<i>Ne, pour ce que l’Archorant est rithmé, n’en doit estre dicte plus saincte loy</i>. La <i>nature poétique</i> du Qur’ān dans le <i>Trésor des simples</i> (1447–1451) de Jean Germain

Abstract This article is devoted to the Trésor des simples , a treatise written around the middle of the fifteenth century by the Burgundian bishop Jean Germain and dedicated to his patron Philip the Good. Halfway between anti-Islamic polemic and crusading propaganda, the Trésor des simples offers a refutation of the Qur’ān that is, on the one hand, a reworking of the classic topics of medieval anti-Islamic polemic, and on the other, a refunctionalisation of these topics in a new context, with the production of original remarks. Among these, there is the issue of the “poetic nature” of the Qur’ān, where poetic stands for the presence of a musical/rhythmic component, associated with a fictional content. Far from representing a mere element of aesthetic inadequacy, the alleged “poetic nature” of the Qur’ān is exploited by Germain as a proof to refute the theological validity of Islam’s holy book. This article aims to trace the different paths that this issue follows in the Trésor des simples , attempting to justify them in the light of medieval anti-islamic polemical literature and, above all, of its historical, cultural and literary context.