Le Miroir historial de Jean de Vignay : Édition critique du livre I (Prologue) et du livre 5 (Histoire d'Alexandre le Grand)

Sammanfattning: In the mid-thirteenth century, the Dominican friar Vincent of Beauvais compiled the largest encyclopedia ever during the Middle Ages: the fourfold Speculum maius, whose Latin Speculum historiale became by far its most copied and widespread volume. During the 1320's and early 1330's, Jean de Vignay translated the whole Speculum historiale into French and dedicated the work to the French queen Joan of Burgundy, wife of Philip of Valois. This dissertation consists in a partial critical edition of this French translation, the Miroir historial. Two books have been selected: Book I, which contains Vincent's prologue to the whole encyclopedia, and Book V, featuring one of the longest medieval histories of Alexander the Great. Book I's obvious interest lies in that it is the most detailed account of an encyclopedist's work, providing us with one of the most valuable insights into a compiler's mind and philosophy. Book V is certainly one the most influential histories of the Macedonian emperor, which inspired many late medieval and Renaissance authors, although very few scholars have looked into it and thoroughly examined its structure, contents and sources.This dissertation features two previously unpublished books in addition to giving access to the most extensive extract from the Miroir historial that has ever appeared in print. The edition includes a thorough examination and identification of every source used by the translator but also by Vincent de Beauvais. The investigation shows, among other things, that nearly three quarters of the history of Alexander are in fact an abridged version of the account found in Helinand of Froidmont's Chronicon (Books XVII and XVIII), to which Vincent added additional sources, mainly theological and philosophical. The edition is based on three fourteenth-century manuscripts and includes a detailed analysis of the translator's life and works, a glossary as well as an index of all the proper nouns.