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Royal MS 18 E II
- Record Id:
- 040-002107565
- Hierarchy Root Ancestor Record Id:
- 032-002105724
- MDARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100000000338.0x000338
- LARK:
- SLARK:
- Format:
- ISAD(G)
- Reference (shelfmark):
- Royal MS 18 E II
- Title:
- Jean Froissart, Chroniques, vol. 4
- Scope & Content:
-
Includes volume 4 of the 'Chroniques' of Froissart, covering the period 1389-1400, preceded by a list of contents (ff. 2r-5v). Incipit: 'Cy commence la table de ce quart et darrenier volume que fist et compila sire Jehan Froissard des croniques de France et dangleterre'. Table begins: 'Le premier chappittre traitte de lentree de la roynne', and text 'A la requeste contemplacion et plaisance'. Explicit: 'jetterons en la Meuse. Cy fine le quart et darrenier livre maistre Jehan Froissard touchans les histoires et advenues de France et dangleterre'. Probably intended for binding in two volumes, with the second beginning at f. 216r.
This is probably volume 4 of a set; the other volumes are Royal MS 18 E I (volume 2) and Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum, Ludwig MS XIII 7 (volume 3); volume 1 is untraced.
According to Kren and McKendrick 2003, two miniatures are attributed to the Master of the Getty Froissart (ff. 7, 206), named after Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum, Ludwig XIII; the rest of the illuminations are by Master of the Chattering Hands and Master of the Harley Froissart (see McKendrick, Lowden, and Doyle, 2011).
Decoration:
1 large miniature in colours and gold with a full border with flowers and acanthus leaves, at the beginning of the volume (f. 7r). 53 one or two-column miniatures in colours and gold, with partial borders, at the beginning of chapters (ff. 18v, 24v, 31r, 35v, 39r, 40v, 50v, 70v, 74r, 96r, 113r, 124v, 128r, 142r, 159v, 163r, 170v, 178v, 190v, 206r, 211v, 216r, 224r, 226v, 227v, 241r, 247r, 249v, 261v, 266v, 268v, 270v, 293v, 316v, 328v, 336v, 344v, 346v, 352r, 354v, 362r, 363v, 366v, 382r, 386r, 388r, 390r, 393r, 394v, 401v, 404r, 411v, 416v). Instruction to illuminators in French in the lower margins (ff. 35v, 216r, 224r, 227v, 241r). Initials and paraphs in gold on blue and rose grounds with penwork decoration in white.
The contents of the miniatures are:
f. 7r: Isabel arriving at Paris in a litter carried by two white horses, with a full border containing two banners held by lions bearing the royal arms of England, and a shield with the royal arms of England surrounded by the Garter, and surmounted by a crowned helm with mantling in Edward's colours of red and blue, and a lion crest with fleur-de-lis, supported by two lions; and an illuminated initial 'A'( la requeste).
f. 18v: Progress of Charles VI, with cardinals and others, on horseback, entering a walled city.
f. 24v: Joust of two knights (Peter Courtenay and De Clary) on horseback.
f. 31r: Execution of Bethisach, at the beginning of Chapter 7.
f. 35v: The Comte de Foix doing homage to Charles VI.
f. 39r: Progress of Charles VI.
f. 40v: Death-bed of Urban VI.
f. 50v: Jousts of St Inglevert.
f. 70v: The fleet under the Duke of Bourbon sent against La ville d'Afrique, with banners unfinished.
f. 74r: Siege of La Roche de Vendaix.
f. 96r: The Duke of Bourbon holding a council of war.
f. 113r: Knights and ladies going to the jousts in London (the banners unfinished).
f. 124v: Charles VI receiving English envoys.
f. 128r: Siege of Alexandria.
f. 142r: The sudden death of Gaston de Foix.
f. 159v: The sale of the county of Blois.
f. 163r: The conference of the English and French at Amiens.
f. 170v: Pierre de Craon attacking Olivier de Clisson.
f. 178v: Charles VI marching against the Duke of Brittany.
