Untitled - Monoskop

FAIR RETURN, AND OTHER ARGUMENTS
to'le prouffit et utilite de la chose publicque' in applying for the Promptuarium
of Jean de Montholon, a two-volume dictionary of canon and civil law
(CH 1520, 7).
More daringly Galliot Du Pre, applying to the Prevot of Paris for a privilege
in a French translation of Erasmus' Praise of Folly., asserted 'que pour 1'utilite
de la chose publicque il avoit fait imprimer lesdictes louenges de folie'
(PR 1520, 5, see Plate 5). Hemon Le Fevre applied to the Prevot eighteen
months later for Guillaume Michel's Le siecle dore, 'lequel il feroit voluntiers
imprimer pour 1'utillite de la chose publicque et pour recouvrer ses frais'
(PR 1522, i): this, though a work of fiction, at least related a vision of society
transformed, through the application of Christian principles by all its
members, into an ideal state. The use of such formulae, replacing the older
tradition of invoking connections wtih the royal family or the nobility,
suggests a growing realisation that the publication of good books hitherto not
printed was a matter where the public interest was concerned. However,
applicants were clearly not expected to prove merit or usefulness in the book
concerned: most privileges show no sign of such an argument having been
used.
The literary excellence or entertainment value of the book is invoked even
more rarely. Hemon Le Fevre said of the romance Gerard de Nevers that 'ledit
livre et hystoire en icelluy contenue est fort plaisante' (PR 1 520, 3) ; and Galliot
Du Pre of Ysa'ie le Triste that it was 'pour la recreation des gentils hommes et
jeunes gens qui appetent a lire ung livre de la table ronde' (PR 1522, 3).
Jean de La Garde successfully applied for a royal privilege (CH 1520, 8) for
Le violier des histoires rommaines moralisees, of which he had commissioned the
translation into French from the Gesta Romanorum, 'pour le proufit, utilite de
plusieurs personnes,' so that readers who did not know Latin could find much
recreation in it ('a veoir laquelle translation plusieurs personnes non latins
pourroient prendre grande recreacion'), but the expense of having the
translation made 'par homme expert et littere' and the cost of printing it
constitute the main argument. Francois Regnault contrived to combine all
these arguments in his application for Le rosier historial (CH 1523, 2):
beginning with the great cost and outlay involved in printing it, he went on to
recall that it had been written for Louis XI ('jadis compose a la requeste du
feu roy Loys xi e
que dieu absoulle') and to claim that it was 'un beau livre,
tresutille et plaisant a lire, et ouquel les lisans pourront prouffiter et
apprendre'.
Bernard Aubry at about the same period presented his case to the Prevot of
Paris for a work by the famous logician Johannes Dullaert, with additions by
Johannes Drabbe, very comprehensively:
il avoit vacque par longue espace de temps employe et despendu grans deniers. Lequel
livre n'avait este au par avant ce imprime. Et pour ce que ledict livre est utile et
proffitable pour donner recreation servir et aux enfans escoliers estudians et les