Le Paranymphe d’honneur et de vertu : une énigme royale

Résumé 0

With fine calligraphic work and artistically illustrated, bound with the coat of arms of Louis XIII the Dauphin for whom it was intended, Le Paranymphe d’honneur et de vertu (The Paranymph of Honor and Virtue) is a unique educational manual in that it takes as its model one of the great manifestos of the Renaissance: Le Champ fleury by Geoffroy Tory. Offered to the royal family in 1606 by a certain Jean Le Goys, of whom there remains no historical trace, this manuscript is both an enigma and an important document in the history of the French monarchy. This contribution seeks to shed light on the identity of its author and his goals, based on material, graphic and textual clues in the work. It considers this treaty of political virtue as a key element in the formation of the modern state, emancipating itself from the authority of Rome and trying to overcome religious differences under the aegis of Greek Logos.