Archange Tuccaro, ‘un comico virtuoso e studioso’ à la cour d’Henri IV

The treatise by Archange Tuccaro : Trois dialogues de l9exercice de sauter et de voltiger en l9air was dedicated to king Henri IV by the author in 1599. The book represents the fruits of the meeting of two cultures : the French and the Italian ones. By showing the utility of physical education for young aristocrats as a form of civilité, and by explaining the method of performing leaping and tumbling, the author contributes to contemporary debates about dignity of dance and he gives legitimacy to actors, dancers and to their art. The many learned sources corroborate this aim which places Tuccaro among the defenders of virtuous work of actors during the age of Counter-Reformation.