris,BnF,fr.14978,fol.3v 168
6. Vaillant,Debatdesdeuxseurs[L’EmbuscheVaillant](theacteur
overhearsthesisters’debate)
Paris,BnF,fr.2230,fol.211v 197