عنوان

The representation of the English in French literature between 1450 and 1530

TLets424493

The representation of the English in French literature between 1450 and 1530

[Thesis]

McKinnon, Simon Gerard

Durham University

2005

Ph.D.

Durham University

2005

This thesis will study representations of the English in a corpus of diverse French literarytexts produced between 1450 and 1530. It will draw on theories of image studies toanalyse the aesthetic and discursive function of their representation and on theories ofintergroup relations to argue that representing the English was part of a strategy forFrench collective self-representation. During this period, the English function as a`significant other' in terms of the literary representation of collective identity; in many ofthe texts in our corpus, being French meant being `not English'.Two introductory chapters discuss the theories employed in the thesis and establish theliterary and historical background. Non-French late-medieval representations of foreignothers are briefly considered and compared to the French `image' of the English. Thetexts forming our corpus are then studied in chronological order in chapters covering theperiods 1450-1510,1511-14,1514-21 and 1521-25. In certain texts, the English aredepicted as hated enemies (particularly in those from directly after the end of theHundred Years War and from the Anglo-French conflicts of 1511-14 and 1521-25); inothers, they are mocked more as contemptible rivals. In works celebrating the politicalalliances associated with the marriages between Louis XII and Henry VIII's sister Mary(1514) and the Dauphin Francis and Henry's daughter Mary (1518), authors avoidrepresenting the English collectively or, indeed, any English characteristics in theindividuals they feature. All of these works represent the English as foreign and `other'and stress French cultural and political pre-eminence. The conclusion briefly considersthe situation after 1525 when other `nations' begin to take on the role of `significantother'. An appendix provides a descriptive bibliography of the texts in the corpus

McKinnon, Simon Gerard

Durham University

p

[Thesis]

276903

a

Y