French Eloquence in Verse

The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries saw a significant rhetorical shift that has long influenced French literature. In this period, poets began to describe themselves as orators. Their verse was addressed to various audiences, both real or fictional. It was judged on its eloquence, public utility, and ability to engage with contemporary concerns and events. This book endeavours to shed light on this unique moment of interplay between poetry and communication, through an interdisciplinary framework that draws on approaches from rhetoric, philology, and communication studies. Through eight case studies, this book explores a little-known history of French literature, from George Chastelain to Ronsard, including poets such as Guillaume Cretin, Jean Lemaire de Belges, Octovien de Saint-Gelais, Jean Molinet, Jean Bouchet, Nicaise Ladam and François Habert.

Estelle DOUDET, full professor at the University of Lausanne, specializes in French literature from the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries. Her research focuses on the era of poet-orators. Author of 30 works and 250 articles, she leads international projects funded by the SNSF, such as Medialiterature and Capturing the Present.

Lucien DUGAZ is a member of the SNSF project Medialiterature (Lausanne). He is currently studying the concept of minores in French literature around 1500, based on a corpus of little-known occasional poetry. He also edited several texts by Christine de Pizan (Écrire d’amour, parler de soi, 2023; Le Livre des fais d’armes et de chevalerie, 2021).