The Talbot Shrewsbury Book (London, British Library Royal 15 E vi) is a very large richly-illuminated manuscript made in Rouen (Normandy) in 1444/5. It was presented by John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury (d. 1453) to the French princess, Margaret of Anjou (b. 1430, d. 1482), in honour of her betrothal to King Henry VI (r. 1422-1461). It contains a unique collection of fifteen texts in French, including chansons de geste, chivalric romances, treatises on warfare and chivalry, and finally the Statutes of the Order of the Garter. The work is an excellent example of book production in Rouen in the mid-fifteenth century and provides a rare insight into the political views of the English military leader and close confidant of the crown, John Talbot.
Following the two-page presentation miniature and dedication, tales of heroes and heroines of the past, both real and imaginary, in the form of chansons de geste (verse epics), and chivalric romances fill two-thirds of the volume. The final third contains more didactic material: chronicles, instructional manuals and statutes. Each text, preceded by a large image, begins on a new folio in a separate gathering. All were bound together in a single volume, with a list of contents on the verso of the first folio.
Two of the greatest heroes of the past, Alexander the Great and Charlemagne are the subject of the first six texts in the collection:
Alexander the Great in a barrel submarine – British Library Royal MS 15 E vi f20v (detail)
Alexander the Great
The Roman d'Alexandre en prose (ff. 5-24v) is a thirteenth-century French version[1] of the Historia de preliis (a Latin translation of the original Greek legend of Alexander, falsely attributed to Callisthenes).[2] Alexander the Great is portrayed as the ultimate hero who conquers the known world, battles flying dragons, meets Amazonian women and horned men, and is lowered into the sea in a cask. Included here are tales of his childhood and legendary education by Aristotle, the murder of his mother, Olympias, and details of his successors. Eighty-one colourful miniatures illustrate Alexander's adventures.
Charlemagne
Charlemagne and four kings - British Library Royal MS 15 E vi f25r (detail)
The following five tales are set in the time of Charlemagne, the great military hero and Holy Roman emperor, whose reign provides the background to a huge epic cycle involving a plethora of subsidiary characters. The first four texts are in the form of chansons de geste and the fifth is a prose romance.
Simon de Pouille[3] relates the events in the war between Charlemagne and Christian Jerusalem on the one side and Jonas of Babylon, on the other. Simon, one of the emperor's companions, is sent as an envoy to the Saracen leader, a task fraught with difficulties. Two other manuscripts of this work are in the Bibliothèque nationale de France: Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, nouvelles acquisitions françaises, 4780 and Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, français, 368, ff. 140r-160v.
Aspremont[4] tells of Charlemagne's campaigns in Italy. Aspremont is one of the peaks in the southern Apennines through which the army advances on the way to Rome.
Fierebras[5] is the tale of Charlemagne's battles with the Saracens and of the encounter between his army and Fierebras of Alexander, in which the Crown of Thorns and other relics are recaptured for the Christians.
Ogier le Danois[6] links the tales of Charlemagne with Arthurian legends, as common characters and places are introduced. Ogier, the Danish hero and enemy of Charlemagne, marries an English princess and becomes King of England, bearing a son by Morgan le Fee while he is shipwrecked on Avalon.
Quatre fils Aimon or Le livre de Renault de Montauban[7][8] tells the story of four brothers who flee from persecution by Charlemagne, going on a crusade on Bayard, the magic horse. Renault eventually becomes a stonemason at the cathedral in Cologne and after his death his body develops miraculous properties.
Other romances
Two prose romances of Anglo-Norman origin and a chanson follow:
Pontus et Sidoine,[9] adapted from the French version of the Anglo-Norman romance, King Horn, tells the story of the son of the King of Galicia and the daughter of the King of Brittany and their love for one another. A tale of chivalry as well as a moral treatise, it glorifies peace as a worthy aim for all, even knights and soldiers.
