Thesis (Ph. D.)--York University, 2001. Graduate Programme in History. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 325-358). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pNQ67903.

This dissertation examines the literature of royal consorts in Stuart England. Critics and historians have devoted considerable attention to the creation of the monarch’s image during this tumultuous period, which witnessed two revolutions and the explosion of print. We know that the Stuart monarchs embraced different forms of visual media – including pageantry, portraiture and print – to disseminate their image within the court and to a broader public. However, the extensive literature about the royal consorts remains under-examined. My thesis makes an original contribution to scholarship by exploring what texts were written about the royal consorts, by whom, and how these writers constructed images of the royal consorts that participated in broader debates over the status of the monarchy. The dissertation is divided into two main parts. Part 1 comprises six chapters that analyse succession writing, when a new monarch came to the throne and established their iconography for the new reign. I draw on hundreds of texts that were printed about the Stuart consorts at these moments. These writings span a variety of genres, from poems and plays to sermons and political pamphlets. I investigate the literature of each succession in turn, analysing the main themes and motifs that emerged. This approach enables me to uncover a swathe of anonymous and under-utilised literature, but also re-interpret works by more canonical writers such as Aphra Behn. I ask how the royal consorts themselves, their spouses and members of the public could influence the creation of the royal consorts’ images at these moments. Critically, I also compare the conventions that were used to describe the consorts across the century. Part 2 analyses how writers re-constructed ideals for the royal consorts in Restoration England, as debates about the structure of the monarchy came to be more explicit. Chapter 7 concentrates on images of Henrietta Maria when she returned to England as Queen Mother. Chapter 8 asks how writers adapted former models of representation to praise Catherine, the infertile queen, when it became clear that she would not bear an heir. Finally, Chapter 9 examines the numerous secret histories and romances that were authored about Mary Beatrice’s purported behaviour during her exile in the 1690s. These chapters highlight the continued importance of these women and examines how writers constructed their legacies. As a whole, the literature about the royal consorts reveals a dynamic project as part of which authors engaged with and adapted earlier models of writing. This enabled them to address broader questions about changes in the nature of the Stuart monarchy and political life.

