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Downtime Books-National News Bookwise December
| Bookwise December |
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| Thursday, 11 December 2008 | |
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Tony Stapleton takes on three heavyweights Representing France and the French in Early Modern English Drama. Jean-Christophe Mayer (ed) (2008). University of Delaware Press, Newark www2.lib.udel.edu/udpress/ $48.50 French Theory. François Cusset. Translated by Jeff Fort (2008). University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis www.upress.umn.edu $24.95 paper, $75.00 cloth The French Renaissance Court. Robert J. Knecht (2008). Yale University Press www.yalebooks.co.uk €£25 These are not for the faint-hearted. Academic tomes all, they nevertheless have nuggets of information that will interest the lay reader who is willing to sift the academic silt for the occasional grain of gold. The first, Representing France…, is a series of essays resulting from research funded by the French National Centre for Scientific Research (my neighbour was horrified when he learnt where his taxes were going!). exploring how France was represented in English drama and literature in the early 16th century. Much of the discussion is esoteric beyond belief, but there are gems to be found. For example, did you know that John of Gaunt’s famous “This England” speech from Richard II came from a poem by du Batras written to celebrate the recapture of Calais from (yes, the English): Ha, France… Ô mille et mille fois terre heureuse et féconde Ô perle de l’Europe! Ô paradis du monde! Much of the discussion in the book is abstruse and those of a lower mentality, like me, will be drawn to the chapter on the ‘French disease’ (it came via France from Naples) in Elizabethan and Jacobean drama. Syphilis then greatly occupied the mind as well as the body, and writers made great symbolic and metaphorical use of it. It was used to highlight social differences (the rich never suffered from syphilis, but from ‘gout’) but was used mostly for comic relief, and references to the disease and to its cures are multiple. A common treatment was mercury, with its side-effect of baldness punningly referred to as a ‘French crown’, with all its sexual allusions. A host of opportunities for party small talk! Syphilis does not feature large in French Theory, another book kindly subsidised by the French tax-payer, in this case the Ministère de la culture. Its combination of intellectualism and propaganda is summed up in its subtitle: How Foucault, Derrida, Deleuze, & Co. transformed the intellectual life of the United States. If you are familiar with the work of these authors, then this book probably has little for you. If you are not, then it will probably be unreadable for, despite a brilliant translation, its mix of abstraction, hubris and condescension is largely indigestible. In contrast, Robert Knecht’s book is both readable and interesting. It describes, in considerable detail, the travelling French court in the 16th century. The process is summarised in the title of the second chapter, ‘One Kingdom, Two Capitals’: while the Parlement (the highest court of justice) was based in Paris, the other organs of government – the king’s council, the chancery and the Grand Conseil were nomadic. For as much as two thirds of the year, the king and an entourage of around 10,000 people would travel round the realm, primarily for the king to see, and be seen in, his large, dispersed territory. The process of government was carried out on the hoof, so to speak, and the continual logistical challenges were amazing, requiring an army of servants and administrators. Nobles and ambassadors were expected to accompany the king, and the retinue was further swelled by those seeking preferment or redress. For the general reader, the most interest is likely to be found in the history of the period, the social and economic context, and the role and structure of the court. In the mid-16th century, the population of France is estimated to have been around 18 million, reflecting a decline in the plague, a period of internal peace and good harvests (England’s population at this time was, by contrast, a mere three million). Discussion of the social structure – a noble could lose his status if he dabbled in trade – of the mechanism of government and the role of Paris versus the provinces is particularly interesting. The loss of this stability with the rise of Protestantism and the religious wars of the second half of the century has an awful fascination. But the court survived, providing the foundation for the grandeur of Versailles. A powerful story powerfully told. |
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