Bossuet and his time

Bossuet writer, intellectual and political thinker in the context of his time

USIAS Fellows: Gérard Ferreyrolles, Béatrice Guion and Hans-Christian Günther

The French 17th century, although it is one of the most interesting periods in European history and a peak of European culture, is very much in the background of public attention. Scholarly research concentrates mainly on two towering figures, Descartes and Pascal.

It follows that Bossuet's momentous work has not yet received all the attention it deserves, although he is a thinker of considerable ability and influence, in religious, historical, philosophical and political matters, as well as one of France’s greatest prose stylists.

This project intends to offer a crucial contribution to a more complete and thorough understanding of his work, and therefore of the period as a whole. Bossuet will be studied in regard to sources and precursors, and in the context of his time, not only inside, but also outside France. This study will be led in an interdisciplinary perspective, gathering specialists of literature and rhetoric, but also scholars who specialize in history, philosophy, and theology.