Recovering the Medieval in the French Renaissance

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.