A Savage Mirror: Power, Identity, and Knowledge in Early Modern FranceA Savage Mirror is about the New World, royal ritual, and the sensibilities that defined a new class of elites. It takes as its starting point the royal entry of Henri II into Rouen in 1550. By all accounts, this ritual was among the most spectacular ever staged. It included an "exact" replica of a Brazilian village, with fifty "savages" kidnapped from the New World. The book aims to understand what the French made of these Brazilian cannibals, and the significance of putting them in a festival honoring the king. The resulting analysis provides an investigation of France's changing social structure, its religious beliefs, its humanist culture, and its complicated commercial and symbolic relations with the New World. The book will appeal not only to scholars of early modern history, but to those interested in cross-cultural contact, cultural studies, civic ritual, museography, and history of literature, science, religion, art, and anthropology. |
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ancient Ango Apocalyptic associated astrolabe barbarians barbarous Bibliothèque Brazil Brazilians brazilwood ceremonial Cest la deduction chant royal Chapter chariot Charles chevauchée cited city's civic civic-cultural elite Collège de France Conards cultural early modern early modern France effigy eloquence emperor entrée entry festival entry into Rouen entry's Essays example française France France's French Geneva Guillaume Guillaume Budé Hellequin Henri II Henri II's entry Henri's entry Hercules History humanist Ibid ideal Jacques Jean Jean Ango Jean Bouchet Jean de Léry João Kantorowicz king king's L'Entrée Louis Marot Medieval merchants Michel mirror Mollat narrative nobility Norman Normandy Normandy's Palinod paradise Paris Parmentier Pierre poetry poets Portuguese Puy de Palinod relics Renaissance rhetoric rites ritual role Roman Rouen Rouennais royal entry Sagon Saint savages ship sixteenth century social spiritual symbolic Tabellionage tableau vivant tradition trans triumph triumphal entry verse victory Virgin World XVIe siècle
Popular passages
Page 9 - Those people are wild, just as we call wild the fruits that Nature has produced by herself and in her normal course; whereas really it is those that we have changed artificially and led astray from the common order, that we should rather call wild.
Page xii - LorS si ta belle main passant ne m'eust fait signe, Main blanche, qui se vante estre fille d'un Cygne, Je fusse mort, Hélène, aux rayons de tes yeux : Mais ton signe retint l'âme presque ravie, Ton œil se contenta d'estre victorieux, Ta main se resjouyt de me donner la vie.
Page 270 - LES TRIOMPHES DE L'ABBAYE DES CONARDS Sous le resveur en décimes Fagot, abbé des Conards, contenant les criées et proclamations faites depuis son advenement jusquesà l'an présent.