Pierre Boaistuau, also known as Pierre Launay or Sieur de Launay (c. 1517, Nantes – 1566,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

), was a French

Renaissance humanist Renaissance humanism was a revival in the study of classical antiquity, at first in Italy and then spreading across Western Europe in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. During the period, the term ''humanist'' ( it, umanista) referred to teache ...

writer, author of a number of popularizing compilations and discourses on various subjects. Beside his many popular titles as a writer, Boaistuau was also an editor, translator and compiler. He holds a very special place in literary developments in the middle and second half of the sixteenth century as the importer of two influential genres in France, the 'histoire tragique' and the 'histoire prodigieuse'. He was also the first editor of Marguerite of Navarre's collection of nouvelles that is known today as ''Heptameron''.

Life

Boaistuau was born in Nantes and later studied civil and canon law in the universities of Poitiers, Valence (where he was a student of the eminent jurist

Jean de Coras Jean de Coras, also called Corasius (1515–1572) was a French jurist. Life Born in Réalmont as the son of a Civil law notary, notary, he studied law in Toulouse, Cahors, Orléans and perhaps also in other cities, under teachers such as Francisc ...

), and Avignon (where he studied under the guidance of Emilio Ferretti). During his student years, he worked as the secretary of the French ambassador to the East Jean-Jacques of Cambrai around 1550, and traveled to Italy and Germany. Ernst Courbet put forth the hypothesis that Boaistuau had also been for some time a ' valet de chambre' of Marguerite of Navarre, an assertion which however can not be substantiated.Courbet, E., ‘Jean d’ Albret et l’Heptaméron’, Bulletin du Bibliophile et Bibliothécaire (1904), pp. 277-290. Later, the writer also visited England and Scotland on his own, and met with

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...

Works

His most successful titles in terms of publications were ''Le Théâtre du monde'' (which became one of early modern Europe's best-sellers), ''Histoires prodigieuses'', and ''Histoires tragiques''. As the contents of his works indicate, his varied interests included, among other, political theory, history, philosophy, literary fiction, theology, ecclesiastical history, and natural philosophy. Enjoying a certain degree of fame due to the success of his books, Boaistuau's network of friends and contacts included many well-known French ''literati'' of his time, such as

François de Belleforest François de Belleforest (1530 – 1 January 1583) was a prolific French author, poet and translator of the Renaissance. He was born in Samatan (actual department of Gers), into a poor family, and his father (a soldier) was killed when he was s ...

, Joseph Scaliger, Bernard de Girard, Nicolas Denisot,

Jean-Antoine de Baïf Jean Antoine de Baïf (; 19 February 1532 – 19 September 1589) was a French poet and member of the '' Pléiade''. Life Jean Antoine de Baïf was born in Venice, the natural son of the scholar Lazare de Baïf, who was at that time French amb ...

, Claude Roillet, and Jacques Grévin. He was also in friendly terms with James Beaton II, ex-Archbishop of Glasgow and Scottish ambassador in Paris, to whom he dedicated his ''Le Théâtre du monde''.

Works

* ''L'Histoire de Chelidonius Tigurinus'' (Paris, 1556) - A political discourse focusing mainly on the education of the ideal Christian prince and his qualities, proclaiming monarchy as the most profitable political system. * ''Histoires des amans fortunez'' (Paris, 1558) - A collection of nouvelles of love and betrayal, written in the style of Boccaccio’s ''

Decameron ''The Decameron'' (; it, label=Italian, Decameron or ''Decamerone'' ), subtitled ''Prince Galehaut'' (Old it, Prencipe Galeotto, links=no ) and sometimes nicknamed ''l'Umana commedia'' ("the Human comedy", as it was Boccaccio that dubbed Dan ...

''. Originally attributed to Marguerite of Navarre, this work was renamed to ''Heptameron'' in 1559. * ''Le Théâtre du monde'' (Paris, 1558) - Divided into three main sections, this philosophical treatise deals with the miseries of Man, and the various kinds of adversities (e.g. wars, diseases, famines, etc.) he has to endure during his lifetime. * ''Bref discours de l’excellence et dignité de l’homme'' (Paris, 1559) - A discourse on Man's virtues and abilities, praising both his body and mind. Soon after its first publication as a separate work, it also appeared as a supplement of ''Le Théâtre du monde''. * ''Histoires tragiques'' (Paris, 1559) - A collection of six cautionary tales taken from Matteo Bandello's ''Novelle'' and translated into French. The third story entitled 'Histoire troisieme de deux Amants, don't l'un mourut de venin, l'autre de tristesse' influenced

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

to write his ''Romeo and Juliet''. * ''Histoires prodigieuses'' (Paris, 1560) - A collection of extraordinary stories of monstrous births, demons, sea-monsters, serpents, creatures half-man and half-animal, precious stones, floods, comets, earthquakes and other natural phenomena. * ''Histoire des persecutions de l’Eglise chrestienne et catholique'' (Paris, 1572) - A narration of the afflictions of the early Christian Church during the time of the Roman Empire. This work was published posthumously and is most probably a French translation of an earlier work.

References

External links

Olin H. Moore, ''The Legend of Romeo and Juliet'' (The Ohio State University Press, 1950), chapter X: Pierre Boaistuau

Nancy E. Virtue, 'Translation as Violation: A Reading of Pierre Boaistuau's ''Histoires Tragiques, ''Renaissance and Reformation'', vol. 22, No 3 (1998), pp. 35-58.

Pierre Boaistuau's ''Histoires Prodigieuses'' at the site of the Wellcome Collection

Pierre Boaistuau at the WorldCat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boaistuau, Pierre 1510s births 1566 deaths Writers from Nantes 16th-century French writers 16th-century male writers Renaissance humanists French male writers 16th-century French translators