Laurent de Premierfait
Encyclopedia
Laurent de Premierfait was a Latin poet, a humanist
and in the first rank of French language
translators of the fifteenth century, during the time of the mad king Charles VI of France
. To judge from the uses made of Du cas des nobles hommes et femmes
in England, and the sheer number of surviving manuscripts of it (sixty-five in a 1955 count), it was extremely popular in Western Europe throughout the fifteenth century. Laurent made two translations of the Boccaccio work, the second considerably more free. A large percentage of surviving manuscripts are carefully written and illuminated with illustrations
.
. He lived at the papal court at Avignon
for a while and came shoulder-to-shoulder with other humanist
while being employed by the Papal Court
. Laurent was well known for translating Aristotle, Cicero, and Livy. He was also the first French translator of Giovanni Boccaccio
's works. He states in one of his works that he, like his interlocutor
Jean de Montreuil
, was a clerc du diocèse de Troyes and secretary-notary to Jean-Allarmet de Brogny, Cardinal of Saluces
. Laurent worked as well for Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy, Jean Chanteprime, contrôleur général des finances, and for king Charles VI
. He made a living as a translator for such nobles as Louis de Bourbon, Bishop of Liège
and the great collector-connoisseur, Jean, Duke of Berry, both being relatives to Charles VI. Jacques Monfrin states that Laurent's translations were not done for the general public but more for wealthy aristocratic patrons.
He died probably of the Black Death
that wiped out about half of the European population recurring repeatedly from the mid fourteenth century. There is a possibility however that he was murdered in the struggles of the Armagnac
and Bourguignon
political factions which had followed the Battle of Agincourt
of 1415 and divided France.
A portrait of Laurent, considered to be an authentic representation, figures among the illuminations in the manuscript of Du cas des nobles hommes et femmes that was dedicated to the duc de Berry and has come with the former royal library to the Bibliothèque Nationale.
Renaissance humanism
Renaissance humanism was an activity of cultural and educational reform engaged by scholars, writers, and civic leaders who are today known as Renaissance humanists. It developed during the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth centuries, and was a response to the challenge of Mediæval...
and in the first rank of French language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
translators of the fifteenth century, during the time of the mad king Charles VI of France
Charles VI of France
Charles VI , called the Beloved and the Mad , was the King of France from 1380 to 1422, as a member of the House of Valois. His bouts with madness, which seem to have begun in 1392, led to quarrels among the French royal family, which were exploited by the neighbouring powers of England and Burgundy...
. To judge from the uses made of Du cas des nobles hommes et femmes
De Casibus Virorum Illustrium
De Casibus Virorum Illustrium is a work of 56 biographies in Latin prose composed by the Florentine poet Giovanni Boccaccio of Certaldo in the form of moral stories of the falls of famous people, similar to his work of 106 biographies On Famous Women.-Overview:De Casibus is an encyclopedia of...
in England, and the sheer number of surviving manuscripts of it (sixty-five in a 1955 count), it was extremely popular in Western Europe throughout the fifteenth century. Laurent made two translations of the Boccaccio work, the second considerably more free. A large percentage of surviving manuscripts are carefully written and illuminated with illustrations
Illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...
.
Biography
Laurent was born in Premierfait, a small village near TroyesTroyes
Troyes is a commune and the capital of the Aube department in north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about southeast of Paris. Many half-timbered houses survive in the old town...
. He lived at the papal court at Avignon
Avignon Papacy
The Avignon Papacy was the period from 1309 to 1376 during which seven Popes resided in Avignon, in modern-day France. This arose from the conflict between the Papacy and the French crown....
for a while and came shoulder-to-shoulder with other humanist
Renaissance humanism
Renaissance humanism was an activity of cultural and educational reform engaged by scholars, writers, and civic leaders who are today known as Renaissance humanists. It developed during the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth centuries, and was a response to the challenge of Mediæval...
while being employed by the Papal Court
Papal court
The Papal Household or Pontifical Household , called until 1968 the Papal Court , consists of dignitaries who assist the Pope in carrying out particular ceremonies of either a religious or a civil character....
. Laurent was well known for translating Aristotle, Cicero, and Livy. He was also the first French translator of Giovanni Boccaccio
Giovanni Boccaccio
Giovanni Boccaccio was an Italian author and poet, a friend, student, and correspondent of Petrarch, an important Renaissance humanist and the author of a number of notable works including the Decameron, On Famous Women, and his poetry in the Italian vernacular...
