The forgotten provenance of the famous letter from Rabelais to Budé (1521) Humanist epistolography and the history of collections

The famous autograph letter from Rabelais to Budé (1521) kept at the French National Library was not documented before 1860. This short article proposes to restore it to its place in history by reminding us of the importance of what is passed down through the years and of the examination of the collections of great paper-handlers such as Melchior Goldast.