Multilingualism is a defining component of much sixteenth-century French literature. Not only did humanist erudition demand an immersion in Western antiquity through knowledge of Latin and Greek, but in the setting of the congealing nation-state, diplomacy and commerce often occasioned conversance in Italian, Spanish, English, Arabic, and other languages. Broad interest in antiquity and foreign countries made translation a central part of literary activity. Seizing the possibilities offered by the new industry of printing, many French writers were involved in the project of developing a national literature that would rival that of neighboring countries, especially Italy; they were nonetheless aware of the constant interaction with languages other than French in cultural and political life, as well as of the immense benefits of multilingualism. Foreign languages are integral to sixteenth-century French literature through quotation, translation, and adaptation of foreign-language texts; the tacit or overt declaration of communities privy to certain languages; and the growing knowledge of the size and diversity of the globe.

In recent years, scholars of French sixteenth-century literature have given increased attention to the multilingual dimension of the period’s literature. We in the field welcome the 2022 Presidential Theme as our opportunity to contribute to broadening literary studies beyond national and linguistic borders. The three papers in this special session each illuminate a major aspect of this renewed scholarly interest in sixteenth-century French recognition of the polyglot nature of Europe and the larger world.

Dorothea Heitsch discusses King Francis I’s establishment of Arabic as a diplomatic language in the wake of the 1536 Franco-Ottoman alliance: a staunch advocate of humanist learning, in 1538 Francis appointed linguist Guillaume Postel to the first chair in Arabic in the Collège des Lecteurs Royaux (College of Royal Readers). In the ensuing decades, Postel wrote the highly influential De la République des Turcs (On the Republic of the Turks) and its companion volume, Histoire & Considération (both 1560), which became diplomatic handbooks. He urged study of the languages and history of the Muslim world in order to leave behind stereotypes of the “Sarazin” left over from medieval tales. Next, Scott Francis examines the multilingualism of King Francis’s sister, Queen Marguerite of Navarre: a patroness of humanists invested in the development of French as a language of literary eloquence, Marguerite herself prized the multilingualism of court life. In composing her most famous work, the Heptaméron, she peppered her text with English loanwords and quotations in Latin, Spanish, and Italian. Not published until after her death, her masterpiece was subject to an odd twist as it passed into print: “cleansing” her language of its foreign “defects,” humanist editors held it up as splendid new model of French eloquence. Francis reveals how, through editorial appropriation, a work arising from the multilingual world of the court was redirected to promoting French as a literary language. Finally, David LaGuardia addresses Pierre de Ronsard, the humanist poet embraced by the next generation at the royal court. LaGuardia argues that Ronsard’s Oeuvres (1560), an encompassing collection meant to secure the poet’s posthumous reputation, is a performance of masculinity through its multilingual appeal to the community of male humanists who identified themselves through mastery of French, Latin, Greek, and an assortment of other languages. Ronsard’s poetic manipulations of multiple languages were hence intended to establish his position among a network of male friends.

After each presenter speaks for seventeen minutes, the presider will open the session to a minimum of 15 minutes of questions from the audience.