It will run through the beginning of the Capetian dynasty to nowadays and will focus on everything related to France and its history.
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Le roi de FranceRecueil : “Grand Armorial équestre de la Toison d’or”. Vers 1431-1435. Auteur : Jean Lefèvre de Saint-Rémy
Le Grand Armorial équestre de la Toison d’or, est le plus célèbre de tous les armoriaux et un des plus beaux manuscrits de la fin du Moyen Âge. Il s’agit d’un codex sur papier d’assez petit format (29 x 21 cm environ), incomplet et comportant dans son état actuel 167 feuillets. On dénombre en effet dans le recueil : d’une part, 79 portraits équestres en pleine page de différents personnages (souverains, princes et feudataires de plusieurs pays d’Europe membres de l’ordre de la chevalerie de la Toison d’Or) représentés en grande tenue héraldique et en position de combat pour la joute ; de l’autre, un armorial européen de 942 écus. Le dessin sobre et vigoureux est rehaussé d’un trait épais d’encre noire qui accentue le caractère stylisé des figures. La mise en couleur est faite à la gouache ayant gardé une étonnante fraicheur.
The Great Equestrian Armorial of the Golden Fleece is the most famous of all the rolls of arms and one of the most beautiful manuscripts of the Late Middle Ages. This armorial (roll of arms) is a codex on paper in quite a small format (approximately 29 x 21 cm), incomplete and in its current state contains 167 sheets. The collection contains: on the one hand, 79 full-page equestrian portraits of various sovereigns, princes and vassals of several European countries that were members of the chivalric Order of the Golden Fleece, represented in full heraldic dress and in combat position for jousting; and, on the other hand, a European roll of arms consisting of 942 shields. The sober, vigorous drawing is highlighted with thick black ink strokes, which emphasize the stylised character of the figures. It was coloured using gouache paint, which to this day has remained amazingly fresh.
Pied de Croix de Saint-Bertin, vers 1180 ©Musées de Saint-Omer
Cuivre doré, fondu, ciselé, gravé, émaux champlevés
Hauteur en cm 31.5, Diamètre de la base en cm. 22.5, Diamètre maximal en cm 29.5
Objet d’art
This foot cross comes from the former abbey of Saint Bertin, and until recently it was considered as a smaller copy of the cross Saint Suger ordered for Saint Denis. The foot should have been used for a huge cross.
The base is round, ornated around a disk by vegetal patterns, upon which the four evangelists are sitting and who are used to support the cross. You can recognise the evangelists by their symbols, placed above them, between the base and the squared column. Saint Luke is under a winged bull, writing over his desk. Saint Matthew stops writing and turns to face the angel coming towards him. Saint John is turning as well.
Entrepôt en ligne de manuscrits du Moyen Âge numérisés en France. Institut de recherche et d’histoire des textes - CNRS.
La Bibliothèque virtuelle des manuscrits médiévaux (BVMM), est élaborée par l’Institut de recherche et d’histoire des textes (IRHT-CNRS). Elle permet de consulter la reproduction d’une large sélection de manuscrits, du Moyen Âge jusqu’au début de la Renaissance, conservés dans des fonds patrimoniaux dispersés sur tout le territoire français, hormis ceux de la Bibliothèque nationale de France. Elle est enrichie par des apports extérieurs, comme les reproductions d’une centaine de manuscrits de la Staatsbibliothek de Berlin.
The Biblothèque virtuelle des manuscrits médiévaux was created by the Institut de recherche et d’histoires des textes (IRHT-CNRS). It enables people to consult the reproduction of a large selection of manuscript, from Middle Ages to the early Renaissance period, kept in the different French archives outside of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. It is extended by foreign contributions, such as the reproduction of hundreds of manuscript from the Staatbibliothek of Berlin
Provins
The fortified medieval town of Provins is situated in the former territory of the powerful Counts of Champagne. It bears witness to early developments in the organization of international trading fairs and the wool industry. The urban structure of Provins, which was built specifically to host the fairs and related activities, has been well preserved.
A carnival in France…
Le Roman de Fauvel, par « FRANÇOIS DE RUES » et « CHAILLOU DE PESTAIN », interpolé de chansons notées, motets, ballades, rondeaux, etc.
1301-1400, France
Purse
Date:early 14th centuryCulture:FrenchMedium:Silk, linen, gold leaf
Foire de Troyes
The Champagne fairs were an annual cycle of trading fairs held in towns in the Champagne and Brie regions of France in the Middle Ages. From their origins in local agricultural and stock fairs, the Champagne fairs became an important engine in the reviving economic history of medieval Europe, “veritable nerve centers” serving as a premier market for textiles, leather, fur, and spices. At their height, in the late 12th and the 13th century, the fairs linked the cloth-producing cities of the Low Countries with the Italian dyeing and exporting centers, with Genoa in the lead. The fairs, which were already well-organized at the start of the 12th century, were one of the earliest manifestations of a linked European economy, a characteristic of the High Middle Ages. From the later 12th century, the fairs, conveniently sited on ancient land routes and largely self-regulated through the development of the Lex mercatoria, the “merchant law”, dominated the commercial and banking relations operating at the frontier region between the north and the Mediterranean.
