Chroniques de France

Apparently the chronicle of the reign of Charles V found in Les Grandes Chroniques de France (Grandes Chroniques de Saint-Denis) but unable to compare with any of the printed texts (ff. 1-59). The prologue on f. 1 ('Au non du pere ... les autres plus indignes') corresponds word for word with that to the chronicle of the reign of Charles VII (see below, f. 177) except for the substitution of V for VII. The text of f. 1 is written by a later hand to make good the loss of probably two leaves of the original manuscript, see below. Possibly the placing of Jean Chartier's prologue at this point is due to a misunderstanding by this later hand. From f. 2 on, chapters are numbered and headed by brief summaries. The text of f. 2 begins in chapter 3.
Also included is apparently Jean Juvenal's chronicle of the reign of Charles VI with the continuation attributed to Gilles le Bouvier (ff. 63-172). Unable to compare with a printed text. Cf. B. L. Royal MS 20. E. v. Chapters numbered and headed by brief summaries, as in the table. Together with another two fragments: the first of whcih we are unable to compare with a printed text of Jean Chartier's chronicle. Cf. BL Royal MS 20. C. ix. Chapters numbered and headed by brief summaries, as in the table (ff. 177-339); the second of which we are unable to compare with the chronicle of the reign of Louis XI which was added to some of the early printed editions of Les Grandes Chroniques de France (ff. 340-444 verso).

Access to the original manuscript by authorised permission only. Readers are directed to use surrogate copies.

Formerly Mostyn MS 274.

Watermarks: hand, similar to Briquet 11403, 11410; heart, crown and J.H., similar to Briquet 4324; star and crown, of type Briquet 6109-16; hand and flower, of type Briquet 11417-25.

Collation: 1 [16] (ff. 1-5, wants 1 and 2, present f. 1, a singleton, loose when the binding was repaired in 1975, is apparently a later replacement, certainly its text was written later), 2 [12], 3[10], 5-27 [ 12], 28 [14] (ff. 326-339), 29-36 [12], 37 [10]. ff. 63, 177 and 340 are parchment, bearing miniatures, each of them conjugate with paper singletons. No doubt there was originally a similar leaf at the beginning of the book. No catchwords or signatures.

Written by one hand, in cursiva, with the exception of the three parchment leaves which are in fere humanistica, and f. 1 written by a hand of 17/18th cents in imitation of the earlier one. Ink: brown. Gold initials, with infilling, on dark red or blue ground: 3 or 4-line at the beginning of each reign, 2-line for chapters, 1-line in text; gold paragraph marks on similar ground. Letters in text touched in yellow. A few sidenotes in yellow.

Three good miniatures on the rectos of the parchment leaves, c. 230 x 200 mm, framed by columns and an arch: Charles VI in armour on horseback, the horse draped in blue semé-de-lis, enters a courtyard from left proceded by a similarly draped led horse bearing a gold casket; in foreground, a page carrying a sword (f. 63); Charles VII in armour on horseback, the king's surcoat and the horse's drape of blue semé-de-lis, expels the English represented by two knights on horseback, one horse draped with the English arms; English banner with broken haft on ground; walled town besieged by encamped army, with two cannon, in background (f. 177); Louis XI on canopied throne, blue, semé-de-lis, flanked by nobles and clerics, at a Parlement; in foreground, four clerks at table and usher with rod (f. 340). In the lower margin of each of these three pages is a shield hanging from a tree (also work of the miniaturist): (f. 63) azure a chevron lozeny argent and gules charged with a bezant between 3 trefoils; (ff. 177 and 340) the same arms dimidiated with: azure a bend argent and a chief indented or in base a crescent argent. ff. 63 and 177 are reproduced in the Sotheby's and Christie's sale catalogues (respectively).

Table of chapters for two of the chronicles appear on ff. 59-62 and 172-176 verso.

Sec. fol. mareschal

Title based on contents.

Preferred citation: NLW MS 21247E [RESTRICTED ACCESS].

A detailed list of the manuscript's contents, including further quotations from the French texts, may be found in NLW, Catalogue of Mostyn MSS Purchased in 1974 (1975), pp.19-23, available at the Library.

Available on microfilm at the Library.

Written after 1483 and hardly later than 1500, probably in Paris, probably for the person represented by the arms described. Inside the upper cover is the name 'Hobart'. A large number of French and Italian manuscripts at Mostyn came from the Hobart collection, cf. HMC Cat. Thomas Hobart, MD, was fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge, 1699-1728 (see J. Peile, Biographical Register of Christ's College, 1910-13, ii, p. 127). His sale was 23 April 1730. Two small slips of paper used as bookmarks, now tipped onto f. 445, come from a letter written from Duke Street, 1725. Appears as MS 274 in HMC Cat. and inside the upper cover, and as lot 18 in The Mostyn sale at Sotheby's 13 July 1920 when it was presumably bought in. It was lot 1486 in the Mostyn sale at Christie's, 24 Oct. 1974, when it was bought in and subsequently bought for NLW.

Published