Devis de la langue francoyse

151 x 98 mm.

Moystardières, Abel Mathieu Sr des. Treatise on the French Language to Jeanne d’Albret, Queen of Navarre, Duchess of Vendôme, by Abel Mathieu, native of Chartres.
Paris, Richard Breton, 1559. With royal privilege.

Extremely rare first edition of Abel Mathieu’s Devis de la langue françoise, which would later influence Henri Estienne’s Traité de la précellence du langage françois.
Brunet, III, 1935; De Backer, introduction, no. 23.

“This edition, printed in civilité typeface, is rare” (Brunet).

Printed in civilité type, this “rare and sought-after volume” (De Backer) would go on to influence Henri Estienne’s Traité de la Précellence de la langue françoise.

This text contributed to the development of the French language in the 16th century, containing remarks on proper usage and grammar; it is a kind of “good language guide.”

Abel Mathieu proposes to “make Plato and Aristotle citizens of our towns and clothe them no longer in the Greek fashion but in the French.”

Born in Chartres around [year], Abel Mathieu continued his law studies in Bourges from 1529 to 1534. The courses given by the famous jurist André Alciat would influence Mathieu throughout his career. Mathieu would attempt to provide a legal framework for the French language.

Mathieu is a “gallant gentleman who discusses the language” (Livet, 1859: 271) and defends the “existing spelling” (Hausmann, 1981: 332).

“The author is not a grammarian, but a gentleman discussing language for the delight of ladies. Without being a reformer, he is independent: ‘Our language is our own,’ he says; ‘the Greeks and Latins have no say in it’.” (Ambroise Firmin-Didot, Observations sur l’orthographe française, p.191).

The publication of the Devis falls within this period of linguistic reflection that was the 16th century.

Thanks to the printing press and the cultural prestige of France, French underwent great expansion and the grammarians of the time were concerned with codifying the language and standardizing written French. It was the era of the first lexicons.

Defender of the national language against the pedants and the “Latinizers,” Mathieu ranks Clément Marot “among the greatest of the stage because he is truly a friend of the people and possesses a gentle and consistent style and a kind and witty mind.”

An admirer of Marot, Mathieu also recognizes Ronsard as a great poet.

The Protestant poets of the 16th century sought to promote a simple style in religious matters. The Word had to be transmitted to all, and thus the biblical message had to be made accessible. Another reason for seeking simplicity was moral: a humble style was seen as a more moral than aesthetic quality. This ideal of simplicity was applied to grammar in the development of the language in the 16th century. Tory railed against “language butchers” and “jargon-mongers” while Meigret mocked the “effeminate dandies who gargle on etymological formulas.”

Later in the century, we can think of Henri Estienne and his two anti-Italian pamphlets: De la precellence du françois (1578) and Deux dialogues du nouveau langage françois italianizé et autrement déguisé… (1579).

In his treatise on the French language, Mathieu advocates a language made up of simple terms, skillfully arranged. He suggests a congruence between language and mind. The author sees a link between the ability to assemble words harmoniously and intelligence, or more precisely, wit.

The Devis seeks to determine where to find these learned men or people of wit capable of becoming models, and Marot is often cited as an example.

Coming from a family of booksellers and “very active agents of Evangelical propaganda,” the printer of the Devis, Richard Breton (1524-1571), fled religious persecution. His assets were seized in 1562. The printer’s work was essentially in service of the Protestant cause.

The choice of so-called “civilité” typefaces, engraved in 1557 by Robert Granjon, one of the typographical geniuses of the Renaissance, is not incidental.

These new typefaces were born from a properly nationalist reaction, a ‘modernized resurrection of the old Gothic types increasingly abandoned in favor of Roman and Italic typefaces, an attempt to renew the old French letter fallen into disuse, and can be seen as one of the signs foreshadowing the decline of Italian influence in France’.

The aim to defend the excellence and originality of the French language is thus underlined by the adoption of a specific, more modern and readable script.

The majority of printings in civilité type at the time conveyed new, Erasmian, even Lutheran ideas.

Only 3 copies located in national and international public institutions: Bibliothèque Mazarine, B.n.F, and Universitatsbibliothek LMU Munchen.

No copy has been recorded on the market since the beginning of listings over 60 years ago. (ABPC).