Le Romant de Guy de Warwik (Guy of Warwick) et d’Heraud d’Ardenne,[10] was one of the most popular romances in medieval England, judging from the number of copies that survive in both French and Middle English, mostly in verse. There are, however, only two known copies in French prose, of which this is one. Guy is an English knight who falls in love with a lady of high standing and must prove himself worthy to win her hand. He is taught chivalry by his foster-father, Heraud, and embarks on a series of successful adventures, but later comes to regret his violent past and goes on a crusade, then retires to a hermitage.
The last romance in the collection is a chanson called Lystoire du chevalier au Cygne,[11] an abridged version of part of the vast Crusade cycle. The tale of the seven children turned to swans and of Hélias, the Knight of the Swan, was linked to the legendary origins of Godefroi de Bouillon, one of the leaders of the First Crusade (1096), who became the first ruler of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Didactic texts
The remainder of the manuscript (from folio 293 onwards) contains texts which are more didactic in nature, perhaps intended for the instruction of Margaret of Anjou or of her future sons and heirs. There are three works on chivalry and warfare, an instructional manual for kings and princes, a chronicle and statutes.
Larbre des batailles is a treatise on war and the laws of battle, written for a wide audience in the style of a scholastic dialogue; a question is posed, both sides are debated and a conclusion follows.
Le gouvernement des roys et des princes is translated from Gilles de Rome'sDe regimine principium, the 'Mirror of Princes',[12] an influential text which interpreted (sometimes loosely) and promoted Aristotle's political and moral philosophy to a medieval audience. It combined practical advice with philosophical guidance for rulers. There is a further copy of this text in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arsenal, 2690.
Chroniques de Normandie is a history of the region from the 8th century to 1217. It begins in the time of the legendary Aubert and his son Robert le Diable, during the reign of Pepin, father of Charlemagne, the early part up to 1189 being a prose version of Wace'sRoman de Rou. The sources of the continuation from 1189 onwards have not been established beyond doubt, though there are parallels with other chronicles of the period such as Ralph of Coggeshall and Matthew Paris. Other copies of the text are in British Library, Additional MS 20811, British Library, Cotton. Vitellius F. xvi (partly burnt, extends to 1199 only), British Library, Royal MS 19 B. xiv, Bibliothèque Saint-Geneviève, MS 805, and Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS Français 5388.[13]
Breviaire des Nobles is a poem on the values of chivalry by Alain Chartier, beginning 'Je Noblesce, dame de bon vouloir...'.
Le livre des fais darmes et de chevalerie is a work on military strategy and the conduct of war, compiled by its author, Christine de Pizan in 1410, from a variety of sources, both ancient and contemporary, for the instruction of young knights. Although as a woman she had no direct experience of fighting, she succeeds here in producing an authoritative work on the subject, worthy to be translated and printed by Caxton in 1489. It also survives in over 15 manuscripts.
The Statutes of the Order of the Garter (here written in French) are the rules for the government and organisation of the chivalric order founded by Edward III in the late 1340s. The original statutes do not survive and this version is slightly different from the four early texts which were printed by Ashmole in his comprehensive work on the subject in the 17th century.[14] Included are rules pertaining to foreign travel by members of the Order, to uniforms and to the guardianship of the order in the king's absence.
