Illuminated Manuscripts
Le lustre des temps, ou Fragment des histoires et chroniques
Le lustre des temps, ou Fragment des histoires et chroniques
- Collection ID
- MS.000813
- Type
- Manuscript
- Date
- 1534
- Geography
- France
- Language
- French and Latin
- Medium
- Ink on Parchment
- Dimensions
- ii + 46 + ii folios; 8.2 × 5.9 × 1.0 in. (20.8 × 15.1 × 2.5 cm)
- Exhibit Location
- Not on View
This is a unique, unpublished manuscript written by Mellon Preudhomme (fl. 1534–1554), a sixteenth-century priest in Rouen and an advocate in the Parlement, or law court, of Normandy, and illustrated by Geoffroy Dumonstier (ca. 1510–1573), an artist who lived and worked in Rouen. The introductory text is in French prose while the body of the work is in verse. The introduction says that Preudhomme will discuss in three notebooks (cahiers) the “primordial law of death” from creation to Abraham, the law of circumcision and Mosaic law up to the time of Jesus, and the law of the grace of the gospel and baptism. This volume contains the first notebook, ending with Abraham. Dumonstier added eight moody, symbolic illustrations, one of which includes his trademark—a human skull at the base of a tree.
This is a unique, unpublished manuscript written by Mellon Preudhomme (fl. 1534–1554), a sixteenth-century priest in Rouen and an advocate in the Parlement, or law court, of Normandy, and illustrated by Geoffroy Dumonstier (ca. 1510–1573), an artist who lived and worked in Rouen. The introductory text is in French prose while the body of the work is in verse. The introduction says that Preudhomme will discuss in three notebooks (cahiers) the “primordial law of death” from creation to Abraham, the law of circumcision and Mosaic law up to the time of Jesus, and the law of the grace of the gospel and baptism. This volume contains the first notebook, ending with Abraham. Dumonstier added eight moody, symbolic illustrations, one of which includes his trademark—a human skull at the base of a tree.
Created in 1534 in Rouen, France, by or for Mellon Preudhomme or Prudhomme (fl. 1534–1554) and illustrated by Geoffroy Dumonstier (ca. 1510–1573).[1] Acquired before 1751 by Henri-François d’Aguesseau (1668–1751), Chancellor of France;[2] By descent to Jean-Baptiste Paulin d’Auguesseau (1701–1784); Sold at auction February 18, 1785, in Paris by Gogué & Née de la Rochelle Libraires, Lot 3696;[3] Purchased at auction by Alexis Ferréol Perrin de Sanson (1733–1820).[4] Acquired by 1823 by Jean François Royez (1757?–1823);[5] Acquired by 1824 by Sir Thomas Phillipps (1792–1872);[6] By inheritance in 1872 to Katherine Fenwick; By inheritance in 1913 to Thomas Fitzroy Fenwick; By inheritance to Alan George Fenwick (1890–1966); Purchased in 1946 by Lionel Robinson (1897–1983) and Phillip Robinson (1902–1991), London, UK;[7] Purchased in 1977 by H. P. Kraus, New York City.[8] Acquired by 2014 by J. R. Ritman (1941–), Amsterdam, Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica;[9] Acquired by 2014 by Les Enluminures; Purchased in 2014 by Green Collection, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Donated in 2015 to National Christian Foundation (later The Signatry), under the curatorial care of Museum of the Bible, Washington, DC.
