Livre de la Chasse, by Gaston Fébus

Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris




• Shelf mark: Français 616
• Provenance: Paris, early 15th c.
• Size: ±370 x 275 mm
• 436 pages, 87 illuminations
• Bound in gilt and embossed Morocco leather
• Full-colour commentary volume (496 p.) by Yves Christe (Université de Genève), Claudine Pailhès (Archives Départementales de l'Ariège), Inès Villela-Petit (Bibliothèque nationale de France) and Pascal Bergerault (Université de Tours). Foreword by 
Claude d’Anthenaise (Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature) 
Unique and unrepeatable first edition, strictly limited to 987 numbered and authenticated copies.
ISBN: 978-84-16509-28-7

LC_5ae1f1b2a7b5c_LC_bodegon_b2.jpg

• Shelf mark: Français 616
• Provenance: Paris, early 15th c.
• Size: ±370 x 275 mm
• 436 pages, 87 illuminations
• Bound in gilt and embossed Morocco leather
• Full-colour commentary volume (496 p.) by Yves Christe (Université de Genève), Claudine Pailhès (Archives Départementales de l'Ariège), Inès Villela-Petit (Bibliothèque nationale de France) and Pascal Bergerault (Université de Tours). Foreword by 
Claude d’Anthenaise (Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature) 
Unique and unrepeatable first edition, strictly limited to 987 numbered and authenticated copies.
ISBN: 978-84-16509-28-7



Commentary volume

Commentary volume

Livre de la Chasse, by Gaston Fébus Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris


CONTENTS

From the Editor to the Reader

Foreword
Claude d’Anthenaise (Director of the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature)

Gaston Fébus. A lord of light, a lord of darkness
Claudine Pailhès (Former Director of the Archives Départementales de l’Ariège)

The production and history of Livre de la chasse manuscripts
Yves Christe (Professor Emeritus, Université de Genève)

Français 616 and its illuminators 
Inès Villela-Petit (Art Historian, Bibliothèque nationale de France)

Iconography of the Livre de la chasse. The excellence of Français 616. 
Yves Christe 

Livre de la chasse
Pascal Bergerault (Université de Tours)


Livre des oraisons  
Pascal Bergerault

Bibliography


ISBN: 978-84-16509-27-0
Language: English, Spanish, French


Livre de la Chasse, by Gaston Fébus Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris




Descripcion

Description

Livre de la Chasse, by Gaston Fébus Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris



History of the manuscript

In the course of its existence, the Livre de la Chasse (Book of the Hunt) has changed hands many times. It once belonged to Aymar de Poitiers (late 15th C), and Bernardo Clesio, bishop of Trento, who gave the manuscript shortly before 1530 to the archduke of Austria, Ferdinand I of Habsburg and brother of Charles V. In 1661, the marquess of Vigneau gave the Livre de la Chasse to Louis XIV (reign 1643-1715) who sent the manuscript to the Bibliothèque royale. In 1709, it was removed from that library and came into the hands of the Dauphin and duke of Burgundy who apparently deposited it in the Cabinet du Roi. In 1726, the manuscript reappeared in the count of Toulouse’s library at Rambouillet château and upon his death, was inherited by his son, the duke of Penthièvre. It subsequently belonged to the Orléans family and then Louis-Philippe I who deposited it in the Louvre in 1834. Finally, after the 1848 revolution, it entered the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
 
The book

The Livre de la Chasse was written or, to be more precise, dictated to a copyist, between 1387 and 1389 by Gaston Fébus, count of Foix and viscount of Béarn, and dedicated to the duke of Burgundy, Philip the Bold. The count had a difficult temperament and an eventful life, and was a great hunter and particularly fond of hunting and books on hunting and falconry. Fébus’s painstakingly written Livre de la Chasse was, until the late 16th century, every hunting enthusiast’s bible. In addition, this well-written book with its accurate descriptions of nature and different kinds of animals, laid the foundations for a vast work on natural history that the acclaimed naturalist Georges Buffon (1707-1788) did not hesitate to use as the basis for his own Histoire naturelle used as a coursebook until the 19th century.
Of the forty-four extant copies of this manuscript, Français 616 is undeniably the most beautiful and complete. In addition to the Livre de la Chasse itself, this manuscript contains the Livre d’oraisons (a prayer books) also penned by Gaston Fébus, plus another treatise on hunting entitled Déduits de la chasse by Gace de la Buigne. Its pages are illustrated with 87 miniatures of outstanding quality that rank amongst the most attractive examples of early fifteenth-century Parisian illumination. Indeed, very few books teaching the art of hunting have such lavish illustrations on a par with those found in Bibles.
 
