Éloge de la poésie dans les Emblemata (1596) de Lebey de Batilly

Denis Lebey de Batilly was a Calvinist magistrate at Metz. Closely connected with J.-J. Boissard, he published in 1596 a collection of emblems designed by his friend and clarified by paraphrases which form a web of quotations. In 1600, a second edition was issued in Heidelberg, at the behest of P. Melissus, lacking both images and paraphrases. The first edition was printed by De Bry and consists of some sixty emblems, eight of which (E 46-53) have poetry as their subject. Each emblem is dedicated to a person more or less well known to the author. First in the series is J.-J. Scaliger, the famous scholar who, just as Lebey and Poupo (E 51), once studied in Valence. Scaliger is associated with Hercules Musagetes, described by Boissard in his Parnassus (1601). Thus, a web of connections comes to the fore. What are its main characteristics? What relations are there between emblem and addressee? What is the part played by Boissard? By P. Melissus? These are some of the questions that will be addressed. Finally, some thoughts concerning the religious background of the emblems and the part played by ethics in protestant theology are added.