Harley MS 4431, ff 1r-177v

The first volume of Works by Christine de Pizan, also known as 'The Book of the Queen', including:

1. List of contents, Table des dictiez en general (ff. 2r-2v).

2. Dedication to the queen Isabel of Bavaria, Prologue adreçant à la royne (ff. 3r-3v).

3. Cent balades (ff. 4r-21r);

4. Virelais (ff. 21v-24r).

5. Balades de plusieurs façons (ff. 24r-25r).

6. Lay de vers léonimes (ff. 25r-27r).

7. Un Autre Lay (ff. 27r-28v).

8. Rondelz (ff. 28v-34r);

9. Jeux à Vendre (ff. 34v-37v);

10. Autres Balades (Plusieurs balades de divers propos) (ff. 37r-48r);

11. Une Complainte Amoureuse (ff. 48r-49v);

12. Encore Aultres Balades (ff. 49v-51r);

13. Epistre au Dieu d'Amours (ff. 51r-56v);

14. Une Autre Complainte Amoureuse (ff. 56v-58r);

15. Le livre du débat des deux amans (ff. 58v-71r);

16. Le Livre des trois jugements (ff. 71v-81r);

17. Livre de Poissy (ff. 81r-94r);

18. L'Épître Othéa (ff. 95r-141v);

19. Livre du duc des vrais amants (ff. 143r-177v).

Decoration:

Selected texts and their divisions begin with one-column miniatures, with the exception of the first image which is two-column wide. Their subjects are:

f. 3r, Christine de Pizan presenting her book to queen Isabeau of Bavaria (Prologue).

f. 4r, Christine de Pizan in her study (Cent balades).

f. 48r, A Duke presents his complaint to a noble lady (Une Complainte Amoureuse).

f. 51r, The God of Love presenting a letter to a messenger (Epistre au Dieu d'Amours).

f. 56v, The lover presents his complaint to his lady (Une Autre Complainte Amoureuse).

f. 58v, Christine addressing Louis d’Orléans and pointing at two men behind her (Le livre du débat des deux amans).

f. 71v, Christine presenting three pairs of lovers to Jean de Werchin, Seneschal of Hainault (Le Livre des trois jugements).

f. 81r, Christine and courtiers journey to Poissy (Livre de Poissy).

L'Épître Othéa:

f. 95r, Christine de Pizan presenting her book to Louis of Orleans.

f. 95v, The goddess Othea presenting her epistle to Hector of Troy.

f. 96v, Temperance adjusting a clock.

f. 97r, Hercules battling against two lions.

f. 98r, Naked Christians being brought before king Minos for judgement.

f. 98v, Andromeda being rescued from a monster by Perseus, riding on Pegasus.

f. 99v, Jupiter presiding over his followers.

f. 100r, Venus presiding over a group of men and women, who are presenting their hearts to her.

f. 100v, Saturn, holding a sickle, presiding over a group of men.

f. 101r, Apollo, playing his harp, presiding over his followers; and Phoebe with a bow and arrow, presiding over her followers.

f. 101v, Mars presiding over a battle scene.

f. 102r, Mercury holding a flower as a symbol of eloquence, and inspiring the speech of the learned, engaged in a discourse below.

f. 102v, Minerva presenting armour to her followers.

f. 103r, Minerva, holding a sword, and Pallas Athena, holding a book, presiding over their followers.

f. 103v, Queen Penthesilea with and her amy of Amazons riding through the forest to aid the Trojan army.

f. 104r, Narcissus gazing at his own reflection; The fury Tesiphone inducing Athamus to kill his wife Ino and their children.

f. 104v, Aglauros refusing Mercury, disguised as a traveller, admittance to her sister Herse.

f. 105r, Ulysses blinding the Cyclop Polyphemus.

f. 105v, The goddess Latona turning peasants into frogs after they prevented her from drinking from a stream.

f. 106r, Bacchus and his followers drinking.

f. 106v, Pygmalion kneeling before Venus.

f. 107r, Diana presiding over an assembly of women reading.

f. 107v, Ceres sowing corn; and Isis grafting trees.

f. 108r, Midas (with donkey's ears) judging the contest between Pan playing pipe and Apollo playing his lyre.

f. 108v, Hercules slaying Cerberus, and Theseus and Pirithous battling demons

f. 109r, Construction of Thebes and Cadmus killing the dragon at Ares's spring; A scriptorium at work under the direction of Io.

f. 109v, Mercury playing pipes to put a many-eyed Argus to sleep, in order to steal Io, who has been transformed into a cow.

f. 110r, Pyrrhus in battle with the Trojans, avenging the death of Achille.

f. 110v, Cassandra kneeling in prayer before an altar in a temple; Neptune intervening to save a ship caught in a storm at sea.

f. 111r, Atropos threatening a group of people, including a pope, with her arrows of death.

f. 111v, Bellorophon and his stepmother, the queen, with threatening lions above.

f. 112r, King Memnon, a cousin of Hector, being called to arms.

f. 112v, King Laomedon of Troy confronting the Hercules, Jason, and the Argonauts; Thisbe committing suicide after finding Pyramus dead.

