'"Fountain of Civility": Early Reflections on Civility in 16th-Century France' with Dariusz Krawczyk

A Five College Renaissance Seminar with Dariusz Krawczyk, Assistant Professor of French Renaissance Literature at the University of Warsaw & Marie Sklodowska Curie Fellow at the University of Lille.

The aim of this presentation is to explore the early manifestations of a reflection on civility in France in the 16th century, well before the proliferation of treatises on the subject in the early 17th century. This reflection did not draw its models from medieval tradition but was instead inspired by ancient thought, as well as by Italian, and more rarely, Spanish authors. Although, unlike Italy, France at that time did not produce any major treatises on civility, this does not imply that the French were indifferent to such matters. On the contrary, the significant number of publications and translations from this period reflects a genuine interest in new behavioral models and the search for harmonious social interaction. The individual was increasingly defined by their relationship to the community.

This presentation will draw on a selection of texts from the years 1540-1570, mainly literary works, prefaces to translations, and excerpts from treatises, to outline the conceptual framework of this emerging reflection, while highlighting its immediate desire to distinguish itself from foreign models.

This talk is generously supported and co-sponsored by Amherst College Department of French, Amherst College Program in European Studies, and the Georges Lurcy Lecture Series Fund at Amherst College

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