f. 190v: The Dukes of Berry and Burgundy enthroned as regents.
f. 206r: Fire at a masked dance in Paris, with burning costumes of the 'hommes sauvages', at the beginning of chapter 32.
f. 211v: Philippe d'Artois receiving the sword as Constable.
f. 216r: Conference at Lolinghem.
f. 224r: Death of Pope Clement (Robert of Geneva).
f. 226v: Richard II preparing to go to Ireland.
f. 227v: Funeral of Richard's queen, Anne of Bohemia, at the beginning of chapter 39.
f. 241r: Four Irish kings at table.
f. 247r: Charles VI receiving English envoys.
f. 249v: Vision of Robert the Hermit.
f. 261v: John of Burgundy sent on an expedition.
f. 266v: Duke Aubert sending his son into Frisia.
f. 268v: Lawsuit of Jeanne, Queen of Naples, at the beginning of chapter 49.
f. 270v: Betrothal of Isabella to Richard II.
f. 293v: Richard II meeting Isabella.
f. 316v: The Duke and Duchess of Burgundy negotiating for their son's ransom.
f. 328v: Arrest of Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester.
f. 366v: Amurath releasing the Comte de Nevers.
f. 344v: The Comte de Nevers returning to his parents.
f. 346v: The Duke of Gloucester being strangled.
f. 352r: Conference of Charles VI and the Emperor Wenceslas.
f. 354v: The Earl Marshal challenging Henry, Earl of Derby, before Richard II.
f. 362r: Richard II banishing the Earl Marshall and the Earl of Derby.
f. 363v: Norfolk coming to Calais (or Bruges ?).
f. 366v: Pope Boniface receiving bishops.
f. 382r: Richard preparing to go to Ireland (the banner unfinished).
f. 386r: Henry Bolingbroke receiving the Archbishop of Canterbury.
f. 388r: Henry Bolingbroke taking leaves of Charles VI.
f. 390r: Henry Bolingbroke entering London.
f. 393r: Richard II in Flint Castle.
f. 394v: Richard II negotiating with Henry Bolingbroke.
f. 401v: Richard II resigning the crown.
f. 404r: Coronation of Henry IV.
f. 411v: Rebellion of Richard II's partisans.
f. 416v: Funeral of Richard II.
- Collection Area:
- Western Manuscripts
- Project / Collection:
- Royal Collection
- Hierarchy Record Ids:
- 032-002105724
040-002107565 - Is part of:
- Royal MS 1 A I-20 E X : Royal Manuscripts
Royal MS 18 E II : Jean Froissart, Chroniques, vol. 4 - Hierarchy:
- 032-002105724[1714]/040-002107565
- Container:
- View / search within Archive / Collection: Royal MS 1 A I-20 E X
- Record Type (Level):
- File
- Extent:
-
419 + 7 folios.
- Digitised Content:
- http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Royal_MS_18_E_II (digital images currently unavailable)
- Thumbnail:
-
- Languages:
- French
- Scripts:
- Latin
- Start Date:
- 1475
- End Date:
- 1485
- Date Range:
- c 1480
- Era:
- CE
- Access:
-
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- User Conditions:
- Letter of introduction required to view this manuscript.
- Physical Characteristics:
-
Material: Parchment codex.
Dimensions: 485 x 335mm (text space: 290 x 190mm)
Foliation: ff. iii + 419 + iv (3 unfoliated modern paper flyleaves at the beginning and at the end, and 1 unfoliated medieval parchment at the end; f. 1 is a medieval parchment flyleaf. There are currently 2 folios numbered f. 216; the first such folio, which is blank, should properly be numbered f. 215*)
Collation: Gatherings of 8 leaves (beginning at f. 7), except xxvi10, xxx6, last6. Catchwords written vertically.
Layout: Written in two columns of 39 lines.
Script: Gothic cursive (bâtarde).
Binding: British Museum/British Library in-house. Rebound in 1975, with the former binding of brown leather with the royal arms and the date of 1757 kept separately. Gilt edges.
