French 17 FRENCH 17

1996 Number 44

PART I: BIBLIOGRAPHY AND LINGUISTICS

ANDRIES, LISE. Le Grand livre des secrets: le colportage en France aux dix-septième et dix-huitième siècles. Paris: Imago, 1994.

Review: Beatrice Fink in FR 70 (1996), 130–131: Valuable for the picture it gives of the organization of the marginal booktrade and of the mixture of present and past lore that passes through its offerings. Reviewer does not identify what is original in this picture from older ones concerning the Bibliothèque Bleue.

AYRES BENNETT, WENDY. A History of the French Language through Texts. New York: Routledge, 1996.

Review: J. E. Parker Jr. in Choice 33 (1996), 1787: "This work offers the reader an unusual study of the French language: it comments on selected philological points as they occur in 45 brief texts dating from 842 to 1986, texts ranging from literature to medical reports and legal documents. A. B. includes a brief glossary of philological terms and a complete and helpful list of references." In P.'s opinion, "[m]ost readers will find this volume useful in conjunction with, not in replacement of, standard histories of the French language such as Peter Rickard's A History of the French Language (2nd. rev. ed., 1989) or A. Ewert's The French Language (2nd ed., 1943)."

BARATIN, MARC and CHRISTIAN JACOB, eds. Le Pouvoir des bibliothèques. La mémoire des livres en Occident. Paris: Albin Michel, 1996.

BOTS, HANS and FRANÇOISE WAQUET. Commercium Litterarium. La Communication dans la République des Lettres/Forms of Communication in the Republic of Letters 1600–1750. Amsterdam/Maarssen: APA-Holland University Press, 1994.

Review: P. Wolfe in PFSCL 23 (1996), 664–665: Seventeen studies "de très haute qualité," according to the reviewer: the dissemination of scientific knowledge and the concept of experimental philosophy; religious problems; men, books, and institutions in the transmission of knowledge; the geography of the Republic of Letters; and the fragile nature of the Republic.

BOYSEN, GERHARD, éd. Actes du XIIe congrès des romanistes scandinaves I–II. Aalborg University Press, 1994.

Review: J. Pedersen in RevR 30 (1995), 115–17: Soixante-six communications individuelles dont une de B.-M. Kylander qui "étudie Don Garcie de Navarre 'une comédie manquée de Molière'."

CARON, PHILIPPE. Des "Belles Lettres" à la "Littérature". Une Archéologie des signes du savoir profane en langue française (1680–1760). Louvain-Paris: Ed. Peeters, 1992.

Review: J. Pedersen in RevR 29 (1994), 298–300: ". . . une étude méticuleuse de l'histoire sémantique du 'signe linguistique' littérature."

CATACH, NINA, éd. Dictionnaire historique de l'orthographe française. Paris: Larousse, 1994.

Review: BCLF 565 (1995), 7: "Fondé sur le recensement informatique de onze dictionnaires du XVIe siècle à nos jours, il présente l'histoire graphique de 18.000 mots, à l'exception naturellement de ceux récents . . . ."
Review: V. Mecking in NS 94 (1995), 724–25: Welcome historical dictionary of French orthography which will undoubtedly be considered as the standard. 17th c. specialists will appreciate treatment of roles of Malherbe, Vaugelas, and the Académie Française. Subject and alphabetical indices.

CHAMBERS, BETTY THOMAS. Bibliography of French Bibles. II. Seventeenth-Century French Language Editions of the Scripture. Geneva: Droz, 1994.

Review: B. Chédozeau in BHR 57 (1995), 733: "Ce second volume de la désormais célèbre Bibliography (premier volume paru en 1983 consacré aux XVe et XVI siècles) décrit quelque 677 éditions des Bibles protestants et catholiques (Ancien et/ou Nouveau Testament complets) publiées de 1601 à 1700 . . . ."
Review: Louis Desgraves in RFHL 84–85 (1994), 401–402: This impressive bibliography describes 675 editions of the main French versions of 17th-century French Bibles: the Protestant version of Geneva, the Catholic version of Louvain and the Jansenist version of Port-Royal. This volume represents "une contribution essentielle à une exacte connaissance de la diffusion de la Bible par les églises chrétiennes à l'époque classique".
Review: Bernard Roussel in BSHPF 240 (1994), 647–48: Description and analysis of translations between 1601 (No. 1001) and 1700 (No. 1675) located in 650 librairies. Standard reference work for the future. Reviewer gives a useful listing of research done of translations and cultural values of the Bible pertinent for 17th-century studies.

