French Literature Reviews - 2026

Anthony J. Bruder, Recovering the Medieval in the French Renaissance. Claude Fauchet's Veilles ou Observations
Medieval and Renaissance Studies

Focusing on a little-studied miscellany by Claude Fauchet (1530–1602), this book explores the role of the medieval in shaping the concept of French modernity during the Renaissance. Designed to set the poetry of the Pléiade against the rich legacy of medieval France, the Veilles argued that a truly illustrious vernacular had to be rooted in indigenous traditions far richer than is commonly assumed. From the metrics of the Roman d’Alexandre to the textual emendation of Philippe de Commynes’s Mémoires, and from the rules of dueling to the tomb of Jean de Meun, Fauchet's observations also cast light on his own contemporary era, featuring discussions of Lemaire de Belges, Marot, and Ronsard. What emerges is the echo of a profoundly different French Renaissance—one in which the Burghers of Calais outweigh Francion, and knowledge of Old French takes precedence over classical scholarship. Standing as a response to cultural rupture and loss, the Veilles may well be the earliest snapshot of a foundational stage in the reception of medieval French literature.

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Focusing on a little studied miscellany by Claude Fauchet (1530-1602), this book reveals the role of the medieval in crafting an image of French modernity during the Renaissance. Designed to confront the Pléiade with the rich legacy of medieval French, the Veilles argued that an illustrious vernacular had to be rooted in native traditions, richer by far than generally credited. From meter in the twelfth-century Roman d’Alexandre to the emendation of Philippe de Commynes’s Mémoires, and from dueling etiquette to the tomb of Jean de Meun, Fauchet’s observations even reach into his present moment, with essays on Lemaire de Belges, Marot, and Ronsard. Here is an echo of a very different French Renaissance, in which the Burghers of Calais are more important than Francion, and a knowledge of Old French more desirable than classical erudition. Furthermore, as a response to rupture and loss, the Veilles are perhaps the earliest snapshot of a primary stage in the reception of medieval French literature.

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Contents

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations

Introduction

Chapter I. Contents, Context and Material History of the Veilles ou Observations de plusieurs choses dinnes de memoire en la Lecture d’aucuns autheurs françois, 1555

Chapter II. Continuity, Rupture and Recovery in French Renaissance Literary Culture, 1530-1550

Chapter III. Recovery and Nativism in Fauchet’s Veilles ou Observations

Chapter IV. The Veilles and the Early Pléiade. Recovering History, Defining Frenchness

Conclusion. The Legacy of the Veilles

Appendix A. Contents Page for the Veilles ou Observations

de plusieurs choses dinnes de mémoire en la lecture

ou leçon d’aucuns autheurs françois

Appendix B. Authors/Works Referenced in the Veilles.

Bibliography

Index

The intellectual landscape of sixteenth-century France was deeply engaged with questions of cultural inheritance, linguistic authority, and the status of the vernacular. Within this broader context, scholarly works served as sites for negotiating the relationship between contemporary literary production and the past. Readers interested in the history of French scholarship and early modern print culture may find it relevant to consider how these textual practices redefined national literary identity.

Focusing on a little-studied miscellany by Claude Fauchet (1530–1602), the book explores the role of the medieval in shaping the concept of French modernity during the Renaissance. Designed to set the poetry of the Pléiade against the legacy of medieval France, the work argues that a truly illustrious vernacular had to be rooted in indigenous traditions. From the metrics of the Roman d’Alexandre to the textual emendation of Philippe de Commynes’s Mémoires, and from the rules of dueling to the tomb of Jean de Meun, the observations also cast light on the contemporary era, featuring discussions of Lemaire de Belges, Marot, and Ronsard.