Der Herrscher und die gute Ordnung. Das Bild Karls VII. in der französischen Historiographie am Übergang von der tradierten zur humanistisch geprägten Historiographie
-
Thomas Schwitter
Abstract
This article investigates the portrayal of the French king Charles VII (1422-1461) in fifteenth- and sixteenth-century French historiography, beginning with the contemporary chronicles by Gilles Le Bouvier and Jean Chartier and closing with the new French history written by the Italian humanist Paolo Emilio. These sources show that, despite Charles VII’s great successes, no vivid or triumphant image of him as a ruler emerges from the sources. An important reason for this is his inseparability from and thus inescapable comparison with another historical figure of great stature, Joan of Arc. A further cause can be found in the political ideal of ordonnance (political order), an ideal which arose during his reign and was used to characterize his rule in historical texts, thereby entering French historiography for the first time. The ideal of good political order puts the focus on order itself and on the personnel that guarantees order in the king’s service; the figure of the king, however, remains elusive.
Abstract
This article investigates the portrayal of the French king Charles VII (1422-1461) in fifteenth- and sixteenth-century French historiography, beginning with the contemporary chronicles by Gilles Le Bouvier and Jean Chartier and closing with the new French history written by the Italian humanist Paolo Emilio. These sources show that, despite Charles VII’s great successes, no vivid or triumphant image of him as a ruler emerges from the sources. An important reason for this is his inseparability from and thus inescapable comparison with another historical figure of great stature, Joan of Arc. A further cause can be found in the political ideal of ordonnance (political order), an ideal which arose during his reign and was used to characterize his rule in historical texts, thereby entering French historiography for the first time. The ideal of good political order puts the focus on order itself and on the personnel that guarantees order in the king’s service; the figure of the king, however, remains elusive.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents VII
- Introduction 1
-
I. Virtues
- Der Herrscher und die gute Ordnung. Das Bild Karls VII. in der französischen Historiographie am Übergang von der tradierten zur humanistisch geprägten Historiographie 17
- Charlemagne am Renaissancehof. Die Darstellung Karls des Großen in Paolo Emilios De rebus gestis Francorum 39
- Guter König, schlechter König? Die Darstellung Heinrichs V. und Heinrichs VI. von England in Polydor Vergils Anglica historia 65
- Alfonso ›the Magnanimous‹ of Naples as Portrayed by Facio and Panormita: Four Versions of Emulation, Representation, and Virtue 95
-
II. Cultural and Political Pretensions
- Illyrian Trojans in a Turkish Storm: Croatian Renaissance Lords and the Politics of Dynastic Origin Myths 121
- Personelle Serialität und nationale Geschichte. Überlegungen zu den Herrschergestalten in Franciscus Irenicus’ Germaniae Exegesis 157
- Riccardo Bartolinis Austrias (1516) oder: Wie ein Herrscher zum Feldherrn gegen die Türken wird 193
-
III. Models Ancient, Medieval, and Modern
- Der Herrscher als zweiter Salomo. Zum Bild König Roberts von Anjou in der Renaissance 217
- Pier Candido Decembrio and the Suetonian Path to Princely Biography 237
- Die Cosmias des Giovanni Mario Filelfo (1426–1480) 271
- Einhard reloaded. Francesco Tedeschini Piccolomini, Hilarion aus Verona, Donato Acciaiuoli und die Karlsbiographik im italienischen Renaissance-Humanismus 287
- Auf den Spuren Paolo Giovios? Herrscherdarstellung in Jacobus Sluperius’ Elogia virorum bellica laude illustrium 307
-
IV. Method
- Princes between Lorenzo Valla and Bartolomeo Facio 337
- Juan Páez de Castro, Charles V, and a Method for Royal Historiography 363
- Picturing the Perfect Patron? Francesco Filelfo’s Image of Francesco Sforza 391
- Verbis phucare tyrannos? Selbstanspruch und Leistungsspektren von zeithistorischer Epik als panegyrischem Medium im 15. Jahrhundert 415
-
V. Critical Summary
- The Description Makes the Prince: Princely Portrayal from the Perspective of Transformation Theory 445
-
Indices
- Index of Names 463
- Index of Places 485
- List of Contributors 491
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents VII
- Introduction 1
-
I. Virtues
- Der Herrscher und die gute Ordnung. Das Bild Karls VII. in der französischen Historiographie am Übergang von der tradierten zur humanistisch geprägten Historiographie 17
- Charlemagne am Renaissancehof. Die Darstellung Karls des Großen in Paolo Emilios De rebus gestis Francorum 39
- Guter König, schlechter König? Die Darstellung Heinrichs V. und Heinrichs VI. von England in Polydor Vergils Anglica historia 65
- Alfonso ›the Magnanimous‹ of Naples as Portrayed by Facio and Panormita: Four Versions of Emulation, Representation, and Virtue 95
-
II. Cultural and Political Pretensions
- Illyrian Trojans in a Turkish Storm: Croatian Renaissance Lords and the Politics of Dynastic Origin Myths 121
- Personelle Serialität und nationale Geschichte. Überlegungen zu den Herrschergestalten in Franciscus Irenicus’ Germaniae Exegesis 157
- Riccardo Bartolinis Austrias (1516) oder: Wie ein Herrscher zum Feldherrn gegen die Türken wird 193
-
III. Models Ancient, Medieval, and Modern
- Der Herrscher als zweiter Salomo. Zum Bild König Roberts von Anjou in der Renaissance 217
- Pier Candido Decembrio and the Suetonian Path to Princely Biography 237
- Die Cosmias des Giovanni Mario Filelfo (1426–1480) 271
- Einhard reloaded. Francesco Tedeschini Piccolomini, Hilarion aus Verona, Donato Acciaiuoli und die Karlsbiographik im italienischen Renaissance-Humanismus 287
- Auf den Spuren Paolo Giovios? Herrscherdarstellung in Jacobus Sluperius’ Elogia virorum bellica laude illustrium 307
-
IV. Method
- Princes between Lorenzo Valla and Bartolomeo Facio 337
- Juan Páez de Castro, Charles V, and a Method for Royal Historiography 363
- Picturing the Perfect Patron? Francesco Filelfo’s Image of Francesco Sforza 391
- Verbis phucare tyrannos? Selbstanspruch und Leistungsspektren von zeithistorischer Epik als panegyrischem Medium im 15. Jahrhundert 415
-
V. Critical Summary
- The Description Makes the Prince: Princely Portrayal from the Perspective of Transformation Theory 445
-
Indices
- Index of Names 463
- Index of Places 485
- List of Contributors 491