{"product_id":"the-chronicles-of-froissart-and-monstrelet-in-splendid-uniform-lortic-bindings","title":"The Chronicles of Froissart and Monstrelet in Splendid Uniform Lortic Bindings","description":"\u003ch2\u003eTwo Monumental Chronicles of the Hundred Years’ War in Five Magnificent Fanfare Bindings by Lortic\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFroissart, Jean. \u003cem\u003eLe premier [–] quart volume de messire Jehan froissart\/ lequel traicte des choses dignes de memoire aduenues\/ tant es pays de France\/ Angleterre\/ Flandres\/ Espaigne que Escoce\/ et autres lieux circonuoisons.\u003c\/em\u003e Paris, Antoine Couteau for Jehan Petit, 1530.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMonstrelet, Enguerrand de. \u003cem\u003eLe premier [–] tiers volume de enguerran de monstrellet. Ensuyant froissart\/ Des croniques de France Dangleterre Descoce Despaigne\/ de Bretaigne\/ de Gascongne\/ de Flandres [et] lieux circonuoisins.\u003c\/em\u003e Paris, for François Regnault, 1518.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSeven volumes in five magnificent uniform nineteenth-century morocco bindings by Pierre-Marcellin Lortic containing two of the great narrative monuments of medieval France: Jean Froissart’s celebrated chronicle of the Hundred Years’ War and Enguerrand de Monstrelet’s continuation extending the history to 1444. Printed in Paris in large gothic folio and richly adorned with woodcut initials and illustrations, the set survives in exceptional condition with full deckle edges (“témoins”) preserved throughout.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eEdition \u0026amp; Bibliographic Information\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFroissart: 4 parts in 3 volumes. Paris, Antoine Couteau for Jehan Petit, 1530. Double-column gothic printing throughout with paragraph marks. Title of volume I printed in red and black. Illustrated with four full-page architectural title borders, printer’s devices, two text woodcuts, four historiated initials on the titles, and numerous decorative initials, mostly on criblé grounds. Folio with deckle edges preserved (332 × 213 mm).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMonstrelet: 3 parts in 2 volumes. Paris, for François Regnault, 1518. Double-column gothic printing throughout with paragraph marks. Illustrated with publisher’s devices, three text woodcuts including one nearly full-page scene, three historiated title initials, and numerous decorative initials in varying sizes and styles. Folio with deckle edges preserved (314 × 210 mm).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Monstrelet constitutes the fourth and for a long period final edition of the continuation chronicle, expanded to include events through 1516. The Froissart represents the sixth Paris edition of the chronicle and was jointly issued by several Parisian publishers, although the present copy is unusually uniform throughout with Jehan Petit title borders and devices consistently present in all four parts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003ePhysical Description \u0026amp; Binding\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFive sumptuous nineteenth-century red morocco bindings by Pierre-Marcellin Lortic over raised bands decorated with gilt fillets and richly gilt fanfare ornament in the spine compartments. Covers framed with triple gilt fillets and fleur-de-lys cornerpieces; board edges with double gilt fillets and gilt dentelle turn-ins. Marbled endleaves and entirely gilt-over-marbled edges throughout. Each binding signed:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Lortic”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe set was carefully cleaned and professionally conserved with a few expertly closed tears. Froissart volume I contains some early underlining and marginal annotations; in volume II, leaves 96–97 have minor marginal restorations. Otherwise the set survives in remarkable preservation and with unusually generous margins throughout.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLortic’s bindings perfectly embody the great nineteenth-century French historicist tradition, transforming the monumental medieval chronicles into aristocratic collector’s objects while respecting their imposing Renaissance typographic presence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eFroissart and the Hundred Years’ War\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJean Froissart (c. 1337 – c. 1405), born in Hainaut, arrived at the English royal court in London in 1361, where he established himself as chronicler of contemporary events. After returning to the Low Countries in 1369, he devoted more than three decades to composing his vast chronicle of the Hundred Years’ War between England and France.