1 - (15th-century French manuscript) - FROISSART (Jehan). THE FIRST (SECOND… THIRD… FOURTH) BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES.

(15th-century French manuscript) - FROISSART (Jehan). THE FIRST (SECOND… THIRD… FOURTH) BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES. Folio manuscript (380 x 270 mm) produced between 1468 and 1482, comprising [7]–260 folios numbered in red ink, written in Batard Gothic script with 38 lines in 2 columns, entirely rubricated in red and blue, with large filigree initials in red and blue at the head of Books 1, 2, and 4 (the one for Book 3 is missing), each chapter heading is written in red; brown calfskin on wooden boards with copper-chiseled spandrels and a cabochon in the center of the covers (contemporary binding, housed in a modern hard case). These famous chronicles, which—thanks to the charm of the narrative, the vivid and picturesque descriptions, the richness of their colors, and that piquant naivety that lends everything an air of novelty—have no equal in French literature. They span three-quarters of the fourteenth century, ending in 1400, and thus serve as a prelude to Monstrelet’s chronicles, which begin at that date. Jehan Froissart, a faithful chronicler of the chivalric world, was born in Valenciennes in the County of Hainaut in 1337. A witness to the Hundred Years’ War (1337–1453), he preserved in his memory this era of conflict between the kings of France and England, recounting the events he observed and later compiling them into a series of four books, the *Chronicles*. This manuscript consists of 23 quires of 12 folios each, followed by 4 folios of which only the blank margins remain. It opens with a table of contents for the four books on the first seven folios, followed by four blank folios: “Here follow the chapters and the table of contents of the chronicle compiled by Master Jehan Froissart on the events in France and elsewhere that occurred in his time.” In the first book, the copyist notes: “…I have resolved, to keep myself exercised in work and to flee idleness—which is the open gateway to all vices—to transcribe and summarize, as best I can, the chronicle of Master Jehan Froissart, comprising four books.”. He also implores God’s help to bring his work to a successful conclusion and indicates that he himself has divided (in red ink) the said book into 98 chapters: “First, Froissart states that a man named Messire Jehan Le Bel, a canon of Liège, began to chronicle the events and exploits that occurred in his time in France and England, in Scotland and in Spain…” Collation of the folios: Introduction: 7 unnumbered folios followed by 4 blank ones. Book 1: folios 1 through 105 and one blank folio. Book 2: folios 107–177 (the last blank folio, numbered 178, is blank). Folio 158 is heavily damaged. Book 3: folios 179–218 (the last blank folio is numbered 219). 4th book: from 220 to 260, plus 4 heavily damaged leaves (261 to 264?) and 3 others of which only short margins remain. The text is therefore incomplete by at least 8 leaves. Most of the leaves bear a watermark nearly identical to the one reproduced by Briquet (no. 1741). (Troyes?). A copy with very wide margins, highly legible, and carefully headlined in gouache. Three spandrels missing (out of eight). One leaf has been restored at the margin with no loss of text; the binding has suffered, the front cover is nearly detached, the initial of the third book has been cut out, and two leaves are stained. Stamps on the title pages and on a few pages. VERY RARE; THIS VOLUME IS ONE OF THE FEW COPIES THAT REMAINED IN PRIVATE COLLECTIONS DURING HISTORICAL DISPERSIONS.