The lessons in the manuscript

Until the late 16th century, the Livre de la Chasse was the hunting enthusiast’s bible, a eighty-five-chapter manual for hunters with a prologue and epilogue that describes in detail how to hunt successfully with hounds. Its text intended for young readers, combines the conciseness of a lesson with the keen interest of a man devoted to the subject. Gaston Fébus never belittles the importance of the animals involved in hunting, particularly the hound, the hunter’s faithful companion. Readers learn about the different breeds and their nature, how to train and feed them and even treat their illnesses, and discover that hunting – the preferred pastime of every medieval lord – involves a great many professional and human skills and qualities and is, therefore, far more than simply a leisure-time activity.
But if we focussed only on its technical content, we would miss the essence of Gaston Fébus’s book. Indeed, looking beyond the hunting context, this original and personal treatise is above all a child of its times, an era characterised by a pervading idea of sin and fear of damnation. In this book, Gaston Fébus presents hunting as an act of redemption enabling hunters to go straight to heaven. Being a physical activity requiring a certain expertise, hunting is indeed an excellent way of avoiding the idle hands for which the devil finds work, keeping the body and mind well occupied and thus avoiding all temptation. Hence this book is underpinned by tragedy of human existence and the quest for eternal life after one’s time on earth – to which only deserving souls can aspire.
 
Illustration

The miniatures are the work of several artists, particularly a group known as the Bedford school, amongst whom Master of the Adelphi stands out due to his keen eye and decorative style – factors that make his works exemplify International Gothic. One artist who collaborated with this group was the Egerton Master, whose style resembles that of the Limbourg brothers. Finally, some miniatures would seem to be the work of the Master of the Epistle of Othea, judging by the dense pictorial texture so very different from the smooth, porcelain-like technique of the Bedford school with which he seems to have collaborated only on this manuscript.
The illuminator uses his flawless mastery of the canons of medieval art to further the teaching aims of Gaston Fébus. The miniatures’ superbly decorated backgrounds are reminiscent of the tapestries of that period but on a smaller scale. The artist seeks not so much to portray an actual space as to highlight a hierarchy of values. Everything is calculated and designed within a coherent discourse. Hence the passage of time is suggested by the different ages of the figures, and their activities, relationships and spatial location, all of which draws a parallel between the hunting season and a lifetime of learning. The well-ordered and mimetic appearance of the elements portrayed are brimming with greatness and serenity, revealing to the reader a well-managed hunt, whilst providing not merely a hunting lesson but a lesson for life.
Hence this manuscript toys with analogy, a device typical of that period. Bodily parts are compared to planets, flowers to stars, and the earth to heaven. The world echoes itself time and time again. In addition, the proximity of persons and things combined with the dynamic lines of the miniatures convey the communication or echoes between them. Indeed, as the philosopher Michel Foucault explained, until the 16th century, the knowledge of the visible and invisible world, and the art of portraying and interpreting it, were based on likeness and repetition: the earth mirrors heaven, and art mirrors the world. In the specific case of the Livre de la Chasse, these elaborate analogies are reminiscent of the communication between hunters and their prey, thereby evoking the spiritual dimension of hunting, and the redemption and salvation it promises.


