Le Gouvernement present,
ou éloge de son Eminence, satyre ou la Miliade.
Edited by Paul Scott

MHRA Critical Texts Vol. 14
ISBN 978-0-947623-77-7
Autumn 2009
Pbk £12.99 / $24.99

This satirical poem, known popularly as the Miliade because of its thousand-verse length (in octosyllabic verse), was printed anonymously around 1636, and almost certainly in Antwerp. It was subsequently reprinted several times under varying titles, knowing fresh success in 1649 when it was reworked as a Mazarinade, the name of Richelieu being replaced throughout. This is an important work since Tallemant des Réaux tells us that Richelieu was particularly incensed by it and had at least five authors imprisoned on suspicion of having authored it (including the dramatist Charles de Beys). Tallemant also mentions that its popularity was widespread, detailing that readers had to peruse illicit copies behind closed doors. The poem’s endurance and plentiful and specific political references – battles are detailed, ministers, writers and other figures are directly or indirectly alluded to – make it a lively commentary encompassing discontent with the increasingly centralized government before the outbreak of the civil wars, the Frondes (1648–53).

This volume provides an accessible edition with scholarly apparatus based on the first printing, with substantial variants resulting from the work’s modification during the Frondes in its later reincarnation, listed as footnotes. The author also evaluates the contenders for authorship, concluding that while the most favoured candidate, Charles de Beys, probably is not responsible for it, he was acquainted with it to the extent that he later borrowed from some parts of it.

Paul Scott is assistant professor in the French and Italian Department at the University of Kansas.

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Le Gouvernement present, ou éloge de son Eminence, satyre ou la Miliade. Edited by Paul Scott

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Le Gouvernement present,
ou éloge de son Eminence, satyre ou la Miliade.
Edited by Paul Scott