The Classical Heritage in France

Written by 18 specialists, this text deals with the reception of Greek and Latin culture in France in the 16th and 17th centuries. It is intended for those interested in classical influences on French belles-lettres and visual arts. There are comprehensive surveys on topics as diverse as the role of French travellers to classical lands in transforming perceptible reality into narrative textuality, Jacques Amyot's contribution to the reinvention of the novel in the West and the influence of ancient law in France. Major literary genres, philosophy, major writers, early French humanists and Hellenists and the visual arts all receive detailed treatment.