Laurent de Premierfait's 'Les Cent Nouvelles': An emblem for cultural appropriation in fifteenth century French literature

This dissertation focuses on the role of Laurent de Premierfait's Les Cent Nouvelles, the first translation of Boccaccio's Decameron, in the ducal courts of fifteenth century France. The analysis of Laurent de Premierfait's modifications demonstrates a clear agenda to appropriate the Italian-style novella for a reading public consisting almost exclusively of the French nobility.;This work brings together a socio-historical approach to Renaissance literature and those theories in the philosophy of translation which deal especially with the transfer of meaning. The examination of Premierfait's transformations of the novellas, both those changes reflected in choices of words and those made to the content of the novellas, demonstrate the usefulness of literary texts in the task of defining the complex character of Renaissance society and cultural exchange, not unlike Nathalie Zemon Davis's work, Fiction in the Archives, which illustrates the similarity between court testimonies and novellas. The analysis specifically of the place of Les Cent Nouvelles in the libraries of fifteenth century France and of Boccaccio's Decameron in Italy, outlines the role of collections of novellas in these learned milieux. This approach stems from Christian Bec's work on the library inventories of early Renaissance Florence as well as the less extensive work done by critics such as Genevieve Hasenohr. These explorations will increase the understanding of Renaissance culture in both urban and courtly settings.;The first chapter analyzes Premierfait's implementation of legalistic terminology and his insertion of an objective moral authority, using as a basis the earlier studies of critics such as Paolo Cucchi and Glyn Norton as well as the more recent work of Giuseppe Di Stefano. The second chapter identifies the translator's use of synonymy and the flattening of Boccaccio's levels of discourse. In the third chapter, Premierfait's explanatory comments are discussed, along with how they alter the reader's perspective. Chapter four examines the larger additions, including the translator's prologue and those novellas which undergo significant augmentation. And finally chapter five describes the cultural background of fifteenth century France and the place of Les Cent Nouvelles within that setting as well as its place in the development of the novella.