PIERRE BOAISTUAU - eTheses Repository - University of Birmingham

writers began to write and publish works in French. 363 The first book printed in
French was probably Pasquier Bonhomme’s Grandes chroniques de France (in 3
volumes) in 1476; 364 and by the second half of the sixteenth century, a large number
of Paris and Lyon printers were printing almost exclusively in French. An additional
factor which helped this multiplication of French-written works was the Villers-
Cotterêts edict of 1539, which made ‘Francien’ the sole official language of the
kingdom. 365 This edict was of great literary importance, since French became the only
accepted language in the courts (as opposed to Latin, and other French dialects) and in
all judicial texts, legislation acts, contracts and official documents in general. No
doubt, it gave an extra motive to writers such as Jean Bouchet and Guillaume Budé
who also decided to publish works in French. In 1550 Joachim du Bellay published
his Defense et illustration de la langue française, advocating the use of French as a
medium of high culture. 366 Soon, literary works published in French had become not
an exception but rather a standard, gaining a big share of the market. 367 The
momentum could not have been better for a writer such as Boaistuau, who was
introduced to French readers in 1556 but by 1560 his recognition had reached a
readership far beyond the borders of France.
363 As will be shown in the next chapter, the rise of the vernacular was also linked to French humanism
and the translation of many classical works – a trend which had a definite impact on Boaistuau’s work.
364 For a first insight on the Grandes chroniques de France see Winn, M. B., Anthoine Vérard, Parisian
Publisher, 1485-1512, chapter V.
365 However, there were exceptions. For example, Gascon continued to be used in Navarre, and Latin
continued to be used in church registers in some regions of France. For more information on the edict
see Lodge, R. A., French, from dialect to standard (London, 1993), especially pp. 126-127.
366 Willet, L., Poetry and Language in 16 th century France: Du Bellay, Ronsard, Sebillet (Toronto,
2004).
367 See Pettegree, A., Walsby, M., Wilkinson, A. (eds), French Vernacular Books for a complete list of
the books published partially or wholly in French before 1601. This monumental work also contains a
list of French editions of Boaistuau’s works which was used for the purposes of this study.
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