Abstract: Published for the first time at the end of 1534 or more definitely in early 1535 by the Lyon printer François Juste, Gargantua has not yet divulged all its secrets despite the passionate efforts of generations of rabelaisants. By way of a “prelude” to the contributions that follow, the article shows the work’s debt to the Republic of European Letters and its bookish passions, of which Lyon constitutes an important center of dissemination.
