"Philippe de Commines (or de Commynes or "Philippe de Comines", Latin Philippus Cominaeus; 1447 ? 18 October 1511) was a writer and diplomat in the courts of Burgundy and France. He has been called "the first truly modern writer" (Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve) and "the first critical and philosophical historian since classical times" (Oxford Companion to English Literature). Neither a chronicler nor a historian in the usual sense of the word, his analyses of the contemporary political scene are what made him virtually unique in his own time."--Wikipedia.
Philippe de Commynes, a diplomat who specialized in clandestine operations, served King Louis XI during his campaign to undermine aristocratic resistance and consolidate the sovereignty of the French throne. He is credited with inventing the political memoir, but his reminiscence has also been described as ‘the confessions of a traitor’: Commynes had abandoned Louis’ rival, the Burgundian duke Charles the Bold, before joining forces with the king. This study provides a literary re-evaluation of Commynes’ text – a perennial subject of scandal and fascination – while questioning what the terms ‘traitor’ or ‘betrayed’ meant in the context of fifteenth-century France. Drawing on diplomatic letters and court transcripts, Irit Kleiman examines the mutual connections between writing and betrayal in Commynes’ representation of Louis’ reign, the relationship between the author and the king, and the emergence of the memoir as an autobiographical genre. This study significantly deepens our understanding of how historical narrative and diplomatic activities are intertwined in the work of this iconic, iconoclastic figure.
"The 'Memoirs' of Philippe de Commynes have been celebrated for more than four hundred years both as a remarkable literary work and as a priceless controbution to the history of the fifteenth century. They fall into two quite different parts. The first (comprising Books I-VI) narrates the intense, violent struggle for the dominance of western Europe between Louis XI of France and his greatest vassal, Charles the Rash, Duke of Burgundy, which was resolved by the triumph of the king; it begins with the appearance of Commynes on the political scene in 1464 as a young squire in the service of the House of Burgundy and ends in 1483 with the death of Louis XI, at which Commynes was himself present. In the second part (Books VII-VIII) he recounts the first French invation of Italy in 1494 under Louis XI's feeble son, Charles VIII. He took part in that ill-fated expedition, s a royal councillor and diplomat, and fought at Charles VIII's side in the desperate battle of Fornovo; but the chief adviser and confidant of Louis XI enjoyed little influence in King Charles' frivolous household. The 'Memoirs' conclude in 1498, following the death of Charles VIII, with Commynes' entering the service of that monarch's successor, Louis XII. It is the earlier, and much richer, part of the 'Memoirs' that is here translated." -- introduction, page 7.
In this book, Nicolae Alexandru Virastau offers an enlightening account of the origins of one of Europe’s most influential autobiographical traditions.
Few texts offer as many insights into the history of Valois Burgundy as the work of George Chastelain (c.1414-1475), official chronicler to the dukes Philip the Good and Charles the Bold. Chastelain, a trusted courtier, closely observed his masters' authority in the many dominions they ruled in the Low Countries and France, and the role they played in the political life of neighbouring kingdoms and principalities and in Christendom as a whole. This is the first historical study of Chastelain in over half a century. An account of his life and career is followed by a study of the chronicle, Chastelain's interpretation within it of ducal actions and aspirations, and the role it played in the historical culture of the governing classes in the Netherlands after the death of the last duke in 1477. Overall, Dr Small offers a complete reappraisal of the political ambitions of the ducal elite, particularly with regard to the supposed evolution of the ducal dominions into a `Burgundian state' quite distinct from the Kingdom of France. Dr GRAEME SMALL is lecturer in medieval history, University of Glasgow.
