|
|
 |
|
||||||||
Robinet Testard: Ovid's Heroides |
||||||||||
Louise of Savoy, mother of
Francis I of France, commissioned a French translation of Ovid's
Heroides, rendered into the vernacular by Octavien de Saint-Gelais. This
work consists of twenty-one epistolary poems—letters penned by figures
from classical mythology to their lovers. These poignant missives lay
bare the pain of abandonment, neglect, or betrayal suffered by the
writers at the hands of those they loved. Fifteen of the letters are
from women addressing absent or faithless lovers: Penelope to Odysseus,
Phyllis to Demophon, Briseis to Achilles, Phaedra to Hippolytus, Oenone
to Paris, Hypsipyle to Jason, Dido to Aeneas, Hermione to Orestes,
Deianeira to Hercules, Ariadne to Theseus, Canace to Macareus, Medea to
Jason, Laodamia to Protesilaus, Hypermnestra to Lynceus, and Sappho to
Phaon. The remaining six letters form paired exchanges between
lovers—three sets of responses: Paris and Helen, Leander and Hero,
Cydippe and Acontius. Completed in 1496–97, Testard captures the emotional
intensity of Ovid’s heroines, sharpening the portrayal of longing, love,
and betrayal in their voices. The visual and poetic elements together
reveal the inner worlds of these mythological characters. |
||||||||||
| |
||||||||||
 |
||||||||||
  |
||||||||||
Robinet Testard