Illuminations
Frontispiece
Genealogical table of descendants of Saint Louis IX. British Library Royal MS 15 E vi f3rDetail of the illuminated miniature in the frontispiece showing Talbot, with his dog, presenting the book to Margaret and Henry
The Shrewsbury Book is perhaps best known for the two images that serve as a frontispiece to the volume. On back of the second page (f. 2v) is a scene of the manuscript being presented to Margaret of Anjou by John Talbot, who kneels before her, wearing a sumptuous garter robe trimmed with gold, accompanied by the white Talbot dog.[15] The picture gives an idea of the size of the book and how it must have looked in its original binding (it is now in a modern leather binding). Margaret is shown enthroned with Henry, and crowned as the Queen of England. The dedication poem beneath begins 'Princesse tres excellente / ce livre cy vous presente / De schrosbery le conte'; the royal arms of England and Anjou are included in the borders of this and many of the full-page images which precede the texts as are daisies (marguerites) referring to her name. The colourful diagram on the facing page (f. 3r) lays out Henry VI's genealogical claim to the throne of France through his descent from Louis IX (Saint Louis, r. 1226-1270) through both the maternal and paternal lines. It is in the form of a fleur-de-lys, with portraits of kings in medallions, supported by Humphrey, duke of Gloucester with his arms and the arms of Anjou, encircled by the Garter and Richard, duke of York with his arms and an initial 'M', encircled by the Garter. On the right are the English kings including Edward II (1307-1327), with his wife Isabella of France, daughter of Charles IV of France (1322-1328) down to Henry V (1413-1422), father of Henry VI. On the left are the French Valois kings with Charles de Valois, brother of Philip IV (Philip le Bel) at the top, down to Charles VI (1380-1422), and below him, his daughter, Catherine of Valois, wife of Henry V and mother of Henry VI. Charles VII (1422-1461), son of Charles VI, is omitted from the line, (he was in fact crowned in Reims in 1429, aided by Joan of Arc in the struggle for his throne). The two lines are united in the person of Henry VI in the lower center, with two angels holding crowns above his head. The arms of France and of George, also encircled by the Garter on either side of Louis and his son, Philip III the Bold (1270-1285), and on the right is a banner bearing the royal arms of England impaled with the arms of Anjou, wrapped with a scroll inscribed with a motto 'Dieu est mon droit', and supported by the royal device of an antelope with a crown and chain. These and most of the other images in the manuscript are attributed the workshop of the Talbot Master,[16][17] an artist active in Rouen, named after this manuscript and the John Talbot Book of Hours, (Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum, MS 40.1950).
Further Illuminations
Two other illuminators were responsible for some of the illustrations in the Alexander legend: the Master of the Lord Hoo's Book of Hours (bifolium ff. 21-24) and an artist working in the Bedford Master's style (bifolium ff. 4v, 22-23). Two later images, one of Herault d'Ardenne the other of Honoré de Bonnet, author of L'arbre des batailles (ff. 266v and 293) have been attributed to a third unknown artist.[18]
Ownership
Although the image shows Margaret of Anjou receiving the manuscript on her wedding day, it is likely that Talbot presented her with the manuscript in France, prior to her journey to England to marry the king.[19] The presentation poem beneath the image describes her as merely affianced, not married. Scholars have questioned whether the book was originally made for Margaret of Anjou herself. The common theme of the contents is the art of chivalry, a fitting subject for a military commander such as the Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, who commissioned the work, but perhaps not entirely suitable for a Queen. It is therefore possible that the volume was originally conceived for Talbot himself, or for a future prince, the future male heir of Henry VI and Margaret. They had a son, Edward, in 1453, but he was killed at the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471, and there is no record of the book's ownership from this time. During the reign of Henry VIII it was probably in the Royal library as it has been identified as 'Le bon roy Alexandre', no. 91 in the list of books at Richmond Palace of 1535.[20] It was certainly in the catalogue of the Royal library made in 1666 during the reign of Charles II (Royal Appendix 71, f. 12v) and was presented to the British Museum by George II in 1757 as part of the Old Royal Library. It remains part of the Royal collection at the British Library.
