A critical edition of the works of Jean and Francois Robertet

Abstract

The edition contains a study of the life and works and the literary background of Jean Robertet (died c.1502) and his son Francois Robertet (died c.1527-30), together with the texts of their works. The sources of their texts are some thirty fifteenth and sixteenth-century manuscripts and two printed editions, which have been studied, with particular regard to connections between the copyists of the manuscripts and the Robertet family, to the question of authenticity in poems attributed to the two Robertet, and to the choice of the most reliable text. Biographies of both Jean and Francois, based largely on original documents and on information found in their works, are given. Each poet is studied separately from the point of view of versification, verse forms and style, in which both adopt the conventions of the Rhetoriqueurs, and from the point of view of their sources, themes, importance and influence. A detailed study of Jean Robertet's sources, partly medieval French and classical, but especially Italian -Boccaccio and Petrarch in particular - shows Robertet's importance as an innovator in the use of new sources, and in the influence which these had on his philosophical ideas. This is seen in Robertet's treatment of traditional medieval themes which is discussed with particular reference to those aspects which point forward to the Renaissance, especially the themes of death, fame and immortality, and in the developing theory of the poet's function. A study of Jean Robertet's influence shows the extent to which his contemporaries and successors, with particular reference to Jean Lemaire, imitated Robertet, and shows Robertet's influence in the spread of ideas to become important in the French Renaissance. A discussion of Francois Robertet's work shows few innovations; his main interest lies in his satirical work, reflecting the rise of the bourgeoisie and criticism of court life. A full glossary is given, covering both authors.