Cathédrale de Reims
Notre-Dame of Reims was the site of the coronation of French kings. It was the centre of an important “cathedral complex” and the representation of Heavenly Jerusalem for the people of the Middle Ages.
It was also the symbolic centre of the Archbishop’s power, as Primate over the bishops of several dioceses in Northern France.
Erected between 1211 and 1516, in accordance with an architectural program of immense artistic richness, the Cathedral of Reims survives as one of the most beautiful examples of Gothic art.
The architecture of the Reims Cathedral is characteristic of Gothic Art: it represents a moment of equilibrium between the experiments of Early Gothic (second half of the 12th century), and the decorative evolutions of Radiant Gothic (about 1230-1350) and Flamboyant Gothic (about 1350-1500).
The monument displays a classic unity to which the successive builders remained faithful, through the decades, by conserving as closely as possible the architectural vision adopted during the years 1210-1230 and the construction of the choir.
The interior elevation is remarkable for the impression of vertical tension created by the upward thrust and relative narrowness of its volumes (there is only one side-aisle).
The division into three levels is typical of 13th century architecture: grand arcades on the ground floor, triforium, and large, high windows.
To the three galleries of circulation habitual in similar edifices (two high: a parapet walk at the summit of the goutterot wallswith a passageway at the base of the high windows, a median, and the triforium); the Cathedral adds an interior passage at the base of the low windows: the “Passage Champenois”. Each of these passageways allows one to walk completely around the edifice.
![historical-nonfiction:
On Jan. 28, 1393, during a riotous wedding at the royal palace of Saint-Pol, Charles VI and five French nobles dressed up as wild men using linen costumes covered with pitch and hair and ranged among the guests, howling like wolves and daring them to guess their identities. One guest approached too closely with his torch and set them ablaze. The Duchess of Berry had the presence of mind to throw a cloak over the king, and one of the nobles managed to dive into a barrel of water. “The other four were burned alive their flaming genitals dropping to the floor, [the Monk of St. Denis] remarks with a sharp but on this occasion rather unsavoury eye for detail, releasing a stream of blood,” notes Jan R. Veenstra in Magic and Divination at the Courts of Burgundy and France. “Three of them, the count of Joigny, the bastard of Foix and Aymeri de Poitiers were deeply mourned; a fourth victim, Huguet de Guisay, was left wailing in agony for three days before he too expired, but he was not mourned, the Monk of St. Denis explains, since he was a vicious man and people were glad to see him perish.”](http://25.media.tumblr.com/229af9772846b3a699a5ef588e766d92/tumblr_mjxorg263p1r0bqbdo1_500.jpg)
On Jan. 28, 1393, during a riotous wedding at the royal palace of Saint-Pol, Charles VI and five French nobles dressed up as wild men using linen costumes covered with pitch and hair and ranged among the guests, howling like wolves and daring them to guess their identities. One guest approached too closely with his torch and set them ablaze. The Duchess of Berry had the presence of mind to throw a cloak over the king, and one of the nobles managed to dive into a barrel of water. “The other four were burned alive their flaming genitals dropping to the floor, [the Monk of St. Denis] remarks with a sharp but on this occasion rather unsavoury eye for detail, releasing a stream of blood,” notes Jan R. Veenstra in Magic and Divination at the Courts of Burgundy and France. “Three of them, the count of Joigny, the bastard of Foix and Aymeri de Poitiers were deeply mourned; a fourth victim, Huguet de Guisay, was left wailing in agony for three days before he too expired, but he was not mourned, the Monk of St. Denis explains, since he was a vicious man and people were glad to see him perish.”
Marriage of Tobias and Sara
This roundel originally came from the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. This was built by Louis IX of France to house the Crown of Thorns, which Jesus Christ had worn at the time of his Crucifixion. The king acquired part of this priceless relic in 1238. The Sainte-Chapelle was begun in 1241 and dedicated in 1248. It has been described as a huge reliquary in stone. Architecture, sculpture and stained glass combine to produce an effect of astonishing richness. The vast glazing programme has suffered, however. During the first half of the 19th century much glass was removed and many panels were sold to private collectors. Fortunately, some have come into museum collections.
Originally, this medallion belonged to the window devoted to the Story of Tobias, on the south side. It shows Tobias and Sara being joined in marriage by Sara’s father, Raguel, who stands behind her. Taking his daughter’s right hand and putting it into the right hand of Tobias, he gives the couple his blessing.
The Book of Tobias recounts how Tobias’s son, also called Tobias, with the aid of the Archangel Raphael, was able to restore his father’s health and wealth. Raphael, in disguise, leads Tobias to the lands of his kinsman Raguel. Raguel gives his daughter Sara in marriage to Tobias, but warns him that Sara’s seven previous husbands had all been devoured by demons on the wedding night. With Raphael’s aid, Tobias prepares a potion, the smell of which drives out the demons. He and Sara are then able to consummate their marriage successfully.
The Catholic church considers the Book of Tobias (or Tobit) to be a canonical book of the Old Testament. The Protestant reformers in the first half of the 16th century considered it to be non-historical and thus non-authoritative. They removed it from their official new bibles and labelled it ‘Apocryphal’.
