La première diffusion du Policraticus de Jean de Salisbury en France: l’apport du manuscrit Charleville-Mézières, BM, 151

Few medieval works have generated as much interest as the Policraticus of John of Salisbury. Written in late autumn 1159 for Thomas Becket, chancellor of King Henri II Plantagenet and future archbishop of Canterbury, the work has been abundantly studied for its political content, as a mirror for princes. If research has since nuanced this characterization, by stressing in particular the humanistic culture of the text, praising John's knowledge of the classics, few studies have been devoted to the precise diffusion of the text through the manuscript tradition. Our research has two objectives: on the one hand, to propose an overview of the first diffusion of the Policraticus in France, which was facilitated by the simultaneous stay of John of Salisbury and Thomas Becket in Champagne during the years 1164-1170; on the other hand, to understand the function and the place occupied in this diffusion by the manuscript Charleville-Mézières BM 151, which comes from the Cistercian abbey of Signy. It is presented as one of the earliest French witnesses of the Policraticus to survive and stresses the relations observed between John of Salisbury, Thomas Becket and the Cistercian Order.