- Custodial History:
-
Origin: Southern Netherlands (Bruges).
Provenance:
Edward IV (1442 -1483), king of England and lord of Ireland, made for him: the royal arms of England surrounded by the Garter, and surmounted by a crowned helm with mantling in Edward's colours of red and blue (f. 7).
The Old Royal Library (the English Royal Library): perhaps to be identified with 'Le petit Froissart' in the list of books at Richmond Palace of 1535, no. 58.
John Lumley, 1st baron Lumley (c. 1533 -1609), collector and conspirator: inscribed with his name (f. 2); listed in the 1609 catalogue of his collection, no. 1235 (see The Lumley Library, 1956); passed to Henry, prince of Wales.
Henry Frederick, prince of Wales (1594 -1612), eldest child of James I: his collection became part of the Royal Library.
Presented to the British Museum by George II in 1757 as part of the Old Royal Library.
- Publications:
-
H. Omont, 'Les manuscrits français des rois d'Angleterre au château de Richmond', in Etudes romanes dédiés à Gaston Paris (Paris: É. Bouillon, 1891), pp. 1-13 (p. 5).
George F. Warner and Julius P. Gilson, Catalogue of Western Manuscripts in the Old Royal and King’s Collections, 4 vols (London: British Museum, 1921), II, pp. 314-15.
The Lumley Library: The Catalogue of 1609, ed. by Sears Jayne and Francis R. Johnson (London: British Museum, 1956), p. 156.
Margaret Kekewich, 'Edward IV, William Caxton, and Literary Patronage in Yorkist England', The Modern Language Review, 66 (1971) 481-87 (p. 483).
Otto Pächt, 'La terre de Flandres', Pantheon, 36 (1978), 3-16 (p. 14).
A. A. J. Armstrong 'L'échange culturel entre les cours d'Angleterre et de Bourgogne a l'époque de Charles le Témeraire', in England, France and Burgundy in the Fifteenth century, ed. by A. A. J. Armstrong (London: Hambledon Press, 1983), 35-49 (p. 47).
Janet Backhouse, ‘Founders of the Royal Library: Edward IV and Henry VII as Collectors of Illuminated Manuscripts’, in England in the Fifteenth Century: Proceedings of the 1986 Harlaxton Symposium, ed. by David Williams (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 1987), pp. 23-42 (pp. 28, 29, 40).
Scot McKendrick, 'The Romuléon and the Manuscripts of Edward IV', in England in the Fifteenth Century, ed. by Nicholas Rogers, Harlaxton Medieval Studies, 4 (Stamford: Paul Watkins, 1994), pp. 149-69 (pp. 161, n. 73).
The Libraries of King Henry VIII, ed. by J. P. Carley, Corpus of British Medieval Library Catalogues, 7 (London: The British Library, 2000), H1.56.
Scot McKendrick, Flemish Illuminated Manuscripts 1400-1550 (London: British Library, 2003), pl. 64.
Thomas Kren and Scot McKendrick, Illuminating the Renaissance: The Triumph of Flemish Manuscript Painting in Europe (Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2003), p. 282 [exhibition catalogue].
Scot McKendrick, 'The Earliest Reproduction of the Crucifixion of the Parlement de Paris?', in Von Kunst und Temperament: Festschrift für Eberhard König, ed. by Caroline Zohl and Mara Hofmann (Turnhout: Brepols, 2007), pp. 177-82 (p. 180, fig. 4).
Hanno Wijsman, 'Two Petals of a Fleur: The 'Copenhagen Fleur des Histoires' and the Production of Illuminated Manuscripts in Bruges around 1480', in Fund og Forskning I Det Kongelige Biblioteks, 47 (2008), 17-72 (p. 68, ns. 105, 106).
Scot McKendrick, John Lowden, and Kathleen Doyle, Royal Manuscripts: The Genius of Illumination (London: British Library, 2011), no. 49.
- Material Type:
- Archives and Manuscripts
- Legal Status:
- Not Public Record(s)