CHEVALIER, MAXIME. "Les réticences des écrivains espagnols face à l'imprimerie au tournant du XVIIe siècle." RFHL 84–85 (1994), 351–358.

Most French writers enthusiastically accepted Gutenberg's invention: it was not, however, the case for the majority of Spanish authors. Many writers pleaded for more censorship in the case, for example, of pliegos or short narratives printed on a folded full printing page. In fact,they argued against the emergence of a popular culture and tradition. Even Cervantès's critique of pastoral novels can be partly interpreted as a nobiliary reaction against the spreading of easily available books.

CORSINI, SILVIO, ed. Le Livre à Lausanne. Cinq siècles d'édition et d'imprimerie, 1493–1993. Lausanne: Payot, 1993.

Review: Michel Reulos in BSHPF 139 (1993), 679–80: A separate chapter on books printed in the 17th century. Emphasis is given on interest for commercial contacts with France (as well as Geneva).

CRAHAY, ROLAND, MARIE-THERESE ISAAC, RENE PLISNIER. Bibliographie des éditions anciennes de Jean Bodin. Brussels: Académie Royale de Belgique, 1992.

Review: Denis Pallier in RFHL 84–85 (1994), 400–401: An exhaustive bibliography of Bodin's complete works. "Présenté très clairement", this publication took 16 years of extensive research. The last entry shows that Bodin ceased to be published in 1641: "[A]ppartenant à une période remarquable (...) de l'histoire politique française (...) Bodin n'avait pas les qualités de clarté et de concision d'un classique. Après le XVIIe siècle, son influence paraît intermittente et discrète".

DESGRAVES, LOUIS. L'Aquitaine aux XVIIe–XVIIIe siècles. Institutions et culture. Bordeaux: Fédération historique du Sud-Ouest, 1992.

Review: Christian Jouhaud in Annales 49 (1994) 443–44: The heart of this collection of reprinted articles (Part II) is a grouping of studies on the early booktrade, printing, and libraries in the southwest. Bibliography of author's writings (more than 300 items).

LE FRANÇAIS PRECLASSIQUE (1500–1560). Paris: Didier, 1990–1992.

Review: G. Ernst in ZRP 111 (1995), 695–97: Lexicology and lexicography are the focus of the three volumes of this periodical which originates at the Université Lumière - Lyon 2. Reviewer is surprised at the period designated as preclassical but appreciates the resource here and in the BFPC (Base du Français Préclassique), a section of FRANTEXT. Lacunae are noted, such as German language criticism.
  • See French 17 (1992).

G.A.R.S. Recherches sur le français parlé. Aix-en-Provence: Publications de l'Université de Provence Aix-Marseille, 1992.

Review: J. Langenbacher-Liebgott in Archiv 232 (1995), 210–11: Judged informative and solid, this volume on spoken French by the Groupe Aixois de Recherches en Syntaxe includes an essay by S. Branca-Rossoff on "Les subjonctifs du roi Louis XIII."

GIRARDIN, CHANTAL. "Une doctrine jésuite de l'exemple. Le Dictionnaire royal augmenté de François-Antoine Pomey." LFr, 106 (mai 95), 21–34.

In 1671 François-Antoine Pomey published a French-Latin dictionary which reflects the changes of the lexicographical practices of the times. The originality of Pomey's dictionary consists partially in a new conception of the example, which now becomes a constitutive element of the dictionary. The author uses made-up examples to investigate syntactic structures, and Latin and French quotations for pedagogical and didactic purposes. In his various uses of examples and quotations we can see the emergence of their future role in modern single-language dictionaries.

ISIS 86, Supplement: Bibliography (1995).

