Le Livre de la Chasse

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A miniature page from the Livre de la Chasse

Le Livre de la Chasse (French: The Book of the Hunt ) was written by the Count of Foix and Viscount of Béarn , Gaston Phoebus , from May 1, 1387 and dedicated it in 1389 to his hunting companion Phillip the Bold . The work has survived in 44 copies, the two most outstanding are that of the French National Library and that of the Morgan Library .

History of origin

After the tragic death of his son, the author retired to his Pau castle . Here he first wrote the Livre des Orasiones , a book of prayers in which he asks God for forgiveness. It is considered one of the most beautiful books of hours . Far better known, however, was his second work, Le Livre de la Chasse , which he wrote between 1387 and 1389 and which was copied by illuminators in Paris around 1407. It describes the hunt and the associated activities in all details and is magnificently painted with miniatures . These were already considered works of art at the time of their creation, comparable to the Duke von Berry's books of hours from around 1410 . As a passionate hunter, Gaston succeeded in describing rare animal observations, which is why the work has been used in copies and reprints as a textbook for hunting until modern times. It also contains a section on falcon hunting , albeit not in the detail of Frederick II's falcon book .

The Morgan Library manuscript

According to tradition, the son of Philip the Bold, Johann Ohnefurcht , had it made as a gift for Louis de Valois, duc d'Orléans , the order was therefore given before November 23, 1407. After Louis' death it probably passed to the Duke of Brittany, probably Francis II , and before 1492 it came into the possession of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. Isabella had the Castilian artist Juan de Carrion once a magnificent full-page coat of arms ex- libris. The manuscript first came to JP Morgan in 1928 through the antiquarian ASW Rosenbach . Rosenbach had the book by Thomas Fenwick , heir of Sir Thomas Phillipps , but it remained unsold until 1943 when Rosenbach sold it to Clara S. Peck . She bequeathed it to the Morgan Library in 1983.

Collation : Gaston Phoebus (1331–1391), Le Livre de la Chasse , manuscript with () miniatures, French, France, Paris, approx. 1407, 15¼ × 11¼ inches (385 × 287 mm) Morgan Library & Museum, signature: MS M. 1044 (fol. 1v).

The manuscript of the French National Library

The manuscript bears the signature Manuscript français 616 and contains 87 miniatures, it was once owned by the Poitier family , whose coat of arms was added (after 1525). Presumably after the Battle of Pavia it came into the possession of the Bishop of Trento, Bernhard von Cles , who gave it to Archduke Ferdinand . Then it only appears again in the possession of Louis XIV , who probably gave it to his (illegitimate) son, the Count of Toulouse and Grand Hunter Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon . He gave it to his son Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, duc de Penthièvre , from whom it came to the Orléans family . Later it was owned by King Louis-Philippe I , who deposited it in the Louvre, but often took it to Neuilly-sur-Seine . As a result of the revolution of 1848 , the Orléan estates were liquidated, where the director of the French national library , Joseph Naudet, became aware of them and was able to keep them for the library.

literature

  • Gabriel Bise (arrangement), Angelika Lühmann (transl.), The book of the hunt. A classic masterpiece of hunter's art , text according to Gaston Phoebus, Graf von Foix, 1978
  • Robert Bossuat , Le livre de la chasse de Gaston Phébus. Texts intégral traduit en français modern (with André Bossuat), Paris 1931, 1986
  • Gunnar Tilander , Gaston Phébus, Livre de chasse Stockholm 1971
  • Vuidepot, André, Le livre de la chasse de Gaston Phébus. Exposition au château de Foix du 7 juin 2012 au 7 juin 2013 (Ressources d'accompagnement de la carte des ressources culturelles locales de l'Ariège): http://www.cndp.fr/crdp-toulouse/IMG/pdf/Gastonfebus -dossier_accompagnement.pdf (September 14, 2016)

facsimile

  • Le livre de la chasse. The book of the hunt . Complete facsimile edition in the original format of the manuscript français 616 of the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris. Commentary Marcel Thomas and François Avril translated by Eberhard König, Pierre Herzog von Brissac. Transcription: Robert and Andre Bossuat. (= Codices selecti, phototypice impressi, Vol. LIII). Facsimile a. Commentary in 2 volumes. Graz, Academic Printing u. Publishing house, 1976, fol. 138 num. Ll. with 87 miniatures a. numerous Initials (facsimile) a. XVIII, 58 pp. (Comment).
  • Wilhelm Schlag (ed.), Pierre Herzog von Brissac (introduction), Marcel Thomas (commentary): The hunting book of the Middle Ages. The hunting book of the Middle Ages: Ms. fr. 616 of the Bibliotheque nationale in Paris. , Series: Glanzlichter der Buchkunst 4, ADEVA Graz, 1994 ISBN 978-3-201-01612-4

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ the Morgan Library with description of the work (English)  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.themorgan.org  
  2. ↑ Livre de la chasse. July 13, 2017, accessed May 8, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Manuscript BnF ms. franc. 616, [1] , [2] (French)

Web links