Pierre-François Godard de Beauchamps
Encyclopedia
Pierre-François Godard de Beauchamps, born in 1689 in Paris
, where he died on March 12, 1761, was a playwright, theater historian, libertine novel
ist and French translator. In his youth he was the secretary of François de Neufville, duc de Villeroi
, who became governor of the child King Louis XV of France
. His most famous works are Arlequin
amoureux par enchantement (Harlequin in love by magic) and Les Amans réunis (The lovers of reunion).
Beauchamps worked for different theatres of the French capital. In 1721, he directed the performance of the play Soubrette, a comedy in one act, which was a success, and within ten years, he directed successively the plays: le Jaloux (the Jealous One); Arlequin
amoureux par enchantement (Arlequin in love by spell); le Portrait (the Portrait); le Parvenu (the Upstart); le Mariage rompu (the Broken Mariage); les Effets du dépit (the Effects of Vexation); les Amants réunis (the Reunited Lovers); le Bracelet (the Bracelet); la Mère rivale (the rival Mother) and la Fausse Inconstance (the False Fickleness). Almost all were praised for their novelty at their time, but now have fallen into oblivion.
From Beauchamps, we still can find: Funestime , a novel, Paris, 1737, in-12, rare and reprinted in the 31st volume of the Cabinet des Fées, les Lettres d’Héloïse et d’Abailard (the letters of Héloïse and Abailard), Paris, 1737, in-8°, les Amours d’Ismène et d’Isménias (the romance of Ismène and Isménias), a translated novel, or rather imitated from the Greek Eustathius Macrembolites
. The work of Beauchamps was printed in Paris, under the rubrique de la Haye, 1743, in-8°, and was reprinted, in the same town, in 1797, in-4° ; the second edition is adorned with illumination drawings, Imitation du roman grec (les Amours de Rhodanthe et de Dosiclés) de Théodore Prodrome Pria, 1746, in-8°. This imitation differ from a translation which came out the same year, Paris, in-12, and which author have stayed unknown.
Finally, we credit Beauchamps with : a pamphleteer libertine novel, l’Histoire du prince Apprius (Priapus) extraite des fastes du monde, depuis sa création, manuscrit persan, trouvé dans la bibliothèque du roi de Perse, traduction française par M. Esprit, gentilhomme provençal, servant dans les troupes de Perse (the Story of prince Apprius, excerpt of the splendours of the world, since its creation, persian manuscrit, found in the library of the king of the Persian Empire, French translation by Mr Esprit, country gentleman, serving in the Persian army), Constantinople (i.e. Paris, around 1722); la Haye, (i.e. Lyon), 1728, in-12. We find in some copies of this document an explanatory table giving the names of the indecent anagrams
used by the author. The printer was sentenced to banishment and heavily fined ; Hipparchia, histoire galante divisée en 3 livres, avec une préface très-intéressante (Hipparchia, galant history divided in 3 book, with a very-interesting preface) , Lampsaque (i.e. Paris), l’an de ce monde (1748), petit in-8°.
His Recherches sur les théâtres de France, depuis 1161 jusqu’à présent (Researches on French theatres, from 1161 until present days) , Paris, in-4°, or 3 vol. in-8 where he recounts the origin and the progress of drama in France, which he made published in 1735, constitutes his most important work. Paul Lacroix
, a French journalist, wrote about it:
«This book, still very usefull in spite of similar works published since, consists of the history of the Provence
poets, an essay on the origin of spectacles in France and on the establishment of theatres, a chronological analysis on the authors of mysteries , moralities, farces and guff before Jodelle
, authors of French theatre in four ages until 1735, a repertoire of ancients ballets and major plays performed at the Théâtre Italien
and at the Théâtre de la foire
. Beauchamps, in his preface, doesn’t name the people who give him material and notes; but, in his book, he cites some drama libraries very important, the one of M. de Callières, the one of the Count of Toulouse
, the one of Théodore Tronchin
, ect.»
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where he died on March 12, 1761, was a playwright, theater historian, libertine novel
Libertine novel
The libertine novel was an 18th century literary genre of which the roots lay in the European but mainly French libertine tradition. The genre effectively ended with the French Revolution...
ist and French translator. In his youth he was the secretary of François de Neufville, duc de Villeroi
François de Neufville, duc de Villeroi
François de Neufville, 2ème duc de Villeroy was a French soldier.-Biography:Villeroy was born in Lyon into noble family which had risen into prominence in the reign of Charles IX....
, who became governor of the child King Louis XV of France
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
. His most famous works are Arlequin
Harlequin
Harlequin or Arlecchino in Italian, Arlequin in French, and Arlequín in Spanish is the most popularly known of the zanni or comic servant characters from the Italian Commedia dell'arte and its descendant, the Harlequinade.-Origins:...
amoureux par enchantement (Harlequin in love by magic) and Les Amans réunis (The lovers of reunion).
