The book is devoted to various aspects of the formation of the national literature of France at the turn of the Middle Ages and the Modern Age. Using the example of the works of the leading writers of the era (Jean Lemaire de Belge, Guillaume Tardif, Octovien de Sève-Gelais, Clément Marot, Bonaventure Deperrier, etc.), the formation of a national historical myth, the first attempts to “protect and glorify” the French language, and the first attempts associated with it to “protect and glorify” the French language are considered. also the emergence of new ideas about the author, the reading public, the work, poetic fiction and the book. Particular attention is paid to the role played in this process by the first French typographers and librarians (from Guillaume Fichet and Antoine Verard to Geoffroy Thory and Etienne Dolet), and the impact of the new art - printing on the literary practices of the era. The monograph is addressed to literary and book historians, teachers and university students specializing in the history of foreign literature. Table of contents: Preface 7§ I. Nature, love and rhetoric in French literature of the early 16th century. 16§ I. “Glorifications of Gaul” by Jean Lemaire de Belge: poetics and history 33§ III. Moralized translation and popular tradition in the literature of the early French Renaissance: the example of Guillaume Tardif 44§ IV. The image of the poet in the French culture of the early Renaissance (from the legend of Villon to the legend of Marot) 105§ V Printing and folk literature in France in the 15th century. 111§ VI. The image of the book and the problem of authorship in the publishing activity of Antoine Verard 144§ VII. Myth and print: the mythologization of the French language in Geoffroy Thory's Meadow of Flowers 156§ VIII. Poetic controversy in the era of the printed book: the dispute between Clément Marot and François Sagon 171§ IX. Book and creation: “The Abode of Honor” by Octovien de Saint-Gelais 182§ X. The end of medieval mythology of the book: “The Cymbal of Peace” by Bonaventure Deperrier 206Appendix. The Prophecies of Pantagruel 233Summary 244Content 245