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe narrative begins in 1326, shortly before the outbreak of open hostilities in 1337, and extends to the year 1400. Although Froissart initially displayed sympathy toward the English side, he travelled extensively through England, France, and the Low Countries to interview eyewitnesses and incorporate multiple perspectives.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMore than simple political history, the chronicle preserves an immense panorama of aristocratic and chivalric society. As Bechtel observed:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Ses Chroniques proposent à la classe aristocratique un vaste tableau de la société chevaleresque, de ses actes, fêtes, rituels, rêves et préoccupations.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eToday the work remains among the indispensable documentary sources for understanding fourteenth-century Europe.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eMonstrelet and the Burgundian World\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEnguerrand de Monstrelet (c. 1390 – 1453), almost a generation younger than Froissart, continued the chronicle seamlessly to the year 1444. Like Froissart, he emerged from the Franco-Flemish borderlands and participated directly in the political life of Burgundy. In 1430 he accompanied Philip the Good during negotiations involving Joan of Arc and later held administrative positions in Cambrai.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHis chronicle reflects Burgundian sympathies and the shifting political alliances that eventually led to French victory over England in 1453. Yet Monstrelet repeatedly emphasized his desire for neutrality and documentary accuracy, positioning himself within the same historiographical tradition established by Froissart.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eMedieval Chronicles in Renaissance Paris\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe survival and continued printing of these chronicles into the sixteenth century reveals the enduring fascination Renaissance France maintained for the medieval chivalric past. Froissart’s chronicle alone survives in more than one hundred fifteenth-century manuscripts, while Vérard had already issued printed editions around 1495.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe present editions preserve many visual elements inherited directly from late medieval printing traditions. All seven title pages open with striking historiated initials “L.” In the Froissart volumes, the initial depicts the elegant profile of a noblewoman whose flowing veil recalls Vérard’s late fifteenth-century style. In Monstrelet, the motif becomes grotesquely transformed into a Janus-like chimera with a bird-headed reverse profile.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Froissart includes dramatic woodcut battle scenes, including the siege of Bergerac and an equestrian nobleman accompanied by halberdiers and advisors. The Monstrelet volumes contain especially remarkable illustrations, among them the coronation of Charles VI at Reims and a visionary scene in which the Roman military theorist Vegetius is confronted by the stigmatised Christ appearing within his medieval study.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTogether, the two chronicles form one of the great visual and historical monuments of medieval and Renaissance historiography.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eProvenance\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eP. Sourget, Chartres, 24 October 1994 (Francs 100,000 \/ Swiss Francs 25,000).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eLiterature\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMonstrelet: Adams M 1616; Bechtel M-471; BM STC French 316; Brunet III, 1832; Ebert 14264; Graesse IV, 578; Lonchamp, \u003cem\u003eFrançais\u003c\/em\u003e II, 329; Panzer VIII, p. 51, no. 1047; Rahir 548; Tchemerzine VIII, 398.\u003cbr\u003eFroissart: Adams F 1065 (vols. I–II only); Bechtel F-187; BM STC French 189; Brunet II, 1405; Ebert 7948; Graesse II, 638; Lonchamp, \u003cem\u003eFrançais\u003c\/em\u003e II, 172; Mortimer, \u003cem\u003eFrench\u003c\/em\u003e no. 238; Tchemerzine V, 382–385.\u003cbr\u003eFor Lortic: Fléty 115.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor a fuller scholarly description and illustrations, see \u003cem\u003eWunderkammer\u003c\/em\u003e Catalogue 90, number 73a–b:\u003cbr\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/issuu.com\/heribert-tenschert\/docs\/katalog_90_vol_2_web?utm_source=chatgpt.com\"\u003eWunderkammer Catalogue 90, Volume II\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Atelier Zweig Rare Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46837889695932,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0736\/1285\/3436\/files\/p265_img01-Photoroom.png?v=1779159718","url":"https:\/\/atelierzweig.com\/products\/the-chronicles-of-froissart-and-monstrelet-in-splendid-uniform-lortic-bindings","provider":"Atelier Zweig Rare Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}