Ashmole, Elias (1715), The History of the most Noble Order of the Garter ... Faithfully digested, and continued by Thomas Walker, London: A. Bell
Avril, François; Reynaud, Nicole (1993), Les Manuscrits à Peintures en France 1440-1520, Paris: Flammarion
Briggs, C.F. (1993), "'Manuscripts of Giles de Rome's ~De Regimine Principium~ in England, 1300-1500'", Scriptorium:Revue internationale des études relative aux manuscrits, 47: 60–73
Carley, J.P., ed. (2000), The Libraries of King Henry VIII Corpus of British Medieval Library Catalogues, 7, London, pp.?H1.91{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Cary, George (1987), The Medieval Alexander, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN0824077520
Labory, G. (1997), "'Les manuscrits de la Grande Chronique de Normandie du XIVe et du Xve siècle'", Revue d'Histoire des Textes, 27 (1997): 191–222, doi:10.3406/rht.1997.1456
Labory, G. (1998), "'Les manuscrits de la Grande Chronique de Normandie du XIVe et du Xve siècle'", Revue d'Histoire des Textes, 28 (1998): 183–233, doi:10.3406/rht.1999.1467
Labory, G. (1999), "'Les manuscrits de la Grande Chronique de Normandie du XIVe et du Xve siècle'", Revue d'Histoire des Textes, 29 (1999): 245–294, doi:10.3406/rht.2000.1480
Maillard, François (1948), Les traductions du "De regimine principum" de Gille de Rome, École nationale des chartes, Paris, 1948. — Résumé dans Positions des thèses de l'École des chartes
McKendrick, Scot; Kathleen Doyle; John Lowden (2011), Royal Manuscripts, the Genius of Illumination, London: British Library, p.401, ISBN9780712358156
Reynolds, Catherine (1993), "'The Shrewsbury Book, London, British Library, Royal MS 15 E VI'", Medieval Art, Architecture and Archaeology at Rouen, British Archaeological Association Conference Transactions, 12: 109–16
Thomas, Jacques (1961), Les mises en prose de 'Renaut de Montauban': classement sommaire et sources (Fin du moyen âge et Renaissance: Mélanges offert à Robert Guieteed.), Anvers
Ward, H.L.D. (1883), Catalogue of Romances in the Department of Manuscripts in the British Museum, 3 vols, vol.1, London: British Museum
René of Anjou was Duke of Anjou and Count of Provence from 1434 to 1480, who also reigned as King of Naples as René I from 1435 to 1442. Having spent his last years in Aix-en-Provence, he is known in France as the Good King René.
The Bibliothèque nationale de France is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as Richelieu and François-Mitterrand. It is the national repository of all that is published in France. Some of its extensive collections, including books and manuscripts but also precious objects and artworks, are on display at the BnF Museum on the Richelieu site.
Ogier the Dane is a legendary paladin of Charlemagne who appears in many Old French chansons de geste. In particular, he features as the protagonist in La Chevalerie Ogier, which belongs to the Geste de Doon de Mayence. The first part of this epic, the enfance[s] of Ogier, is marked by his duel against a Saracen from whom he obtains the sword Cortain, followed by victory over another Saracen opponent from whom he wins the horse Broiefort. In subsequent parts, Ogier turns into a rebel with cause, seeking refuge with the King of Lombardy and warring with Charlemagne for many years, until he is eventually reconciled when a dire need for him emerges after another Saracen incursion.
Valentine and Orson is a romance which has been attached to the Carolingian cycle.
Froissart's Chronicles are a prose history of the Hundred Years' War written in the 14th century by Jean Froissart. The Chronicles open with the events leading up to the deposition of Edward II in 1327, and cover the period up to 1400, recounting events in western Europe, mainly in England, France, Scotland, the Low Countries and the Iberian Peninsula, although at times also mentioning other countries and regions such as Italy, Germany, Ireland, the Balkans, Cyprus, Turkey and North Africa.
Medieval French literature is, for the purpose of this article, Medieval literature written in Oïl languages during the period from the eleventh century to the end of the fifteenth century.
Girart de Roussillon, also called Girard, Gérard II, Gyrart de Vienne, and Girart de Fraite, was a Frankish Burgundian leader who became Count of Paris in 837, and embraced the cause of Lothair I against Charles the Bald. He was a son of Leuthard I, Count of Fézensac and of Paris, and his wife Grimildis.
