VULSON, Marc de.

by Marc de Vulson

£9,500 · Offered by Sokol Books

A fine, large paper copy of the first edition, complete with both parts, of the first illustrated encyclopaedia of chivalry, jousts and combat – ‘ouvrage très-curieux et fort recherchée’ (Brunet). Dedicated to Cardinal Mazarin, it is the masterpiece of the famous herald Marcus Vulson de La Colombière (d.1658). To him is attributed the invention of the hatching system of tinctures, as well as the rediscovery and adaptation of the image of chivalry, which would greatly influence C19 medievalism. ‘Vray theatre’ sought to make French aristocrats ‘familiar with the virtues of their ancestors’, and to show them, ‘as if on a mirror’, how chivalric tournaments can teach ‘the art of living well’, by banning laxity and laziness and encouraging the imitation of the illustrious deeds of the past. The 6 double-page engravings, cut by François Chauveau, illustrate lavish medieval and Renaissance festivals, including a tremendous folding scene, with a bird’s-eye view of Place Royale, a tournament organized for Louis XIII in Paris in 1612, and a man fighting a dog, cheered by the crowd, in Montargis under Charles V. Part I embraces chivalry from its classical origins to Renaissance France. The sections on antiquity and the early middle ages describe triumphal processions (with sundry types of crowns), chivalric orders and rituals, the meaning of shields and their code of honour, the history of tournaments and jousts, their structure and rules, and the accounts of a variety of famous festival

• Binding: Hardcover

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