Medieval Studies Faculty Colloquium – “Diversity, identity, sin: New reflections on the ‘birth of the French author’ in medieval manuscript culture”
Julien Stout, French and Italian
Wed, 9/10 · 12:00 pm—1:15 pm · 105 Chancellor Green
Program in Medieval Studies
Join Medieval Studies for our first faculty colloquium of the year with Julien Stout, Assistant Professor of French and Italian.
Lunch will be provided. Please RSVP.
This event is only open to Princeton University faculty, students, and staff.
Based on Prof. Julien Stout’s new book L’Auteur retrouvé, this presentation examines a key chapter in the history of authorship—a topic which, as current debates on generative AI and the criminal liability of writers and creators show, is anything but “dead”.
Focusing on vernacular manuscript culture from the 12th to early 14th centuries, the book explores how the notion of authorship was both invented and subverted in early French-language collections arranged by author.
The central argument is that, in the High Middle Ages, the “French author” remained a marginal, often ludicrous idea compared to the established Latin and Occitan traditions of the time. Despite being celebrated in monumental manuscripts, French writers were often depicted as self-deprecating figures who claimed ownership only of what God could not author—their own sins, turned into poetry.
By examining collections featuring authors such as Adenet le Roi, Rutebeuf, and Adam de la Halle, this presentation argues that French poets—and the editors who transmitted their works—played a key role in redefining authorship, engaging with broader cultural debates about evolving notions of “identity” and “diversity,” understood both as individuality and as moral/aesthetic deviation.
**Location is subject to change pending Fall classroom assignments.
Book Exhibit
Alain St. Pierre and the Princeton University Library invite the Medieval Studies community to the History reading room in Firestone Library (Floor A: turn left out of the main staircase) each semester to view recently acquired titles in all subject areas of Medieval Studies. The books for fall 2025 will be on display from the afternoon of Tuesday (September 9) through Thursday (September 11). Come browse!
