A Visiting Fellow Lecture with Dr. Jean-Fancois Cottier

Since the medieval Mirrors, humanists have continually written advice for the sovereigns of their time, regularly supporting their reflection with the representation of the “monstrous sovereign”. Erasmus explains: to educate a prince, one must use images, and nothing is more effective than the diptych opposing the good prince, “pastor of his people,” to the démoboros that literally devours them. This image, symbolized by Ambrogio Lorenzetti in 1338 in the Communal Palace of Siena under the name of “Good Government,” will serve as a guide to a general reflection on the diversity of writings that the Renaissance has devoted to this topic. Humanists having always dreamed, we know how successfully, of directing the action of the princes of this world with their writings.

Cottier is a Professor of Latin at the University of Paris Diderot and adjunct professor at the University of Montreal. He is currently conducting research on the poetics of paraphrase (Biblical epics, paraphrases of the Scriptures) and the humanistic exegesis of the Bible, while continuing the translation of great medieval and modern texts such as the Book of Gomorrah by Pierre Damien, treatises on epistolary writing by Erasmus, and the De Alea by Juste Pasquier.

Dr. Cottier’s lecture is open to the IU community and the general public. Light refreshments will be served.