ILLUMINATED CARTA EXECUTORIA., ADVEU DE ODET DE BRETAGNE.
Illuminated manuscript on vellum. France, 1556.
ADVEU DE ODET DE BRETAGNE. Illuminated manuscript on vellum. France, 1556.
Manuscript in French (signed as "Seigneur d'Ingrande"), 365 x 260 mm. i + 40 + i vellum leaves. Collation: i-v8, foliated 1-40 in a contemporary hand. Up to 27 long lines per page written in black ink, in "letter courante" script for the text, headings in elaborate display script, written area: 260 x 175 mm. Over 250 illuminated initials on square or rectangular grounds the smaller ones c.15-20 mm in height, the larger ones c.35-65 mm, and one (f. 1r) measuring 88 x 84 mm, decorated in French renaissance style, burnished gold initials on colored grounds, colored initials on burnished gold or burnished silver grounds. F. 1r with full illuminated border: at the top, the royal arms of France in a laurel wreath, supported by two angels; in the margins the emblems of Henry II of France, a crowned H, and of Diane de Poitiers, a double D and H linked, and three interlaced crescents; an achievement of arms in the lower border. (Silver sometimes tarnished, some show-through of pigments, achievement of arms largely illegible.) Modern binding of parchment over pasteboards reusing original vellum endleaves, gold-tooled title on front cover, in a modern velvet chemise.
Provenance: King Henry II of France (1519-1559), reigned 1547-1559, and his mistress Diane de Poitiers (1500-1566), as shown by their emblems on f. 1r; Charles Serund-Deschamps, 1906 (bookplate).
In this document addressed to King Henry II of France, Odet de Bretagne, Count of Vertu, First Baron of Brittany, Lord of Avaugour, Clisson, Ingrande, and Champtocé, makes declaration of the state of his holdings in Ingrande in the duchy of Anjou and Champtocé in the castellany of Angers, both of which he holds in fief from Henry II. There follows meticulous enumerations and descriptions of the properties contained in each of these territories, together with detailed listings of the taxes, rents, duties, and services owed to him in each, after which he reaffirms his allegiance to the king. The text is followed by three notarial attestations, the first dated 25 February 1556.
The Duchy of Brittany was joined to France under the king only in 1532. Henry became king in 1547, and it is likely that this document was compiled in consequence of that circumstance, Diane de Poitiers, a well-educated French noblewoman was Henry mistress from the mid-1530s until his death. She was a notable bibliophile, and the books and manuscripts from her collection are marked with the emblems found in this codex.
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Illuminated manuscript on vellum. France, 1556.
ADVEU DE ODET DE BRETAGNE. Illuminated manuscript on vellum. France, 1556.
Manuscript in French (signed as "Seigneur d'Ingrande"), 365 x 260 mm. i + 40 + i vellum leaves. Collation: i-v8, foliated 1-40 in a contemporary hand. Up to 27 long lines per page written in black ink, in "letter courante" script for the text, headings in elaborate display script, written area: 260 x 175 mm. Over 250 illuminated initials on square or rectangular grounds the smaller ones c.15-20 mm in height, the larger ones c.35-65 mm, and one (f. 1r) measuring 88 x 84 mm, decorated in French renaissance style, burnished gold initials on colored grounds, colored initials on burnished gold or burnished silver grounds. F. 1r with full illuminated border: at the top, the royal arms of France in a laurel wreath, supported by two angels; in the margins the emblems of Henry II of France, a crowned H, and of Diane de Poitiers, a double D and H linked, and three interlaced crescents; an achievement of arms in the lower border. (Silver sometimes tarnished, some show-through of pigments, achievement of arms largely illegible.) Modern binding of parchment over pasteboards reusing original vellum endleaves, gold-tooled title on front cover, in a modern velvet chemise.
Provenance: King Henry II of France (1519-1559), reigned 1547-1559, and his mistress Diane de Poitiers (1500-1566), as shown by their emblems on f. 1r; Charles Serund-Deschamps, 1906 (bookplate).
In this document addressed to King Henry II of France, Odet de Bretagne, Count of Vertu, First Baron of Brittany, Lord of Avaugour, Clisson, Ingrande, and Champtocé, makes declaration of the state of his holdings in Ingrande in the duchy of Anjou and Champtocé in the castellany of Angers, both of which he holds in fief from Henry II. There follows meticulous enumerations and descriptions of the properties contained in each of these territories, together with detailed listings of the taxes, rents, duties, and services owed to him in each, after which he reaffirms his allegiance to the king. The text is followed by three notarial attestations, the first dated 25 February 1556.
The Duchy of Brittany was joined to France under the king only in 1532. Henry became king in 1547, and it is likely that this document was compiled in consequence of that circumstance, Diane de Poitiers, a well-educated French noblewoman was Henry mistress from the mid-1530s until his death. She was a notable bibliophile, and the books and manuscripts from her collection are marked with the emblems found in this codex.
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