Seventeenth Century entries, nos. 1734–2162.

KAPPLER, EMILE. "Le catalogue de la vente de la bibliothèque de Pierre Jurieu" (1713). BSHPF 142 (1996), 475–85.

Posthumous edition by René Kappler of the description of the newly found catalogue with a characterization of its contents as a theologian's library and samples of the records of bibliographical entries prepared on fiches for most of the 2,261 items.

KLAPP, OTTO. Bibliographie der französischen Literaturwissenschaft. Vol. 32 (1994). Frankfurt: V. Klostermann, 1995.

17th c. section, pp. 262–318.

KRAMER, JOHANNES. Das Französische in Deutschland. Eine Einführung, unter Mitarbeit von Sabine Kowallik. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner, 1992.

Review: B. v. Gemmingen in Archiv 232 (1995), 211–12: Stimulating examination includes various perspectives on the "Romania submersa" in Germany. 17th c. cultural hegemony is basis for numerous borrowings from 1500 to 1789.

LEHMANN, ALISE. "La citation d'auteurs dans les dictionnaires de la fin du XVIIe siècle (Richelet et Furetière)." LFr, 106 (mai 95), 35–54.

The well-known opposition between dictionaries that quote the authors, Richelet and Furetière, and the dictionary of the Académie that refuses to do so, has as its counterpart an opposition dividing in turn Richelet and Furetière. In Richelet's dictionary (1690), quoting "good authors" ensures the description of good usage: he adheres "à l'usage, à la conception des bons auteurs et de l'Académie. In Furetière, (1690), quotations are quite rare and selective (they are in verse only). The author is "porté par son projet encyclopédique et son désir de transmettre les connaissances et la culture de son siècle", and his choice of verses is an expression of "sa sensibilité littéraire comme lexicographe écrivain".

LEROY-TURCAN, ISABELLE. Introduction à l'étude du Dictionnaire étymologique ou Origines de la langue françoise de Gilles Ménage (1694). Les Etymologies de Ménage: science et fantaisie. Lyon: Centre d'études linguistiques Jacques Goudet, 1991.

Review: P. Skarup in RevR 28 (1993), 310: L'auteur conclue que "Ménage a contribué dans une large mesure à faire avancer les études étymologiques, à la fois par sa méthode et par sa pratique. C'est Ménage qui a été le premier à fonder des étymologies françaises sur le latin vulgaire. Comme l'indique bien le sous-titre de l'ouvrage, il y a de la fantaisie dans les étymologies de Ménage, mais il y a également de la science."

LEROY-TURCAN, ISABELLE et R. WOOLBRIDGE, éds. Gilles Ménage (1613–1692), grammairien et lexicographe. Le Rayonnement de son oeuvre linguistique. Lyon: SIEHLDA, 1995.

Review: P. Skarup in RevR 31 (1996), 145: Les actes d'un colloque organisé en mars 1994 sur Ménage à l'occasion du tricentenaire de son Dictionnaire étymologique ou Origines de la langue françoise. Ouvrage publié par la nouvelle Société Internationale d'Etudes Historiques et Linguistiques des Dictionnaires Anciens.

LIKNESS, CRAIG. "Significant European Scholarly Titles, 1993–94." Choice 33 (1995), 567–75.

Works listed and described include: Alexis Philonenko, Relire Descartes (Paris: Grancher, 1994) "A Study of D. and his Influence on German Philosophy"; Guy Bechtel, La Chair, le diable et le confesseur (Paris: Plon, 1994) "A General History of the Ecclesiastical Effort to Regulate Eexuality Through the Practice of Confession"; Robert Muchembled, Le Roi et la sorcière: L'Europe des bûchers (XVe XVIIIe siècles) (Paris: Desclée, 1993) Examines "the belief in sorcery in early modern Europe"; Michel Pernot, La Fronde (Paris: B. de Fallois, 1994); Eliane Viennot, Marguerite de Valois: Histoire d'une femme, histoire d'un mythe (Paris: Payot, 1993); Maurizio Viroli, Dalla politica alla ragion di stato: la scienza del governo tra XIII e XVII secolo (Roma: Donzelli, 1994) "A Study of the Origins of Modern Political Thought and Language"; Marc Ferro, Histoire des colonisations: Des conquêtes aux indépendances, XIIIe XXe siècles (Paris: Seuil, 1994) "A Comparative Historical Study of World Colonization that Includes a Useful Chronology and Filmography"; Antoine Schnapper, Curieux du grand siècle: Collections et collectionneurs dans la France du XVIIe siècle (Paris: Flammarion, 1994) "A Study of Art Collecting under the Old Régime."