f. 113v, The physician Aesculapius making a diagnosis, with Circe spearing frogs in a stream below.

f. 114r, Paris killing Achilles as he kneels in a temple and Hecuba watching; and King Busiris offering the heads of his victims to the gods, on an altar in the temple.

f. 114v, Hero leaping from the battlements of a castle to drown with her lover Leander.

f. 115r, Greek messengers demanding the return of Helen from King Priam.

f. 115v, Aurora bringing the dawn, with a peasant, fastening his trousers and entering a hen house.

f. 116r, Queen Pasiphae embracing the bull.

f. 116v, Thydeus and Polinices in combat beneath the chamber of the sleeping King Adrastus of Argos.

f. 117r, Cupid and a young knight.

f. 117v, Apollo shooting arrows at Corinus, after the white raven has reported her unfaithfulness.

f. 118r, Juno, as the goddess of wealth, presiding over an assembly of men counting money.

f. 118v, The army of King Adrastus riding to destroy Thebes, against the advice of Amphiarus; and Saturn, as a model of discretion, counseling silence to his followers.

f. 119r, Two birds, a black crow and a white raven, resting in trees.

f. 119v, Apollo killing Ganymede by piercing his eye.

f. 120r, Jason battling the dragon which guards the golden ram on Colchis.

f. 120v, Perseus battling the Gorgon.

f. 121r, Vulcan chaining his wife Venus and Mars after finding them in bed together.

f. 121v, The head of King Cyrus being brought before Thamyris, Queen of the Amazons.

f. 122r, Medea presenting a casket to a kneeling Jason; and Galatea and Acis being surprised by Galatea's jealous suitor, Polyphemus.

f. 122v, Guests at the banquet to celebrate the wedding of Peleus and Thetis.

f. 123r, Greek soldiers killing king Laomedon.

f. 123v, Juno, disguised as an old woman, giving poor advice to the young Semele, beloved of Jupiter.

f. 124r, Diana and maidens hunting a stag; and Arachne at her loom with Pallas.

f. 124v, Adonis being killed by a wild boar.

f. 125r, The Trojan army inspecting the empty Greek ships as Telamon's army enters the undefended city of Troy.

f. 125v, Orpheus charming wild animals by playing his lyre; and The Judgement of Paris.

f. 126r, Actaeon surprising Diana at her bath and being turned into a stag as punishment.

f. 126v, Orpheus looking back as he leads Eurydice from Hell.

f. 127v, Ulysses discovering Achilles, who is hiding among the daughters of Lycomedes on Scyros (Ulysses casts weapons before the women, which Achilles snatches up, betraying his identity).

f. 128r, Hippomenes racing against Atalante, and picking up one of the golden apples thrown by her.

f. 128v, The Judgement of Paris, between Athena, Juno and Venus.

f. 129r, The Wheel of Fortune; and Paris embracing Helen.

f. 129v, Cephalus accidentally killing his wife Procris in a forest while hunting.

f. 130r, Helenus, brother of Hector, advising Paris in an assembly.

f. 130v, Morpheus bringing sleep to a man in a bed.

f. 131r, King Ceyx taking leave of his wife Alcyone as he prepares to set sail in a boat.

f. 131v, Troilus advising king Priam in council about the abduction of Helen.

f. 132r, Calchas being sent to Delphi by Priam.

f. 132v, Hermaphroditus and the nymph Salmacis bathing in a lake.

f. 133r, Ulysses playing chess in his tent during the Trojan War.

f. 133v, Troilus and Briseis with Cupid.

f. 134r, Hector killing Patroclus in battle; and Echo and Narcissus.

f. 134v, Daphne, half-woman and half- laurel tree with Apollo.

f. 135r, Hector bidding farewell to his wife Andromache and their son Astyanax before going off to war.

f. 135v, King Ninus besieging the city of Babylon.

f. 136r, Hector bidding farewell to Priam, who implores him not to fight.

f. 136v, Achilles killing Hector in battle.

f. 137r, Achilles killing Polybetes in battle, as Polybetes tries to retrieve Hector's armour.

f. 137v, Funeral of Hector.

f. 138r, Ajax being killed by an enemy arrow during a battle.

f. 138v, Antenor betraying the city of Troy to the Greeks.

f. 139r, The gates of Troy being enlarged to permit the entrance of the Trojan horse.

f. 139v, The Greek army entering Troy and destroying the city.

f. 140r, The sorceress Circe changing Ulysses and his companions into swine.

f. 140v, Ino ordering the sowing of boiled corn.

f. 141r, The Tiburtine Sybil revealing to Caesar Augustus a vision of the Virgin and Child.

Livre du duc des vrais amants:

f. 143r, The Duke of True Love and Christine.

f. 144r, The Duke of True Love hunting with dogs and mounted companions.

f. 145r, The Duke of True Love and his companions entertaining ladies in a garden.

f. 150r, Ladies watching knights jousting.

f. 153r, A lady seated in a litter borne by two white horses, in the centre, with male attendants, three mounted, one on foot.

f. 154v, The Lover in bed complaining to his companion.