Customer reviews


Livre de la Chasse, by Gaston Fébus
Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris



“Ich bin allerdings davon überzeugt, daß (...) nicht nur die Technik (...), sondern auch Ihr persönliches Streben nach Perfektion eine Wiedergabe ermöglicht hat, welche die Illusion vermittelt, das Original aus Paris in Händen zu halten. Schuber und Buchdeckel sin aufwändig nachgebildet, die buchbinderische Qualität in bestem Leder erfüllt höchste Ansprüche und die facsimilierten Blätter überzeugen nicht nur optisch sondern auch olfaktorisch. (…) Vielleicht hat Ihnen Señor Arturo den zweiten Band meines Reisebuchs mit dem Kapitel Silos gezeigt, in dem ich auf den Apokalypse-Kommentar des Beatus de Liébana im Allgemeinen und auf Ihre höchst verdienstvollen Publikationen im Besonderen hinweise, die zu den schönsten Büchern meiner Bibliothek gehören und zu denen sich nun mit dem Livre de la Chasse noch ein in jeder Hinsicht außergewöhnliches Kleinod gesellt hat.”

Günter E. – Germany



“It starts with the weight of this historically important work, which together with the commentary volume weighs a respectable 10 kilograms. It takes its toll and due respect when you unpack it. Once unpacked, it reveals the artistically designed and extremely elaborate cover. Once again you can see the hand of the master bookbinder, who masters his craft at the highest level and makes us happy with it. It is almost idle to report on the quality of the book clone, because you really think you have the valuable original in your hands. It is also idle to report on the various masters of illumination, writing and decoration, since they were all only the very best in their field at the time, who only worked for the very highest noble houses. I cannot imagine what the originals may have actually cost. How many families could have lived for how long at that time? However, we can study a precise replica of this magnificent work at home and enjoy the incredibly beautiful details. I am always enraptured by the love and passion with which the artists at that time dedicated themselves to this task and what they made of it. The book of the hunt is by no means inferior to the Très Riches Heures des Duc de Berry. Thanks to the same artists who have immortalized themselves for posterity in both works, it reveals the identical expression and virtuosity that is hidden in the various messages conveyed by the illuminations. M. Moleiro Editor has once again excelled in offering us an almost-original 700 years after the release of the original France 616, which is simply a pleasure to own and peruse. The commentary volume is extremely readable and informative and in itself a magnificent book and a treat for every bibliophile.”

Linus C. – Switzerland



5 (1 total reviews) 5 1 (1)

See more reviews ()

Livre de la Chasse, by Gaston Fébus

Livre de la Chasse, by Gaston Fébus Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
Livre de la Chasse, by Gaston Fébus Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
Livre de la Chasse, by Gaston Fébus Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
Livre de la Chasse, by Gaston Fébus Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
Livre de la Chasse, by Gaston Fébus Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
Livre de la Chasse, by Gaston Fébus Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
Livre de la Chasse, by Gaston Fébus Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
Livre de la Chasse, by Gaston Fébus Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
Livre de la Chasse, by Gaston Fébus Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
Livre de la Chasse, by Gaston Fébus Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
Livre de la Chasse, by Gaston Fébus Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris

Description


History of the manuscript

In the course of its existence, the Livre de la Chasse (Book of the Hunt) has changed hands many times. It once belonged to Aymar de Poitiers (late 15th C), and Bernardo Clesio, bishop of Trento, who gave the manuscript shortly before 1530 to the archduke of Austria, Ferdinand I of Habsburg and brother of Charles V. In 1661, the marquess of Vigneau gave the Livre de la Chasse to Louis XIV (reign 1643-1715) who sent the manuscript to the Bibliothèque royale. In 1709, it was removed from that library and came into the hands of the Dauphin and duke of Burgundy who apparently deposited it in the Cabinet du Roi. In 1726, the manuscript reappeared in the count of Toulouse’s library at Rambouillet château and upon his death, was inherited by his son, the duke of Penthièvre. It subsequently belonged to the Orléans family and then Louis-Philippe I who deposited it in the Louvre in 1834. Finally, after the 1848 revolution, it entered the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
 
