This first volume of Jean de Langeac’s letters and papers is an important research tool that accesses his correspondence as a bishop of Avranches and then Limoges as well as patron of the arts and a royal official for Francis I. First mention is made of him as a member of the Parlement of Toulouse in 1511, and by 1516 he was a member of the king’s Grand Council, and then later appointed to the office of royal master of requests. Much of this correspondence deals with his position as diplomatic emissary to a number of states, including Portugal, Poland, Hungary, Venice, Switzerland, Ferrara, Scotland, England, and Rome, in addition to domestic missions in the French provinces. From 1516–41 he performed sixteen diplomatic missions. Also, as a clergyman he administered endowed monasteries, including serving as feudal lord for numerous benefices. Though only a small portion of his cumulative correspondence remains today, this volume provides an indispensable guide to Langeac’s role in church and diplomatic affairs for the historian of Renaissance France. Our knowledge of acts of property tenure, records of litigation, mission instructions to diplomats, contracts for artistic services, and even instructions regarding the deliverance of a kidnapped girl shed light on the quotidian duties of this important official and his life’s work.

This volume is especially well organized for scholars and contains 150 pieces of correspondence. But first the table of contents, including a helpful chronological table of Langeac’s life, from his parent’s marriage in 1474 to his death in 1541, will guide the researcher of this volume to the sources she or he is most interested in examining. Then the next item, a list of travel for church and state, 1511–41, facilitates our efforts even further because it lists the specific missions of Langeac at these times. Next, “Letters and Papers” comprises the body of this volume, containing 150 letters from 1512 to 1541. Of great importance here is the variety of subjects covered in history, such as the second war of Kappel, an interview with King Henry VIII at Hampton Court, an oration before King Manuel I of Portugal, or instructions to Langeac’s envoys going to the court of Sigismund I of Poland, for example. The beauty of all these subjects is made even more accessible through English translations that paraphrase every single letter and paper of this volume. Since Langeac wrote in French, Latin, Italian, and occasionally German, English summations of the content of these papers provide us with the opportunity to comprehend more fully the cosmopolitan world of court societies and feudal obligations.

Furthermore, this volume retains the original documents for our perusal as well. In addition to the fine translations are the notes after each letter and paper. They provide the reader with a wealth of information on persons and events. Often letters beg for money, complain of a lack of free time, or gripe about personal illness. So it was then as it is today. Even so, the editor of this volume has performed an immeasurable contribution in providing illuminating sources on a number of social, religious, diplomatic, and political events of the sixteenth century. Rounding out this volume is a bibliography of manuscripts and printed material that comprises forty-one pages. Archives from Belgium, Denmark, England, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Switzerland, and the Vatican were consulted for the primary sources. Finally, an index of proper names provides sharper focus to pinpoint topics. Volumes such as these can and should excite further research into Renaissance studies.