Livre du toison d'or

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The Livre du toison d'or is a manuscript that was produced in the Netherlands at the end of the 16th century . Today it is under the signature Codices Iconographici (CodIcon) 285 in the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek .

content

The manuscript is a list of the members of the Order of the Golden Fleece for the period between 1430, the year of foundation, and 1586. It lists

  • Names and coats of arms of 269 knights on paper, with
  • Date and place of their admission on the occasion of the foundation or the 23 chapters of the order up to 1559, and
  • up to the 15th chapter of the order 1491 including their departure mostly through death.

The livre does not contain any statutes of the order, but full-page portraits of the first six Grand Masters ( Philip the Good of Burgundy to Philip II of Spain ) on parchment , which can be traced back to Dutch models. The text part in the livre evidently comes from a single scribe, whereby the fol. 52r is perhaps an exception.

quality

The content of the livre largely corresponds to what is considered to be the state of research, shows few errors at the beginning, but clearly loses quality towards the end of the manuscript.

  • Giosia Acquaviva , Duke of Atri (Diploma 54), recorded in 1456, † 1462, is not included in the livre ( fol. 15r, 15v)
  • In the report to the Order Chapter of 1491 king Ferdinand of Aragon 'father of the Grand Master - Philip the Fair - reported as dead (he did not die until 1516), the death of the Duke of Alençon for the second time (he died in 1476) (both fol. 34r )
  • After that, the departure of members is no longer noted
  • Count Eitel Friedrich II. Von Hohenzollern (diploma 113), who was accepted in 1501, is corrupted as "Messire Ytelfrich Conte de Sornes" ( fol. 37v)
  • Juan Manuel de Villena de la Vega (diploma 123) - 1505 the first Spanish nobleman in the order - is only called "Don Jehan Emanuel", but his coat of arms is there ( fol. 40v)
  • Antonio Manrique de Lara Duke of Nájera (diploma 159) is only called “Don Manrique de Lara, Duc de Nagiera” ( fol. 58v) (misunderstanding the family name )
  • The inclusion of the Duke of Medina de Rioseco (Diploma 219) and the Duke of Segorbe (Diploma 220) in 1555 is not stated, missing names and coats of arms, but empty fields for two knights are available ( fol. 63v)
  • On fol. 67r, Francis II of France is recorded as a new addition to the Chapter of the Order of 1559 ( fol. 67r), but it was not until 1560 that Philip II was the first to admit it under his own power, on fol. In 68r it is Joachim von Neuhaus who was admitted in 1561
  • From fol. 69r, 24 knights of the order are listed who, according to the Livre of their "necklace", were accepted into the order in 1586 without convening a chapter, including Charles IX. of France , who was actually admitted in 1565 and died in 1574, and the Duke of El Infantado , who was admitted only in 1589; of the 33 diplomas (244–275) awarded between 1565 and 1586, almost a third are not mentioned here; in addition, from fol. For the knights often only given with their titles and coats of arms, since only fragmentary information is now available. Then the manuscript ends.

copy

The surviving copy of the Livre du toison d'or has been in the holdings of the Munich court library since at least 1618; further copies of the manuscript are found here, but have since been lost.

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ For the admission and death dates see the main article List of Knights of the Order of the Golden Fleece