The book

The Livre de la Chasse was written or, to be more precise, dictated to a copyist, between 1387 and 1389 by Gaston Fébus, count of Foix and viscount of Béarn, and dedicated to the duke of Burgundy, Philip the Bold. The count had a difficult temperament and an eventful life, and was a great hunter and particularly fond of hunting and books on hunting and falconry. Fébus’s painstakingly written Livre de la Chasse was, until the late 16th century, every hunting enthusiast’s bible. In addition, this well-written book with its accurate descriptions of nature and different kinds of animals, laid the foundations for a vast work on natural history that the acclaimed naturalist Georges Buffon (1707-1788) did not hesitate to use as the basis for his own Histoire naturelle used as a coursebook until the 19th century.
Of the forty-four extant copies of this manuscript, Français 616 is undeniably the most beautiful and complete. In addition to the Livre de la Chasse itself, this manuscript contains the Livre d’oraisons (a prayer books) also penned by Gaston Fébus, plus another treatise on hunting entitled Déduits de la chasse by Gace de la Buigne. Its pages are illustrated with 87 miniatures of outstanding quality that rank amongst the most attractive examples of early fifteenth-century Parisian illumination. Indeed, very few books teaching the art of hunting have such lavish illustrations on a par with those found in Bibles.
 
The lessons in the manuscript

Until the late 16th century, the Livre de la Chasse was the hunting enthusiast’s bible, a eighty-five-chapter manual for hunters with a prologue and epilogue that describes in detail how to hunt successfully with hounds. Its text intended for young readers, combines the conciseness of a lesson with the keen interest of a man devoted to the subject. Gaston Fébus never belittles the importance of the animals involved in hunting, particularly the hound, the hunter’s faithful companion. Readers learn about the different breeds and their nature, how to train and feed them and even treat their illnesses, and discover that hunting – the preferred pastime of every medieval lord – involves a great many professional and human skills and qualities and is, therefore, far more than simply a leisure-time activity.
But if we focussed only on its technical content, we would miss the essence of Gaston Fébus’s book. Indeed, looking beyond the hunting context, this original and personal treatise is above all a child of its times, an era characterised by a pervading idea of sin and fear of damnation. In this book, Gaston Fébus presents hunting as an act of redemption enabling hunters to go straight to heaven. Being a physical activity requiring a certain expertise, hunting is indeed an excellent way of avoiding the idle hands for which the devil finds work, keeping the body and mind well occupied and thus avoiding all temptation. Hence this book is underpinned by tragedy of human existence and the quest for eternal life after one’s time on earth – to which only deserving souls can aspire.
 
Illustration

The miniatures are the work of several artists, particularly a group known as the Bedford school, amongst whom Master of the Adelphi stands out due to his keen eye and decorative style – factors that make his works exemplify International Gothic. One artist who collaborated with this group was the Egerton Master, whose style resembles that of the Limbourg brothers. Finally, some miniatures would seem to be the work of the Master of the Epistle of Othea, judging by the dense pictorial texture so very different from the smooth, porcelain-like technique of the Bedford school with which he seems to have collaborated only on this manuscript.
The illuminator uses his flawless mastery of the canons of medieval art to further the teaching aims of Gaston Fébus. The miniatures’ superbly decorated backgrounds are reminiscent of the tapestries of that period but on a smaller scale. The artist seeks not so much to portray an actual space as to highlight a hierarchy of values. Everything is calculated and designed within a coherent discourse. Hence the passage of time is suggested by the different ages of the figures, and their activities, relationships and spatial location, all of which draws a parallel between the hunting season and a lifetime of learning. The well-ordered and mimetic appearance of the elements portrayed are brimming with greatness and serenity, revealing to the reader a well-managed hunt, whilst providing not merely a hunting lesson but a lesson for life.
Hence this manuscript toys with analogy, a device typical of that period. Bodily parts are compared to planets, flowers to stars, and the earth to heaven. The world echoes itself time and time again. In addition, the proximity of persons and things combined with the dynamic lines of the miniatures convey the communication or echoes between them. Indeed, as the philosopher Michel Foucault explained, until the 16th century, the knowledge of the visible and invisible world, and the art of portraying and interpreting it, were based on likeness and repetition: the earth mirrors heaven, and art mirrors the world. In the specific case of the Livre de la Chasse, these elaborate analogies are reminiscent of the communication between hunters and their prey, thereby evoking the spiritual dimension of hunting, and the redemption and salvation it promises.