MARTIN, HENRI-JEAN. Print, Power, and People in Seventeenth Century France. Tr.David Gerard. Metuchen, NJ/London: The Scarecrow Press, 1993.

Review: E. L. Eisenstein in RenQ 48 (1995), 626–28: Numerous problems are uncovered in this "muddled" translation which is judged unfaithful not only to the letter but also to the spirit of M.'s magisterial work. (Livre, pouvoirs et société à Paris au XVIIe siècle, Geneva: Droz, 2 vols., 1969).

MERLIN, HELENE. "Langue et souveraineté en France au XVIIe siècle." Annales 49 (1994), 369–94.

Beginning with conflicting, influential statements about the relationship of classical language and power by Barthes, and continuing in Fumaroli's account of "la langue royale" (Lieux de mémoire III), "lignes de faille" are sought in the standard socio-political narrative of the progressive imposition of Vaugelas and the Académie, first in the 16th-century language, then the "sauce du turbot" of the first moment of the Académie's influence. Language, it is importantly held, belongs to the people, not the king, and depends on its sovereignty. It is an "essential organ" of a body of speakers, not simply a sign of social distinction and responsible for the formation and manifestation of a community whose model is linguistic and not that of the absolute monarchy.

MYERS, ROBIN, and MICHAEL HARRIS, dirs. Censorship and the Control of Print in England and France. Winchester: St Paul's Bibliographies, 1992.

Review: Henri-Charles Martin in RFHL 84–85 (1994), 403: This book is part of a collection that publishes the proceedings of the annual Conference at Birbeck College (London). The main interest of this book is the collaborators's perspective: they do not study "le fonctionnement de la censure en tant qu'institution" but the way in which "les hommes et les groupes ont eu tendance à s'exprimer librement, compte tenu du "climat" de l'époque considérée". The analyses on seventeenth-century censorship concentrate on English cases only.

PARKES, M. B. Pause and Effect: An Introduction to the History of Punctuation in the West. Berkeley: U of California P, 1993.

Review: Carol Percy in MP 93 (1995), 275–79: According to the reviewer, this book "is an even more ambitious work than its title suggests. P. describes how writers have sought 'to resolve structural uncertainties in a text, and to signal nuances of semantic significance' . . . for their readers. These goals can be accomplished by strategies other than punctuation." The author "takes most of his evidence from literary and religious texts, for he explicitly associates developments in punctuation and layout with changing attitudes to the written work in educational and religious traditions." "Despite its specialized character," says C. P., the book "will interest scholars from many disciplines." "One may quibble over some of the rather sweeping generalizations about orality and textuality," states the reviewer, "but the range of topics outlined in this valuable book, and P.'s emphasis on analyzing them in context and in combination, will interest anyone who cares about the historical transmission of texts."

RANCOEUR, RENE. Bibliographie de la littérature française (XVIIe–XXe siècles). Année 1995. Paris: A. Colin, 1996.

Announced as no.4 (July-August) of RHL (1996).

RESEARCH GUIDE TO EUROPEAN HISTORY BIOGRAPHY. 1450-present. Washington: Beacham Publishing, 1992–.

Review: S. J. Rabin in "Recent Bibliographical Tools . . . " RenQ 48 (1995), 203–208: vols. 1–4 treat "monarchs . . . military and political leaders, social reformers and explorers." Vols. 5–8 treat "artists, musicians, philosophers and religious leaders." Appendices, maps.

RICKARD, PETER. The French Language in the Seventeenth Century. Cambridge: D. S. Brewster, 1992.

