PIERRE BOAISTUAU - eTheses Repository - University of Birmingham

Théâtre du monde. Histoires des amans fortunez was dedicated to Marguerite de
Bourbon, the wife of François de Clèves. Histoires tragiques was offered to Matthieu
de Mauny, Benedictine Abbot of Noyers and nephew of the Archbishop of Bordeaux
François de Mauny, and Histoires prodigieuses was dedicated to Jean de Rieux, a
Breton nobleman. Jean de Rieux, Baron d’ Asserac, and his brother Rene de Rieux,
Seigneur du Gue de l’Isle, were men of letters and in fact devoted two sonnets to
Boaistuau, celebrating the reputation and success of their compatriot as a writer, and
also proudly noting his Breton origin:
Tu scais assez combien tu es loué par France,
Et combien ton païs, ou tu n’as guiere esté
A d’honneur, de plaisir, et de felicité
De t’avoir donné nom, vie, laict et naissance. 174
All the dedicatees mentioned above were people of considerable influence and
Boaistuau anticipated their financial or other kind of help in order to advance his
career. In some cases he succeeded in becoming a protégé of a wealthy patron, as in
the case of François de Clèves. However, out of all the examples which prove
Boaistuau’s quest to find a powerful patron and his high aspirations as a writer
seeking wide recognition, the one which stands out is his consistent campaign to win
the favour of Elizabeth I – albeit unsuccessfully. He had sent her a copy of Histoires
tragiques, followed by the Institution du royaume chretien and Histoires prodigieuses
(the latter titles were probably prepared as a set). 175 All three works were specially
prepared copies dedicated to Elizabeth. Histoires prodigieuses in particular was an
illuminated manuscript, perhaps handwritten by Boaistuau himself, which he offered
to the Queen in person when he visited London in 1560. This meeting was surely
174
For the sonnets see Boaistuau, P., Histoires prodigieuses (Paris, V. Sertenas, 1560), opening pages.
Bold font is mine. Also see Appendix B.
175
This hypothesis was originally noted by Richard Carr, but was asserted in its complete form by
Stephen Bamforth in Histoires prodigieuses, pp. 24-30.
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