's works. He states in one of his works that he, like his interlocutor
Interlocutor
Interlocutor may refer to:* Interlocutor , the master of ceremonies of a minstrel show* Interlocutor , someone who informally explains the views of a government and also can relay messages back to a government...
Jean de Montreuil
Jean de Montreuil
Jean de Montreuil was a French scholar of the late 14th and early 15th century and a friend of Laurent de Premierfait.-Life:He was among the first to invoke Salic Law as a reasoning against female succession to the throne....
, was a clerc du diocèse de Troyes and secretary-notary to Jean-Allarmet de Brogny, Cardinal of Saluces
Jean-Allarmet de Brogny
Jean-Allarmet de Brogny was a French Cardinal.-Biography:He was born in in the hamlet of Brogny, now part of Annecy-le-Vieux in Savoy....
. Laurent worked as well for Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy, Jean Chanteprime, contrôleur général des finances, and for king Charles VI
Charles VI of France
Charles VI , called the Beloved and the Mad , was the King of France from 1380 to 1422, as a member of the House of Valois. His bouts with madness, which seem to have begun in 1392, led to quarrels among the French royal family, which were exploited by the neighbouring powers of England and Burgundy...
. He made a living as a translator for such nobles as Louis de Bourbon, Bishop of Liège
Louis de Bourbon, Bishop of Liège
Louis de Bourbon was Prince-Bishop of Liège from 1456. He was brought up and educated by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, who supported him for ten years at the University of Louvain.-Conflict over the bishopric:...
and the great collector-connoisseur, Jean, Duke of Berry, both being relatives to Charles VI. Jacques Monfrin states that Laurent's translations were not done for the general public but more for wealthy aristocratic patrons.
He died probably of the Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
that wiped out about half of the European population recurring repeatedly from the mid fourteenth century. There is a possibility however that he was murdered in the struggles of the Armagnac
Armagnac (party)
The Armagnac party was prominent in French politics and warfare during the Hundred Years' War. It was allied with the supporters of Charles, Duke of Orléans against John the Fearless after Charles' father Louis of Orléans was killed at the orders of the Duke of Burgundy in 1407...
and Bourguignon
Burgundian language (Oïl)
The Burgundian language, also known by French names Bourguignon-morvandiau, Bourguignon, and Morvandiau, is an Oïl language spoken in Burgundy and particularly in the Morvan area of the region....
political factions which had followed the Battle of Agincourt
Battle of Agincourt
The Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...
of 1415 and divided France.
A portrait of Laurent, considered to be an authentic representation, figures among the illuminations in the manuscript of Du cas des nobles hommes et femmes that was dedicated to the duc de Berry and has come with the former royal library to the Bibliothèque Nationale.
Works of translations
- AristotleAristotleAristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
-
- Economics (1418)
- SenecaSeneca the YoungerLucius Annaeus Seneca was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and in one work humorist, of the Silver Age of Latin literature. He was tutor and later advisor to emperor Nero...
-
- De quattuor virtutibus
- CiceroCiceroMarcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
-
- De amicitia (1416)
- De senectute (1405)
- Giovanni BoccaccioGiovanni BoccaccioGiovanni Boccaccio was an Italian author and poet, a friend, student, and correspondent of Petrarch, an important Renaissance humanist and the author of a number of notable works including the Decameron, On Famous Women, and his poetry in the Italian vernacular...
-
- De Casibus Virorum IllustriumDe Casibus Virorum IllustriumDe Casibus Virorum Illustrium is a work of 56 biographies in Latin prose composed by the Florentine poet Giovanni Boccaccio of Certaldo in the form of moral stories of the falls of famous people, similar to his work of 106 biographies On Famous Women.-Overview:De Casibus is an encyclopedia of...
(1400 and again in 1409) - De mulieribus clarisDe mulieribus clarisDe mulieribus claris is a collection of biographies of historical and mythological women by the Florentine author Giovanni Boccaccio, first published in 1374. It is notable as the first collection devoted exclusively to biographies of women in Western literature...
(1405) - Decameron (1410) In this, Laurent worked from a Latin version.
- De Casibus Virorum Illustrium