Un miroir à double face : les chroniques de Jean Molinet et de Nicolas Despars.

Abstract

This article studies « a discursive battle » between two chronicles from the late Middle Ages which inform us about the Bruges rebellion of 1488. In their tale, two famous chroniclers, Jean Molinet and Nicolas Despars, want to convince their audience of the illegality of Maximilian of Austria’s captivity in the city, due to the fact that the Habsburg prince did not adequately manage the affairs of his minor son (Philip the Fair). Jean Molinet would like, above all, to justify the repression of urban revolts and the authority of the Habsburg dynasty and intends to encourage his audience (the sovereign and his advisors) not to indulge in the excess of power. Nicolas Despars, for his part, defends the political traditions of the urban elite, i.e. the constitutionalism, the opinion according to which the sovereign must justify his politics vis-à-vis his subjects. In conclusion, the chronicles of Molinet and Despars deliver two completely opposed political ideals: their chronicles are also mirrors of reality – or rather a double-sided mirror. Thus, this article shows how the two chroniclers tried to influence the memory of urban revolts with a certain political goal.