Beauchamps worked for different theatres of the French capital. In 1721, he directed the performance of the play Soubrette, a comedy in one act, which was a success, and within ten years, he directed successively the plays: le Jaloux (the Jealous One); Arlequin
Arlequin
Arlequin is a free population genetics software. It performs several types of tests and calculations, including Fst, computing genetic distance, Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, linkage disequilibrium, mismatch distribution, and pairwise difference tests....
amoureux par enchantement (Arlequin in love by spell); le Portrait (the Portrait); le Parvenu (the Upstart); le Mariage rompu (the Broken Mariage); les Effets du dépit (the Effects of Vexation); les Amants réunis (the Reunited Lovers); le Bracelet (the Bracelet); la Mère rivale (the rival Mother) and la Fausse Inconstance (the False Fickleness). Almost all were praised for their novelty at their time, but now have fallen into oblivion.
From Beauchamps, we still can find: Funestime , a novel, Paris, 1737, in-12, rare and reprinted in the 31st volume of the Cabinet des Fées, les Lettres d’Héloïse et d’Abailard (the letters of Héloïse and Abailard), Paris, 1737, in-8°, les Amours d’Ismène et d’Isménias (the romance of Ismène and Isménias), a translated novel, or rather imitated from the Greek Eustathius Macrembolites
Eustathius Macrembolites
Eustathius or Eumathius , surnamed Macrembolites , a medieval revivalist of the Greek romance, flourished in the second half of the 12th century CE....
. The work of Beauchamps was printed in Paris, under the rubrique de la Haye, 1743, in-8°, and was reprinted, in the same town, in 1797, in-4° ; the second edition is adorned with illumination drawings, Imitation du roman grec (les Amours de Rhodanthe et de Dosiclés) de Théodore Prodrome Pria, 1746, in-8°. This imitation differ from a translation which came out the same year, Paris, in-12, and which author have stayed unknown.
Finally, we credit Beauchamps with : a pamphleteer libertine novel, l’Histoire du prince Apprius (Priapus) extraite des fastes du monde, depuis sa création, manuscrit persan, trouvé dans la bibliothèque du roi de Perse, traduction française par M. Esprit, gentilhomme provençal, servant dans les troupes de Perse (the Story of prince Apprius, excerpt of the splendours of the world, since its creation, persian manuscrit, found in the library of the king of the Persian Empire, French translation by Mr Esprit, country gentleman, serving in the Persian army), Constantinople (i.e. Paris, around 1722); la Haye, (i.e. Lyon), 1728, in-12. We find in some copies of this document an explanatory table giving the names of the indecent anagrams
Anagrams
Anagrams, Pirate Scrabble, Anagram, Snatch, or Grabscrab is a board-free word game that involves rearranging letter tiles to form words....
used by the author. The printer was sentenced to banishment and heavily fined ; Hipparchia, histoire galante divisée en 3 livres, avec une préface très-intéressante (Hipparchia, galant history divided in 3 book, with a very-interesting preface) , Lampsaque (i.e. Paris), l’an de ce monde (1748), petit in-8°.
His Recherches sur les théâtres de France, depuis 1161 jusqu’à présent (Researches on French theatres, from 1161 until present days) , Paris, in-4°, or 3 vol. in-8 where he recounts the origin and the progress of drama in France, which he made published in 1735, constitutes his most important work. Paul Lacroix
Paul Lacroix
Paul Lacroix , French author and journalist, was born in Paris, the son of a novelist.He is best known under his pseudonym of P.L. Jacob, bibliophile, or Bibliophile Jacob, suggested by the constant interest he took in public libraries and books generally. Lacroix was an extremely prolific and...
, a French journalist, wrote about it:
«This book, still very usefull in spite of similar works published since, consists of the history of the Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
poets, an essay on the origin of spectacles in France and on the establishment of theatres, a chronological analysis on the authors of mysteries , moralities, farces and guff before Jodelle
Étienne Jodelle
Étienne Jodelle, seigneur de Limodin , French dramatist and poet, was born in Paris of a noble family.He attached himself to the poetic circle of the Pléiade and proceeded to apply the principles of the reformers to dramatic composition...
, authors of French theatre in four ages until 1735, a repertoire of ancients ballets and major plays performed at the Théâtre Italien
Comédie-Italienne
Over time, there have been several buildings and several theatrical companies named the "Théâtre-Italien" or the "Comédie-Italienne" in Paris. Following the times, the theatre has shown both plays and operas...
and at the Théâtre de la foire
Théâtre de la foire
Théâtre de la foire is the collective name given to the theatre put on at the annual fairs at Saint-Germain and Saint-Laurent in Paris.-Foire Saint-Germain:The earliest references to the annual fair date to 1176...
. Beauchamps, in his preface, doesn’t name the people who give him material and notes; but, in his book, he cites some drama libraries very important, the one of M. de Callières, the one of the Count of Toulouse
Counts of Toulouse
The first Counts of Toulouse were the administrators of the city and its environs under the Merovingians. No succession of such royal appointees is known, though a few names survive to the present...
, the one of Théodore Tronchin
Théodore Tronchin
Théodore Tronchin was a Swiss physician.-Life:A native of Geneva, he studied initially at the University of Cambridge, then transferred to the University of Leiden, where he was a pupil of Herman Boerhaave . In 1730 he obtained his medical doctorate, and subsequently practiced medicine in Amsterdam...
, ect.»