Abstract

In 1639, the Parisian bookseller Morlot published a panegyric to Cardinal of Richelieu written by Loubayssin de la Marque, a Gascon gentleman serving the House of Guisa. The text was printed simultaneously in French and Spanish, and it was the final act of an author who put his bilingualism at the service of the French monarchy. Loubayssin’s marginal personality, grappling with the fleeting balances of political affairs and with the ambiguous dynamics of courtisanship within the language Babel of the court (where Latin, regional tongues and the languages brought in by foreign queens all coexisted), displays an extremely modern trait in his attempts to find his own role and linguistic belonging, which constantly forces him to question his identity. With Deffy de la langue françoise et de l’espagnole he lays out a cautious strategy to redefine the terms of patronage. Here he resorts to the practice of rhetoric and adulation to reformulate the “récit du roi” through the means of translation, a malleable and flexible tool on the fine line between originality and creative imitation.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.