Das Bellum gestum apud Fornovium des Jean Faciebat (ca. 1510/ 1515) und die Anfänge der neulateinischen Epik in Frankreich

Abstract

Thomas Haye: The Bellum gestum apud Fornovium by Jean Faciebat (ca. 1510/1515) and the beginnings of Neo-Latin epic poetry in France

The beginnings of Neo-Latin epic poetry in France were significantly influenced by the Italian Fausto Andrelini, who addressed a heroic poem De Neapolitana fornoviensique victoria to King Charles VIII in 1496. The historical background is given by Charles’ Italian campaign, the capture of Naples and the controversial interpretation of the Battle of Fornovo (6 July 1495). Influenced by Andrelini’s successful work, an otherwise unknown Parisian student named Jean Faciebat wrote a Bellum gestum apud Fornovium around or soon after 1510. At this time, the poet served as a teacher to the young Jean de Buz (1503 – 1552; Bishop of Meaux from 1535); his father Abel de Buz, Seigneur de Villemareuil, can be identified as the dedicatee. Faciebat’s work stands out among France’s historical-panegyric poetry in particular due to its extraordinary length (2,698 hexameters).