Jean Bagnyon Geneviève Hasenohr and Michel Zink, eds. ''Dictionnaire des lettres françaises: Le Moyen Age''. Collection: La Pochothèque. Paris: Fayard, 1992. Articles "Fierabras", pp.444–5 and "Jean Bagnyon" pp.746.
on the site of the ''Archives de littérature du Moyen Âge'' (ARLIMA) or Jehan Bagnyon was a lawyer, historian, political writer, and translator born in 1412, in Croy, in the canton of

Vaud Vaud ( ; french: (Canton de) Vaud, ; german: (Kanton) Waadt, or ), more formally the canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts and its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms b ...

, which was, at that time, a part of the

Duchy of Savoy The Duchy of Savoy ( it, Ducato di Savoia; french: Duché de Savoie) was a country in Western Europe that existed from 1416. It was created when Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, raised the County of Savoy into a duchy for Amadeus VIII. The duc ...

. He died sometime after 1487.

Biography

A citizen of

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

with a bachelor in law, Jean Bagnyon began his law career as a ''conscindic'' (

syndic Syndic (Late Latin: '; Greek: ' – one who helps in a court of justice, an advocate, representative) is a term applied in certain countries to an officer of government with varying powers, and secondly to a representative or delegate of a universi ...

) in Lausanne, but the city's fiscal difficulties forced him to move to

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

. In 1481, he was chosen by Lausanne to represent the city's proposal to unite with its lower city. In 1486, he wrote a treatise in Latin — ''Tractatus de et super libertatibus, franchesiis, preeminenciis ac exemptionibus a subjectione dominiorum temporalium eminentis fructifere et solaciose civitatis Gebennarum'', (''Treatise on the freedoms, franchise, preeminences and exceptions from subjugation by worldly dominations of the eminent, fecund, and delightful city of Geneva''), probably the oldest lay legal work printed in French-speaking Switzerland — with the goal of defending the rights of the city of Geneva and of proving that the city was not ruled by the Duke of Savoy, but instead that its inhabitants were subjects of the Bishop. This work was only published some years later. He was awarded Geneva citizenship for his work favoring Genevan freedoms in the tax conflicts of 1486-1487. Bagnyon's principle work was a history of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

which included a prose adaptation of the ''

chanson de geste The ''chanson de geste'' (, from Latin 'deeds, actions accomplished') is a medieval narrative, a type of epic poem that appears at the dawn of French literature. The earliest known poems of this genre date from the late 11th and early 12th cen ...

'' ''

Fierabras Fierabras (from French: ', "brave/formidable arm") or Ferumbras is a fictional Saracen knight (sometimes of gigantic stature) appearing in several '' chansons de geste'' and other material relating to the Matter of France. He is the son of Balan ...

'' -- ''La Conqueste du grand roy Charlemagne des Espagnes et les vaillances des douze pairs de France, et aussi celles de Fierabras''Authur Tilly. ''Studies in the French Renaissance''. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1968, p.16.—which had been requested of him as early as 1465 by Henri Bolomier or Bolmier, the

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

of the

chapters Chapter or Chapters may refer to: Books * Chapter (books), a main division of a piece of writing or document * Chapter book, a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10 * Chapters (bookstore), Canadian big box bookstore ...

of Lausanne and Geneva, future confessor of

Philibert I, Duke of Savoy Philibert I (17 August 1465, Chambéry – 22 September 1482), surnamed the Hunter, was the son of Amadeus IX, Duke of Savoy and Yolande of Valois. Philibert was Duke of Savoy from 1472 to 1482. After his father's death in 1472, his mother beca ...

(1465-1482). The work was first published as ''Rommant de Fierabras le geant'' in Geneva in 1478 (it was perhaps the first ''chanson de geste'' to be printed). ''La Conqueste du grand roy Charlemagne des Espagnes'' contains a brief history of the kings of France until Clovis, an encomium of Charlemagne and brief history of his reign, his trip to Jerusalem, the story of Fierabras, and Charlemagne's Spanish wars. The historical sections were largely based on the ''

Historia Caroli Magni ''Historia Caroli Magni'' (''History of the life of Charlemagne''), also known as ''Historia Karoli Magni et Rotholandi'' and sometimes as the ''Turpin Chronicle'' or the ''Pseudo-Turpin Chronicle'', is a 12th-century Latin forged chronicle of lege ...

'' (also known as the "Pseudo-Turpin" chronicle), probably known to Bagnyon via the ''Speculum Historiale'' of

Vincent de Beauvais Vincent of Beauvais ( la, Vincentius Bellovacensis or ''Vincentius Burgundus''; c. 1264) was a Dominican friar at the Cistercian monastery of Royaumont Abbey, France. He is known mostly for his ''Speculum Maius'' (''Great mirror''), a major work ...

, but the story of Fierabras occupies most of the work. This work became one of the most popular novels in France in the first half of the 16th century (15 editions printed to 1536) and was adapted into Castilian (''Historia del emperador Carlomagno y de los doce pares de Francia'' by Nicola of Piamonte, 1528), Portuguese, German, and English (by

William Caxton William Caxton ( – ) was an English merchant, diplomat and writer. He is thought to be the first person to introduce a printing press into England, in 1476, and as a printer (publisher), printer to be the first English retailer of printed boo ...

) and was published numerous times up to the 19th century. Ferabràs

Jean Bagnyon shows himself a talented storyteller with a structured and unified storyline around his subject matter, without digressions. The fantasy elements of the original tales are attenuated and the moral questions are emphasized in authorial commentaries that show the author's mastery of rhetoric. He also makes references to classical texts and often cites the Bible.''L'Essor savoyard'', 11 September 2008, edited by Rémi Mogenet.

References

*''This article is based in part on the equivalent article from the

French Wikipedia The French Wikipedia (french: Wikipédia en français) is the French-language edition of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. This edition was started on 23 March 2001, two months after the official creation of Wikipedia. It has article ...

, retrieved on May 6, 2012.''

External links

*
Biography and bibliography
on the site of the ''Archives de littérature du Moyen Âge'' (ARLIMA) *
''Fierabras''. Jehan Bagnyon. Geneva, 1478.Gallica
*
''Fierabras''. Jehan Bagnyon. Lyon, 1483 or 1484.Gallica
*
''Fierabras''. Jehan Bagnyon. Lyon, 1497.Gallica
*
''La conqueste que fit le grant roy Charlemaigne''. Jehan Bagnyon. Lyon, 1536Gallica
*
''La Conqueste du grand roy Charlemagne des Espagnes''. Jehan Bagnyon. Rouen, 1640Gallica
*
''La Conqueste du grant roy Charlemaigne des Espaignes''. Jehan Bagnyon. ParisGallica
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bagnyon, Jean 1412 births 15th-century people from Savoy Writers from Geneva People from Lausanne 1480s deaths