Le Pèlerinage de Charlemagne is an Old French chanson de geste dealing with a fictional expedition by Charlemagne and his paladins. The oldest known written version was probably composed around 1140. Two 15th-century reworkings of the story are also known.
Antoine Thomas was a French linguist. He is known for his work with Adolphe Hatzfeld and Arsène Darmesteter, on the Dictionnaire général de la langue française du commencement du XVIIe siècle à nos jours, which was issued in parts from 1890 to 1900. He supplied etymological notes.
Chanson d'Aspremont is a 12th-century Old French chanson de geste. The poem comprises 11, 376 verses, grouped into rhymed laisses. The verses are decasyllables mixed with alexandrines.
Galiens li Restorés, or Galien le Restoré or Galien rhétoré, is an Old French chanson de geste which borrows heavily from chivalric romance. Its composition dates anywhere from the end of the twelfth century to the middle of the fourteenth century. Five versions of the tale are extant, dating from the fifteenth century to the sixteenth century, one in verse and the others in prose. The story—which is closely linked to the earlier chansons de gestePèlerinage de Charlemagne and The Song of Roland —tells of the adventures of Galien, son of the hero Olivier and of Jacqueline, the daughter of the (fictional) emperor Hugon of Constantinople.
Minuscule 288, ε 524 (Soden), is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on paper. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 15th century. It has marginalia.
Lectionary 86, designated by siglum ℓ86, is a Greek manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment leaves. It is dated by a colophon to the year 1336.
Minuscule 484, ε 322, is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on thick cotton paper. It is dated by a Colophon to the year 1291/1292.
Henri Auguste Omont was a French librarian, philologist, and historian.
Entrée d'Espagne or L'Entrée d'Espagne or Entrée en Espagne is a 14th-century (c.1320) Franco-Venetian chanson de geste. The author is thought to be from Padua. The work has survived in only one manuscript, today in the Biblioteca Marciana in Venice. Based on material from the Pseudo-Turpin Chronicle and several other sources, the epic poem tells of Charlemagne's battles in Spain and the adventures of the paladin Roland.
The Roman d'Alexandre en prose is one of many medieval "Alexander romances" relating the adventures of Alexander the Great, which were by then greatly elaborated with fantastical additions to the historical accounts. Alexander was one of the medieval "Nine Worthies," and his journeys eastward—and most especially the strange and exotic people and animals he encountered there—were treated in a number of different texts in a variety of genres. Based on the relatively large number of surviving manuscripts, as well as the deluxe quality of many of these productions, the Old French Roman d'Alexandre en prose can be considered the most popular and successful vernacular prose treatment of the legend.
Aiquin, subtitled La conqueste de la Bretaigne par le roy Charlemaigne, is a medieval Old French chanson de geste about the rivalry between a Saracen king, Aiquin, and the Christian emperor Charlemagne. The French medievalist Joseph Bédier called it a "consolidation of history and legend in an imposing ensemble." It survives in one fifteenth-century manuscript, BnF fr. 2233, now in the Bibliothèque nationale de France. It is usually attributed to Garin Trousseboeuf, possibly a cleric of Dol. According to historian Éric Borgnis-Desbordes, it was written in the early thirteenth century, probably around 1213 and under the guise of a chanson de geste featuring Charlemagne and the Viking invasions in the tenth century, the author may have alluded to “the transition from Plantagenet domination to Capetian influence in Brittany”. It is the oldest extant French text from Brittany.
The Geste du roi is the title of one of the literary cycles that compose the Chansons de Geste. In the Chansons of the Geste du roi, the chief character is usually Charlemagne or one of his immediate successors. A pervasive theme is the King's role as champion of Christianity. This cycle contains the first of the chansons to be written down, the Chanson de Roland or The Song of Roland.
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