Joël Blanchard

Joël Blanchard is Professor Emeritus at Le Mans University. He is one of the leading specialists in the history and literature of the late Middle Ages. He is the author of several biographies (Philippe de Commynes, Paris, Fayard, 2006), Louis XI (Paris, Perrin, 2015), essays (La Fin du Moyen Âge, Perrin, 2020). He is co-directing the publication of the political trials of Louis XI (5 volumes already published, Geneva, Droz, 2012-2022) within the Lamop (UMR 8589 Paris 1). He is also the author of several critical editions of medieval texts (Philippe de Commynes, Mémoires, 2007, Geneva, Droz, Philippe de Mézières, Geneva, Droz 2015) and of translations of major texts of the Middle Ages (Lettres Gothiques, Pocket "collection Agora", Philippe de Commynes, Thomas Basin, Juvénal des Ursins, Christine de Pizan). His research interests include political History and Literature, Law and Literature, World History (Marco Polo, le Devisement du monde, Genève, Droz, 2019), and more recently Gender and Power (Poétiques de l’amour. Sexualité, Genre, Pouvoir, XIe-XVe siècles, Paris, Passés/Composés 2022).