Urbain le Mescongneu Filz de l’Empereur Federic Barberousse by Claudine Scève, Janine Incardona, and Pascale Mounier (review)

Edited by Janine Incardona and Pascale Mounier, this bilingual edition of Urbain le Mescongneu filz de l’Empereur Federic Barberousse features Claudine Scève’s original French translation from 1533 as well as the 1526 version by Da Sabbio-Garanta which served as the Italian textual base for Scève’s translation. The structure of this edited volume allows for clear linguistic and literary comparison since the Italian manuscript appears on the left-hand side while Scève’s version is situated on the opposite page. In addition to the translation, pages 7-136 contain a detailed critical introduction and analysis of the work as well as a discussion of Scève’s contributions to French literary history and to the literary traditions of Lyon. Following the critical introduction, pages 137-279 feature the bilingual text followed by appendices that comprise pages 282-296. A glossary of the sixteenth century French version appears on pages 297-322, while pages 323-332 include an index of proper names. The work contains extensive footnotes that further enhance the scope and attention to detail of this study.

The Urbain/Urbano narratives tell the story of Frédéric Barberousse, the Emperor of Rome and his illegitimate son who was conceived during the rape of the young peasant Sylvestre. While Sylvestre takes up residence with an innkeeper and gives birth to Frédéric’s son, named Urbain, Frédéric’s wife, Emeraude, dies while giving birth to a son named Spéculo. Years later, three Florentine merchants notice the striking resemblance between Urbain and Spéculo. Aware of the longstanding political rivalry between the Sultan of Cairo and the Emperor Frédéric, the merchants persuade Urbain to serve as an imposter in order to marry Lucrèce, the Sultan’s daughter. Once married, Lucrèce, while in Rome, reveals her identity to the Emperor who is troubled by the physical resemblance between Urbain and the deceased Spéculo. After recognizing Sylvestre, the emperor marries her in order to correct his past transgression. The Florentines are punished and Frédéric, Sylvestre, Lucrèce, and Urbain live the rest of their days in happiness.

Completed by Claudine Scève in Lyon around 1533, Urbain is particularly unique in that it is only the second text translated into French by a woman in the sixteenth century. In their study, Incardona and Mounier consider the quality of Scève’s translation as well as Scève’s literary and linguistic contributions to the text. In order to better understand Scève’s text, the editors examine several key elements that provide insight into the genesis and trajectory of the Urbano narrative, among them: intertextuality, lexicography, onomatology, and paratextual influences. The work also cites the five remaining original manuscripts as a point of departure for comparison. From a linguistic perspective, the work compares Scève’s translation to the Da Sabbio-Garanta Italian text in order to show how the French text is similar to and different from the Italian version. The comparative analysis of multiple versions of Urbano includes discussions of syntax, punctuation, morphology, and orthography in order to trace the origins, authorship, and trajectory of the Urbano legend.

When discussing the literary genre, Incardona and Mounier argue that as a result of the structure and content of the Urbain/Urbano text, the work can be considered as a roman. Among the strengths of the edited volume is the detailed discussion of the mystery surrounding the inspiration behind the creation of the Urbano narrative. The original Urbano text was published at the end of the fifteenth century by an unknown author who deliberately signed the text with the name Giovanni Boccaccio to mislead the public of readers. Specialists in Italian literature believe that Urbano was inspired by hagiography since the work shares a striking resemblance to the legends of...