À la cour anglaise de la reine consort Henriette Marie (1625-1642), la traduction est utilisée comme outil politique, dont l’un des rôles est d’imposer l’héritage linguistique, culturel et catholique de la reine à l’Angleterre calviniste. La cour d’Henriette Marie devient un véritable pôle d’importation de la littérature et de la culture française et catholique en Angleterre. Pendant le règne de Charles Ier, le mécénat de la reine attire de nombreux traducteurs et traductrices en quête de faveurs royales; pour les obtenir, ces derniers produisent des versions anglaises des genres littéraires en vogue en France (comme les romans pastoraux, la littérature dévote, ou encore les pièces de théâtre). Les activités de ces traducteurs et traductrices n’ont jamais fait l’objet d’études systématiques, ce qui en fait un projet intéressant du point de vue de l’histoire de la traduction et de l’histoire littéraire. La présente étude porte sur les rôles de la traduction et des traducteurs à la cour anglaise de la reine Henriette Marie entre 1625 et 1642. La traduction y est définie comme une pratique instigatrice de liens culturels, politiques et sociaux dans le contexte de l’histoire transnationale entre l’Angleterre et la France. Pour mener à bien mon projet, je m’appuie sur des travaux se rapportant aux aspects culturels et idéologiques de la traduction dans la culture de cour des Stuart et des études récentes sur les traductions imprimées en Angleterre prémoderne. J’étudie le mécénat, la production littéraire et la circulation des textes; puis les réseaux politiques, sociaux, idéologiques et enfin les réseaux de l’imprimé liés à la production de traductions à la cour de la reine pendant le règne de son mari, Charles Ier. Pour ce faire, j’étudie la culture de cour en Angleterre et en France au début du XVIIe siècle, le rôle de la traduction dans cette culture, l’impact de la culture de l’imprimé et de l’histoire matérielle sur le choix des textes à traduire, puis la manière dont ils circulent. En explorant l’histoire culturelle et littéraire du point de vue de la matérialité et de l’agentivité, je reconstitue des réseaux politiques, culturels et idéologiques entre l’Angleterre et le continent européen. Cette thèse par articles réunit deux chapitres rédigés en français dans lesquels je précise le contexte et la démarche de la recherche, ainsi que quatre études de cas rédigées en anglais. Par l’analyse d’un corpus de traductions imprimées à l’extérieur de la Grande-Bretagne, le chapitre 3 souligne l’importance des réseaux culturels transnationaux en Angleterre prémoderne et nous aide à comprendre la production et la circulation des traductions imprimées en Europe au XVIIe siècle. Le chapitre 4 fait état des concepts de l’agentivité et du mécénat en histoire de la traduction et culmine par l’analyse du cas de Thomas Hawkins, agent traduisant, lié à la cour d’Henriette Marie notamment par les traductions qu’il dédicace à la reine. Le chapitre 5 porte sur le rôle des femmes et de la littérature catholique à la cour de la reine Henriette Marie. J’y explore la participation des femmes à la création et à la diffusion de traductions, notamment celle des femmes mécènes, ou encore celles des femmes qui dédicacent des œuvres à des personnalités connues de l’entourage de la reine. Enfin, le chapitre 6 explore les réseaux transnationaux d’échanges culturels entre l’Angleterre et le continent européen à partir d’un traité catholique rédigé par l’auteur français Jean Puget de la Serre, imprimé à Bruxelles, puis dédicacé à Henriette Marie et Charles Ier. Ensemble, ces chapitres visent à dresser un portrait représentatif du contexte culturel, politique et idéologique complexe dans lequel circulaient les traductions imprimées. En annexe, je recense le corpus inédit de traductions imprimées entre 1625 et 1642 et lié à la cour anglaise d’Henriette Marie. Le corpus est en évolution constante; il compte actuellement 78 entrées. L’approche retenue pour le projet est à la fois ascendante et descendante : j’emploie les méthodes d’analyse macro-historiques sous la forme de l’analyse des structures de pouvoir, des institutions et des mécènes, puis, afin de dresser un portrait complet du rôle des traducteurs à la cour de la reine, j’analyse les paratextes, les textes, et les correspondances des traducteurs dans les livres imprimés. La complémentarité de ces approches fait l’originalité de mon projet de recherche et vise à assurer une représentation fidèle des actions entreprises par les agents traduisants à la cour anglaise d’Henriette Marie. De plus, je contribue à la recherche en histoire de la traduction en offrant des données indispensables sur les traducteurs de la première modernité anglaise, leurs pratiques et les réseaux dans lesquels ils opéraient. / At the English Court of Queen consort Henrietta Maria (1625–1642), translation was used as a political tool, partly to impose the queen’s linguistic, cultural and Catholic heritage on Calvinist England. Her court was a veritable hub of imported literature, as well as French and Catholic culture. During the reign of her husband, Charles I, the queen’s patronage attracted male and female translators who sought her protection by publishing English versions of literary genres that were trending in France at the time (such as pastorals, dévot literature, or plays). However, the place of translation in the literary activity that made her court so remarkable has never been systematically studied. The purpose of this project is therefore to offer a comprehensive analysis of the role played by translators and translation in the literary culture of Henrietta Maria’s English Court. In this thesis, translation is defined as a practice instigating cultural, political and social ties in the transnational history linking England and France. My research draws on scholarship pertaining to the cultural and ideological aspects of translation in Stuart Court culture and builds on recent studies on the intersection between translation and print in early modern Europe. I study patterns of patronage, literary production, and text circulation; then I probe the political, social, religious, and print networks involved in the production of translations associated with the Queen’s court and extending well beyond its social or geographical boundaries. Specifically, I examine early 17th-century English and French court culture, the place of translation within this culture, and the impact of print culture and material history on the selection and circulation of translated texts. By studying the cultural and literary history from the perspective of materiality and agency, I recreate the political, cultural and ideological networks that operated between Great Britain and continental Europe. This article thesis begins with two chapters written in French in which I specify the context and chosen approach, and which are followed by four case studies written in English. Through an analysis of translations that are printed outside of Great Britain, the case study in chapter 3 highlights the significance of transnational cultural networks in early modern England and helps us understand the production and circulation of printed translations in 17th-century Europe. Chapter 4 consists of an exploration of the concepts of agency and patronage in translation history and culminates with the case of Thomas Hawkins, a translating agent with ties to the queen’s court and continental Jesuit Colleges. The fifth chapter addresses the role of women and Catholic recusant literature at the court of Henrietta Maria. In it, I investigate the participation of women in the creation and distribution of translations, notably as patrons, translators, and printers. In the final chapter, I explore transnational networks of cultural exchange between England and Europe with, as a starting point, a Catholic treatise written by French author Jean Puget de la Serre, which was printed in Brussels though dedicated to Henrietta Maria and Charles I. Together, these chapters offer a comprehensive analysis of the role played by translators and translation in the literary culture of Henrietta Maria’s English Court. The thesis is followed by the corpus of translations linked to the English Court of Queen Henrietta Maria and printed between 1625 and 1642 that I have established. The corpus continues to expand as I pursue this research, and currently comprises 78 titles. The approach I have selected for this project is both top-down and bottom-up: I use macrohistoric analysis methods to investigate power structures, institutions, and patronage; then, to establish a comprehensive overview of the roles of translators at the queen’s Court, I analyze paratexts, texts, and the correspondence of translators in printed books. The synergy between these approaches lends originality to the project and ensures an accurate representation of the actions of translating agents at the English Court of Henrietta Maria. My work contributes to research in translation history by providing some much needed insight into early modern translators, their practices, and the networks in which they were involved.

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