La librairie au Mans et ses relations avec Paris au XVIe siècle

This paper takes a fresh look at the relationship between the book trade in Le Mans and Paris throughout the 16th century, to show how booksellers in Le Mans, who were at first entirely subservient to the great Parisian merchants, tried to free themselves from this hold in the second third of the 16th century. Before the upheavals of the Wars of Religion, the book trade in Le Mans was undeniably dynamic, firstly by becoming involved in Parisian productions, as in the case of Charlotte Guillard's network, and then by experimenting with local production and distribution conditions that were acceptable to the Parisian book trade and profitable for Le Mans, as in the case of Denis Gaignot. After the troubles of 1562 and the Catholic takeover from 1564 onwards, Charles d'Angennes, bishop of Le Mans, placed publishing in Le Mans under the long-term control of Paris, giving preference to the great Parisian bookseller Jacques Kerver.