Notes: [1] An inscription on folio 4 recto names Preudhomme as the author and dedicates it to his brother, Guillaume. It is unclear whether he was also the scribe. For a discussion of Dumonstier’s illustrations in the volume, see Vincent Maroteaux and Dominique Cordellier, De Rouen à Fontainebleau Geoffroy Dumonstier, une extravagante Renaissance, (Archives Départementales de la Seine-Maritime: Rouen 2024) 110–113, 270–275. The date appears on folio 44 verso. Prudhomme was a cleric and a member of the French Parlement. [2] The catalogue for the sale of his son’s collection mentions in the preliminary notice that as a young man, Henri-François d’Aguesseau acquired a large part of the library of Claude Chrestien (b. 1567), who inherited it from his father, the poet and humanist Florent Chrestien (1541–1596). The marginal notations in Latin on almost every page contain citations of classical authors, church fathers, and biblical passages, suggesting that the manuscript may have come from the library of a well-educated humanist such as Florent Chrestien. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Catalogue_des_livres_imprim%C3%A9s_et_manusc/Q1IVAAAAQAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=jean+baptiste+paulin+d%27aguesseau,+Catalogue+des+livres&pg=PA155&printsec=frontcover [3] A marginal notation for Lot 3696 indicates it sold for 40 livres and 1 sou but does not name the buyer. [4] Perrin de Sanson almost certainly purchased the manuscript at the auction of the d’Auguesseau collection, because the title page of the 1836 catalog of the former’s library states that for the most part they came from the libraries of Chanceller d’Aguesseau and others, and a survey of the titles show that 90 volumes in the sale were identified as coming from d’Aguesseau. He is likely the person who rebound the book, replacing the green velvet mentioned in the d’Aguesseau catalog with the red Morocco mentioned in the Phillipps catalog. [5] Letters dated to May 1823 between Royez and Sir Thomas Phillipps in the collection of the Grolier Club in NYC mention the manuscript. At that time, Phillipps turned down the manuscript because of the cost but later included it in his catalog under books acquired from Royez. [6] Number 4390 in the Catalogus librorum Manuscriptorum in bibliotheca D. Thomae Phillipps, ab anno 1824 ad 1837, (Typis Medio-montanis, 1837) https://archive.org/details/gri_33125009352721/page/70/mode/2up?view=theater&q=lustre; the same number appears at the foot of the book’s spine. [7] Dates of the Fenwick inheritances from https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/1061YS#full-artwork-details [8] The Robinsons’ purchase and Kraus purchase are discussed here: https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=1525 H. P. Kraus, Bibliotheca Phillippica: Manuscripts on Vellum and Paper From the 9th to the 18th Centuries. From the Celebrated Collection formed by Sir Thomas Phillipps: Catalogue 153, Lot 92. The dispersal of Sir Thomas Phillipps’s library lasted almost a century. Seymour de Ricci, English Collectors of Books & Manuscripts (1530–1930) 1930, reprinted by Indiana University Press, 1960 (https://dn790004.ca.archive.org/0/items/englishcollector00ricc/englishcollector00ricc.pdf), records 18 sales between 1886 and 1926, but adds, “there are still at least 20,000 manuscripts at Cheltenham!” [9] Bookplate on front flyleaf.
Vincent Maroteaux and Dominique Cordellier, De Rouen à Fontainebleau: Geoffroy Dumonstier, une extravagante Renaissance (Archives Départementales de la Seine-Maritime: Rouen, 2024).
Created in 1534 in Rouen, France, by or for Mellon Preudhomme or Prudhomme (fl. 1534–1554) and illustrated by Geoffroy Dumonstier (ca. 1510–1573).[1] Acquired before 1751 by Henri-François d’Aguesseau (1668–1751), Chancellor of France;[2] By descent to Jean-Baptiste Paulin d’Auguesseau (1701–1784); Sold at auction February 18, 1785, in Paris by Gogué & Née de la Rochelle Libraires, Lot 3696;[3] Purchased at auction by Alexis Ferréol Perrin de Sanson (1733–1820).[4] Acquired by 1823 by Jean François Royez (1757?–1823);[5] Acquired by 1824 by Sir Thomas Phillipps (1792–1872);[6] By inheritance in 1872 to Katherine Fenwick; By inheritance in 1913 to Thomas Fitzroy Fenwick; By inheritance to Alan George Fenwick (1890–1966); Purchased in 1946 by Lionel Robinson (1897–1983) and Phillip Robinson (1902–1991), London, UK;[7] Purchased in 1977 by H. P. Kraus, New York City.[8] Acquired by 2014 by J. R. Ritman (1941–), Amsterdam, Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica;[9] Acquired by 2014 by Les Enluminures; Purchased in 2014 by Green Collection, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Donated in 2015 to National Christian Foundation (later The Signatry), under the curatorial care of Museum of the Bible, Washington, DC.
