The Heptameron and Its Sources

By Rouben Cholakian

No artist creates in a vacuum, and Marguerite is no exception. Drawing inspiration from two Italian worksBoccaccios Decameron and Castigliones The Book of the CourtierMarguerite nevertheless produces a compelling and original text, examined here from both the point of view of content and style.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 14, 2017
• ISBN: 9781543451900

Rouben Cholakian

The author, whose specialty is early French Literature, has devoted much of his writing to this important sixteenth-century writer. The literary biography, “Marguerite de Navarre: Mother of the Renaissance” (Columbia University Press, 2006) has received enthusiastic reviews, variously called “gripping. . . well-written. . . engrossing. . . and a welcome addition.” See too as companion pieces: “Marguerite de Navarre: Selected Writings (2008),” and “Marguerite de Navarre: A Literary Queen” (2016).

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Copyright © 2017 by Rouben Cholakian.

Library of Congress Control Number:      2017914321

ISBN:               Hardcover                     978-1-5434-5188-7

                          Softcover                       978-1-5434-5189-4

                          eBook                            978-1-5434-5190-0

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Rev. date: 09/13/2017

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CONTENTS

THE COURTLY ROMANCE

RABELAIS

BOCCACCIO

CASTIGLIONE

EPILOGUE: PRINT HISTORY

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ENDNOTES

Of all of her writings, Marguerite de Navarre’s collection of short fiction, the Heptameron, is the work that has managed to defy generations of indifference. ¹Like any piece of writing, however, it was not born in a literary void. Its major influences are several. Identifying and defining them is the object of this essay.

THE COURTLY ROMANCE

With Dagoucin as her closest competitor (#s 9, 12, and 24) no one, it seems, is quite as long-winded as Parlamente. Stories #10, #13, #21, #40, #42, and #64 are all among the longest tales in the collection, with stories #10, #21, and #42 (about her brother the king) being particularly long. Of course one can point to other relatively long tales (#s 1, 19, 22–24, 49, 61, 70) but these are not attributable consistently to a single devisant. This is only true of Parlamente.

What is more, these tales can be set apart from all the others in the collection, not just in length, but in style and subject matter. Story #10 reads like a courtly romance, altogether in belligerent contrast with much of the scabrous and rough-hewn storytelling in the collection. The players here are neither disreputable monks nor oversexed tradespeople. Like Marguerite’s mother, Louise de Savoie, the mother in this tale has seen to it that her children have been brought up to be admirable exemplars of proper moral behaviour: La dicte dame meyt peine de nourrir ses enfans en toutes les vertuz et honnestetez qui appartiennent a seigneurs et gentilz home (Said lady goes to a great deal of trouble to nourish her children with all the virtues and noble feelings, which belong to lords and noblemen). (François 55). The daughter, Floride, thus has all the necessary attributes of the idealized female protagonist in order to realize a perfect love.²

In like manner, the story’s hero, Amadour, is the typical swashbuckling warrior who comes out of a milieu of gentleman soldiers in the king’s army, all models of courage and good breeding: Or, il avoit en sa compaignye plusieurs honnestes gentilz homes qui, par la frequentation de longues guerres, avoeint acquis tant d’honneur et de bon bruict, que chascun qui les pouvoir veoir et hanter se tenoit heureux. (Now there was in his entourage many fine gentlemen who, thanks to numerous war experiences, won so much honor and a wonderful reputation that anyone who could see them or spend time in their company might consider themselves fortunate.) (François 55). By definition this flawless champion must equal his lady-love in beauty and comportment. His physical good looks have to be accompanied by such social skills that ". . . l’on ne sçavait à qui donner l’honneur, ou à la grace, ou à la beauté, ou au bien parler (. . . one did not know whether to praise his nobility, his grace, his beauty or his skills at conversation). (François 56)

Thus the stage is set for the kind of love tale that ladies and gentlemen of the court enjoyed reading about: a love affair that was perfect in every way save that it was almost always adulterous. Far from being disheartened, however, the courtly hero accepts this arrangement as both an inevitable and desirable challenge. It is much preferable to be a devoted seviteur than a hackneyed and prosaic husband. Amadour hopes in the long run that il gaingneroit le lieu, non de mary, mais de serviteur ("he would win the place, not of a husband, but that of a serviteur"³). This illegal and dangerous liaison in nowise disconcerts Floride as she responds encouragingly to his advances: Ma conscience, ny mon honneur ne contreviennent poinct à votre demande. (Neither my conscience nor my honor go against what you are asking.) (François 64) She can say this because she does not foresee the scheme Amadour actually has in mind. The two have quite different expectations, hers more honorable than his.

It is at this point that Marguerite intervenes in the customary plot, turning the familiar narrative on its ear. What might have been a recognizable story of courtly intrigue and romance is suddenly overlaid with a didactic message, the engine of which is a personal story of sexual abuse. On the surface, the two protagonists appear to play their required roles: Amadour, a heroic warrior in love with the lovely Floride. However, the hero turns out to be a devious and calculating aggressor who wishes to have sex with the heroine, by force if necessary. She, to protect her reputation, rejects him in no uncertain terms. In the end, Amadour dies in battle, not at the hands of an enemy but