Henriko Valua išrinkimo Abiejų Tautų Respublikos valdovu vaizdavimas lotyniškoje prancūzų poezijoje: „J. de La Gessée“ Henriada ir jos autorius

Abstract

In 1573, Henry de Valois, Duke of Anjou, was elected as the king of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and some literary works were published to familiarize the French public with the history of Poland and Lithuania, the geographical and economic situation of the country. Some Polish historical works were translated into French (e.g. the chronicle of Jan Herburt of Felsztin), many poets wrote occasional poems, dedicated to the future king, in French, Polish, and Latin. This article aims to discuss the poem Henrias, dedicated to Henry de Valois, written in Latin by a French poet under the pseudonym Jean de La Gessée, – a rare and completely unexplored work until today. Henrias was addressed not only to the future king but also to the court, the French diplomats and ambassadors of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Henry de Valois is portrayed here according to the tradition of Renaissance epic poetry by using an ethical model of the ruler’s “virtues” and by discussing the ruler’s place in history, linking him both to the mythological origins of the French nation (to the myth of Trojan ancestry), and to the former rulers of Poland and Lithuania (the ruler is depicted here as the successor of their policy). The poet also presented a description of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth – the future reign of Henry de Valois – in accordance with the literary tradition of 16th-century representations of Poland–Lithuania. To be noted, this is the first description of Poland–Lithuania in French poetry in Latin and one of the first in all French poetry. The author also wrote an unpublished larger-scale heroic epic Poloniade in French, dedicated to Henry de Valois, but it has not survived. This article also serves as an introduction to the biography and works of this not-well-known poet and discusses the problem of the authorship of his works. It is highly probable that the authorship was so far misattributed and that the author’s name is just a pseudonym of another court poet – talented and highly educated courtier Louis d’Amboise, as shown by the many details, hidden in his poems, including biographical facts (in all his works) and the anagrams of his name (in his Latin poems). Henrias and other Latin poems of this author (e.g. Epigrammatôn … libri duo) show the direct and close contact of the author with the royal entourage, top politicians, and foreign diplomats. It is unlikely that the author was a newcomer protestant Gascon, looking for success in Paris because Henrias was undoubtedly written at the king’s request and was very well paid (as well as the Poloniade). It shows that the author was a Catholic and he was quite familiar with the history and political realities of Poland–Lithuania. Keywords: 16th century; Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth; Henri III, Henri de Valois; 1573 ruler election; Latin Lituanica; neo-Latin literature; 16th-century occasional poetry; 16th-century French literature; Henrias; Jean de La Gessée; Louis d’Amboise.