La traduction du De excidio Troiae de Darès le Phrygien et ses liens avec le roman de Troie (Deux exemples du XIIIe s.)

In the 13th century, two isolated translators, Jean de Flixecourt and Jofroi de Waterford, attempted a French translation of the De Excidio Troiae by Dares Phrygius. This prose narrative probably met the expectations that Medieval readers had towards historical narratives. The study of some features of their translation methods reveals that they adopted two distinct positions in relation to the source text. Jofroi de Waterford remained close to the Latin original by adopting a literal translation, which could guarantee the authenticity and the authority of the Latin text through the French version. Jean de Flixecourt, although very close to Dares’ text, did not hesitate to amplify and to draw some elements from the Roman de Troie. Two different relationships to the Latin authority and to historiography emerge : the second translator strives to emancipate himself from the auctoritas in order to raise himself to this status, while the first one seems to hide himself behind this auctoritas so as to propose a faithful transposition.