Review: J. Pedersen in RevR 28 (1993), 310–11: Une anthologie qui comprend soixante extraits de textes groupés en sept catégories: orthographe et prononciation; grammaire; lexicographie; usage; stylistique; 'défense et illustration' de la langue française. Rickard "laisse, en effet, la parole aux écrivains de l'époque, nous offrant ainsi un tableau, riche et varié, des opinions alors dominantes concernant ce miroir de notre identité qu'a toujours été notre langue maternelle."
Review: Barbara Verwiebe in RJ 44 (1993), 227–28: Useful handbook that collects texts not previously available in one volume. 60 texts are grouped into seven sections (the origins of French, orthography and pronunciation, grammar, lexicography, usage, stylistics, eulogies of the language) allow for both a diachronic panorama of the development of literary language and the contemporary debates on it. Lengthy introduction discussing the significance of the extracts and notes (necessarily limited).

ROBERTS, WILLIAM, ed. "Bibliography of North American Theses on Seventeenth-Century French Literature and Background (1995)." PFSCL 23 (1996), 717–743.

Listing of 13 new theses in progress and 181 completed. Includes analysis of the fine arts and music documents.

SCHAPIRA, CHARLOTTE. "De la grammaire au texte littéraire: valeurs grammaticales, sémantiques, stylistiques et pragmatiques de on en français classique." Neophil 79 (1995), 555–71.

Striking and thorough study examines linguistic data from dictionaries, stylistic values, "on" in the 17th c. compared with our day ("deux états de langue différents," pragmatic values, and "on" as a "outil dramatique." References to Corneille and Molière in particular illustrate "l'ampleur de son emploi dans le théâtre classique . . . [où] il crée des effets de style non seulement par sa présence, mais aussi par son absence." Useful bibliography.

SETTEKORN, WOLFGANG. Sprachnorm und Sprachnormierung in Frankreich. Einführung in die begrifflichen, historischen und materiellen Grundlagen. Tübingen: Niemeyer, 1988.

Review: E. Radtke in RF 107 (1995), 172–74: Valuable treatment in needed research area of language norms. Chapters 1 and 2 discuss problem of norms in relation to principles. Chapters 3 and 4 treat pertinent moments in the history of the French language. Includes geographical, sociological and linguistic perspectives. 17th c. considerations focus on Vaugelas and on the role of the précieux.

TESNIERE, MARIE-HELENE and PROSSER GIFFORD, eds. Creating French Culture: Treasures from the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. New Haven/Paris: Yale UP/Bibliothèque Nationale, 1995.

TUMPEL, CHRISTIAN. "L'iconographie du livre dans l'oeuvre de Rembrandt." RFHL 86–87 (1995), 191–217.

In 17th-century paintings, books and cabinets became a recurrent motif. Christian Tümpel analyses Rembrandt's works and examines his use of books as social, religious and philosophical symbols. It appears that in some paintings, books were an integral element of the pictorial technique: they enabled the painter to show the orientation of the source of light and create the serene and pensive atmosphere of some of his most celebrated pictures.

WOOLBRIDGE, TERENCE R. "Naissance et première floraison de l'exemple dans la lexicographie française: études historiques et typologiques." LFr 106 (1995). 8–34.

The first dictionaries of the French language —those by Estienne and Nicot in the 16th century and early 17th century— contain the gradual development of the set of functions of the exemplification of the headwork in context that remains characteristic of modern dictionaries. But in early dictionaries the example is frequently introduced by a copula —"comme, ainsi on dit, etc.—, whereas in modern dictionaries it is normally signified typographically by being printed in italics.

ZEDELMAIER, HELMUT. Bibliotheca universalis und Biblioteca selecta. Das Problem der Ordnung des gelehrten Wissens in der frühen Neuzeit. Köln/Weimar/Wien: Böhlau, 1992.

Review: N. Hammerstein in HZ 259 (1994), 495–96: Examines how knowledge was organized in the early modern era. Volume is divided into four chapters treating: libraries, classification according to humanist understanding, the value of the library in Counter Reformation sphere, and the relation between the library and history.

Back to top of page