Ange Cappel et l’Agricola de Tacite. Une traduction ancrée dans son époque

Abstract

First to publish a French translation of Tacitus’ Agricola, the Protestant Ange Cappel worked on this book in a troubled period, shortly after the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre. La vie de Jules Agricola (1574) is dedicated to the English Queen Elizabeth I; Cappel sought her protection, because she welcomed and supported some French Protestants after the massacre. The translator wanted to shed a light on this little‑known text and simplify the obscure style of Tacitus. In this way he also hoped to widen the readership of the Roman historian, who according to Cappel wrote only for politicians. Cappel used the Roman historian himself as a behaviour’s guide for court scholars under the rule of a tyrant.