De Troie a Ithaque: reception des epopees homeriques a la Renaissance (Travaux D'humanisme Et Renaissance)

For much of the Middle Ages, the events of the Trojan War and of Odysseus return to Ithaca were known in Western Europe only in Latin or vernacular reworkings, but in the mid-fourteenth century, thanks to Petrarch, Homer made a return. The present study sets out to trace the reception of Homer till the end of the sixteenth century. It will follow the first reactions to the Homeric epics and the gradual familiarisation with them that took place, thanks initially to Greek and Italian scholars and later on to Northern European humanists such as Melanchthon. The first part of the work focuses on Homer as a European phenomenon, through an analysis of the various Greek editions, Latin translations, and commentaries produced throughout the continent. The interpretation of the Homeric text, often along confessional lines, will form a central element in this discussion. The second part concentrates on the reception of Homer in France, where Guillaume Budé and Jean Dorat inspired successive generations of writers who were deeply influenced by the Iliad and the Odyssey. Julius Caesar Scaligers reshaping of attitudes to Homer concludes this section. The study is completed by a detailed bibliography of Homeric texts printed before 1600.