Notes: [1] An inscription on folio 4 recto names Preudhomme as the author and dedicates it to his brother, Guillaume. It is unclear whether he was also the scribe. For a discussion of Dumonstier’s illustrations in the volume, see Vincent Maroteaux and Dominique Cordellier, De Rouen à Fontainebleau Geoffroy Dumonstier, une extravagante Renaissance, (Archives Départementales de la Seine-Maritime: Rouen 2024) 110–113, 270–275. The date appears on folio 44 verso. Prudhomme was a cleric and a member of the French Parlement. [2] The catalogue for the sale of his son’s collection mentions in the preliminary notice that as a young man, Henri-François d’Aguesseau acquired a large part of the library of Claude Chrestien (b. 1567), who inherited it from his father, the poet and humanist Florent Chrestien (1541–1596). The marginal notations in Latin on almost every page contain citations of classical authors, church fathers, and biblical passages, suggesting that the manuscript may have come from the library of a well-educated humanist such as Florent Chrestien. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Catalogue_des_livres_imprim%C3%A9s_et_manusc/Q1IVAAAAQAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=jean+baptiste+paulin+d%27aguesseau,+Catalogue+des+livres&pg=PA155&printsec=frontcover [3] A marginal notation for Lot 3696 indicates it sold for 40 livres and 1 sou but does not name the buyer. [4] Perrin de Sanson almost certainly purchased the manuscript at the auction of the d’Auguesseau collection, because the title page of the 1836 catalog of the former’s library states that for the most part they came from the libraries of Chanceller d’Aguesseau and others, and a survey of the titles show that 90 volumes in the sale were identified as coming from d’Aguesseau. He is likely the person who rebound the book, replacing the green velvet mentioned in the d’Aguesseau catalog with the red Morocco mentioned in the Phillipps catalog. [5] Letters dated to May 1823 between Royez and Sir Thomas Phillipps in the collection of the Grolier Club in NYC mention the manuscript. At that time, Phillipps turned down the manuscript because of the cost but later included it in his catalog under books acquired from Royez. [6] Number 4390 in the Catalogus librorum Manuscriptorum in bibliotheca D. Thomae Phillipps, ab anno 1824 ad 1837, (Typis Medio-montanis, 1837) https://archive.org/details/gri_33125009352721/page/70/mode/2up?view=theater&q=lustre; the same number appears at the foot of the book’s spine. [7] Dates of the Fenwick inheritances from https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/1061YS#full-artwork-details [8] The Robinsons’ purchase and Kraus purchase are discussed here: https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=1525 H. P. Kraus, Bibliotheca Phillippica: Manuscripts on Vellum and Paper From the 9th to the 18th Centuries. From the Celebrated Collection formed by Sir Thomas Phillipps: Catalogue 153, Lot 92. The dispersal of Sir Thomas Phillipps’s library lasted almost a century. Seymour de Ricci, English Collectors of Books & Manuscripts (1530–1930) 1930, reprinted by Indiana University Press, 1960 (https://dn790004.ca.archive.org/0/items/englishcollector00ricc/englishcollector00ricc.pdf), records 18 sales between 1886 and 1926, but adds, “there are still at least 20,000 manuscripts at Cheltenham!” [9] Bookplate on front flyleaf.
Vincent Maroteaux and Dominique Cordellier, De Rouen à Fontainebleau: Geoffroy Dumonstier, une extravagante Renaissance (Archives Départementales de la Seine-Maritime: Rouen, 2024).
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