Oresme's Livre de Politiques and the France of Charles V
Babbitt, Susan M Charles V was a scholarly king who commissioned French versions of ancient & medieval treatises for the express purpose of guiding his government. To translate Aristotle's "Politics" he chose Nicole Oresme, an ingenious philosopher whose aptitude & attitudes made him an effective supporter of the Valois monarchy. Oresme's task was to take his text out of the language of a small but international community of scholars & adapt it to serve the Fr...