Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
In the tapestry of the French Renaissance, the figure of Anne Malet de Graville stands out as an literary icon of renaissance intellect and literary creativity. Born into the prestigious Norman Malet de Graville family around 1490, Anne’s literary contribution to this a period of the flourishing literary world of her time is now receiving renewed recognition.
Table of contents
Anne Malet de Graville’s Family
Little is known about Anne’s childhood as is common for women of the time. Probably she grew up in the Chateau of Marcoussis, not far from Rouen, in Normandy. She was well educated since we know she could read and write in French, Italian, and Latin. From her later activities we see that she had a passion for books and manuscripts.
The third and youngest daughter of Admiral Louis Malet de Graville [1438-1516], Anne grew up . Her father, high Norman nobleman, was a noted literary figure with an extensive library. He was appointed Governor of Picardy and Normandy, and Admiral of France among other honours. He invaded Italy with King Charles VIII of France in 1494 and served King Louis XII after King Charles died. In 1508 , he retired and died in 1516.
Anne first appears in the record when she defied her father and married her cousin Pierre de Balsac d’Entragues. They eloped in 1508 or thereabouts. Her father was so angry he disinherited her. All we know about her relationship with Pierre is that they had several children, and their marriage endured.
Anne de Graville
She and her husband were received at court where Anne was a lady-in-waiting to Queen Claude., wife of King François I. Anne’s literary career blossomed at the queen’s court. She became known for her pure singing voice as well as for her translations and literary works.
A Woman Poet at Court
During her time at court, Anne de Graville two major poetic works, based on older texts. The first, which Queen Claude commissioned, was based on Giovanni Boccaccio’s “Teseida delle nozze d’Emilia.” It was a translation and adaptation into French verse. This work, along with her collection of rondeaux inspired by Alain Chartier’s “La belle dame sans mercy,” demonstrate Anne’s mastery of language. She couples this with an her ability to weave complex narratives with grace and polish. In the latter work, she includes Chartier’s original in the margin. She concentrates on its central stanzas and places her rewrite on the centre of the page. She was the first woman poet at court, though Marguerite de Navarre soon followed.
Both of her reworkings reject the misogynist theme of the originals. This places Anne in the tradition of Christine de Pizan, in the on-going debate known as the querelle des femmes. In her work, she confronted and redressed the negative view of women found in much contemporary popular literature.
Anne Malet de Graville, the Bibliophile
After her father died, Anne de Graville sued her father’s estate and regained a part of her inheritance around 1520. This included some of her father’s library and a family house at Ambourville, a dozen or so miles from Rouen. Thereafter she spent time in Normandy and she acquired many of the additions to her collection in Rouen.
She was a bibliophile and collector, amassing an impressive library that included rare manuscripts and books. Her library reveals her interests and her knowledge base. It is a testament to her love of books and literature in the early French Renaissance humanist tradition .
The library in Rouen houses a significant collection from her library as does the Bibliothèque nationale. It includes works by Christine de Pisan, Petrarch, The Travels of Marco Polo and various Histories and Chronicles.
Anne Malet de Graville, a Reformer?
Some speculated that Anne de Graville favoured reform within the Roman Catholic church, since she sheltered some fleeing reformers. Her links with Queen Claude and Queen Marguerite de Navarre place her within the reform group of women at court. Nonetheless, there is no evidence in her surviving writings of reform opinions.
Conclusion: A Renaissance Literary Icon
Anne Malet de Graville’s life celebrates the human spirit’s capacity for creativity and resilience. Her poetry, her library, and her story remind us that women have always had to fight for justice and recognition of their abilities. She gives us a glimpse of the vibrant Renaissance court and its cultured women. As well, she has left an enduring legacy as France’s earliest woman poet.
NOTES
A manuscript copy of ‘C’est le beau romant des deux amans Palamon et Arcita et de la belle et saige Emilia.‘ translated by Anne de Graville and owned by Queen Claude is available as a facsimile and available through Gallica to view, read and download at this link.
Listen to the informative talk on You Tube by Elizabeth L’Estrange, one of the foremost current scholars on Anne de Graville. Episode 196 – Anne de Graville and Women’s Literary Networks with Dr Elizabeth L’Estrange
Bibliography
Anne de Graville and Women’s Literary Networks in Early Modern France, Elizabeth L’estrange, Series: Cambridge Gallica, 2023, Boydell & Brewer
A Fair Lady Takes on “Maistre Allain” Anne de Graville’s Belle Dame sans merci, Daisy Delogu, French Forum, University of Pennsylvania Press, Volume 42, Number 3, Winter
Un étrange moyen de séduction’, Elizabeth L’Estrange, Renaissance Studies, Vol. 30, No. 5 (2017, pp. 471-491NOVEMBER 2016), pp. 708-728
Reno, Christine (1998). “Anne Malet de Graville: A Sixteenth Century Collector Reads (and Writes) Christine”. The Profane Arts/Les Arts Profanes.
Lamarque, Henri, « Autour d’Anne de Graville: le débat de la “Dame sans mersy” et l’épitaphe de la poétesse », Mélanges sur la littérature de la Renaissance à la mémoire de V.-L. Saulnier, Genève, Droz, 1984, p. 603-611.
Montmorand, Maxime de, Une femme poète du XVIe siècle: Anne de Graville, sa famille, sa vie, son œuvre, sa postérité, Paris, Picard, 1917, x + 328 p.
Orth, Myra D., « Dedicating women: manuscript culture in the French Renaissance, and the case of Catherine d’Amboise and Anne de Graville », Journal of the Early Book Society of the Study of Manuscript and Printing History, 1:1, 1997, p. 17-47.