commentary volume

Livre de la Chasse, by Gaston Fébus Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris

CONTENTS

From the Editor to the Reader

Foreword
Claude d’Anthenaise (Director of the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature)

Gaston Fébus. A lord of light, a lord of darkness
Claudine Pailhès (Former Director of the Archives Départementales de l’Ariège)

The production and history of Livre de la chasse manuscripts
Yves Christe (Professor Emeritus, Université de Genève)

Français 616 and its illuminators 
Inès Villela-Petit (Art Historian, Bibliothèque nationale de France)

Iconography of the Livre de la chasse. The excellence of Français 616. 
Yves Christe 

Livre de la chasse
Pascal Bergerault (Université de Tours)


Livre des oraisons  
Pascal Bergerault

Bibliography


ISBN: 978-84-16509-27-0
Language: English, Spanish, French

Pictures

Details

• Shelf mark: Français 616
• Provenance: Paris, early 15th c.
• Size: ±370 x 275 mm
• 436 pages, 87 illuminations
• Bound in gilt and embossed Morocco leather
• Full-colour commentary volume (496 p.) by Yves Christe (Université de Genève), Claudine Pailhès (Archives Départementales de l'Ariège), Inès Villela-Petit (Bibliothèque nationale de France) and Pascal Bergerault (Université de Tours). Foreword by 
Claude d’Anthenaise (Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature) 
Unique and unrepeatable first edition, strictly limited to 987 numbered and authenticated copies.
ISBN: 978-84-16509-28-7

Reviews

“Ich bin allerdings davon überzeugt, daß (...) nicht nur die Technik (...), sondern auch Ihr persönliches Streben nach Perfektion eine Wiedergabe ermöglicht hat, welche die Illusion vermittelt, das Original aus Paris in Händen zu halten. Schuber und Buchdeckel sin aufwändig nachgebildet, die buchbinderische Qualität in bestem Leder erfüllt höchste Ansprüche und die facsimilierten Blätter überzeugen nicht nur optisch sondern auch olfaktorisch. (…) Vielleicht hat Ihnen Señor Arturo den zweiten Band meines Reisebuchs mit dem Kapitel Silos gezeigt, in dem ich auf den Apokalypse-Kommentar des Beatus de Liébana im Allgemeinen und auf Ihre höchst verdienstvollen Publikationen im Besonderen hinweise, die zu den schönsten Büchern meiner Bibliothek gehören und zu denen sich nun mit dem Livre de la Chasse noch ein in jeder Hinsicht außergewöhnliches Kleinod gesellt hat.”

Günter E. – Germany

“It starts with the weight of this historically important work, which together with the commentary volume weighs a respectable 10 kilograms. It takes its toll and due respect when you unpack it. Once unpacked, it reveals the artistically designed and extremely elaborate cover. Once again you can see the hand of the master bookbinder, who masters his craft at the highest level and makes us happy with it. It is almost idle to report on the quality of the book clone, because you really think you have the valuable original in your hands. It is also idle to report on the various masters of illumination, writing and decoration, since they were all only the very best in their field at the time, who only worked for the very highest noble houses. I cannot imagine what the originals may have actually cost. How many families could have lived for how long at that time? However, we can study a precise replica of this magnificent work at home and enjoy the incredibly beautiful details. I am always enraptured by the love and passion with which the artists at that time dedicated themselves to this task and what they made of it. The book of the hunt is by no means inferior to the Très Riches Heures des Duc de Berry. Thanks to the same artists who have immortalized themselves for posterity in both works, it reveals the identical expression and virtuosity that is hidden in the various messages conveyed by the illuminations. M. Moleiro Editor has once again excelled in offering us an almost-original 700 years after the release of the original France 616, which is simply a pleasure to own and peruse. The commentary volume is extremely readable and informative and in itself a magnificent book and a treat for every bibliophile.”

Linus C. – Switzerland

See more reviews ()

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