PIERRE BOAISTUAU - eTheses Repository - University of Birmingham

must contain his arrogance, and not be carried away by ephemeral pleasures and vain
ambition.
Apart from the immorality which was a recurrent theme of the book and deemed as
one of the principal vices of society, Boaistuau also mentioned lack of control and the
burden of the flesh. It was another cause for the downfall of principalities, as
demonstrated by many Biblical examples. In order to combat this moral weakness, the
writer advised rulers to marry: ‘comme il est conseillé aux Princes et autres qui se
sentent trop infirmes, de se marrier, tant pour la procreation de lignée, que pour le
soulagement de l’infirmité de nature’. 667 In fact, he devoted a separate chapter on
marriage, which he described as a blessed and God-given ordinance. 668 Perhaps the
motivation for writing an encomium to marriage was once again St. Augustine, who
had written a treatise On Marriage and Concupiscence and also referred to marriage
in The City of God. 669 For Boaistuau, marriage was the first miracle on earth (‘le
premier miracle… en terre’), and its dignity and importance was supported by many
examples from the animal kingdom and history. It offered companionship (‘amitié
conjugale’) and should be honoured by both spouses with purity and sincerity. The
writer did not only focus on the advantages of marital life but also on cases of
‘marriages corrompuz’. 670 This corruption reflected the immorality of French society
at the time (a theme also apparent in Histoires tragiques examined in Chapter Three),
667 Boaistuau, P., L’Histoire de Chelidonius Tigurinus, p. 130r.
668 Ibid, Chapter XIII: Combien l’incontinence est dommageable aux Princes, et comme elle est cause
de la ruyne de plusieurs royaumes et principautez, avec un traicté de la dignité et excellence de
mariage. Boaistuau also examined marriage in Le Théâtre du monde, see Chapter Three.
669 Augustine, The City of God, Book XV, Chapter 16. For more details see Clark, E. A. (ed.), St.
Augustine on Marriage and Sexuality (Washington DC, 1996).
670 Among the reasons that cause an unhappy marriage Boaistuau mentioned ‘l’impatience des femmes
se complaignent à toutes heures’ – see Boaistuau, P., L’Histoire de Chelidonius Tigurinus, pp. 141r, v.
This anti-feminism approach culminated in his opinion that Man is by Nature superior to woman, and
she should obey him – see p. 130r: ‘L’homme […] d’avantage a une préeminence et auctorité sur la
femme, creature noble (apres luy) entre toutes les autres, à laquelle le Seigneur Dieu a estroitement
commandé d’obeira à son mary…’. Nevertheless, he added that Woman should be honoured by Man.
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