LIÉDET, Loyset

The present folio is from the manuscript L’Histoire de Charles Martel, vol. 3 (Ms. 8, fol 7r), the author (or rather the translator) of which was David Aubert (1435-after 1479), one of the most famous calligraphers, translators, and compilers in the service of the Duke of Burgundy between 1458 and 1479. Attached to the Dukes Philip the Good and Charles the Bold and the Duchess Marguerite of York, he completed manuscripts for Antoine de Bourgogne and Philippe de Croy.

Whereas the text was copied by Aubert within the ducal household at Brussels - the first volume in 1463 and the last in 1465 - the decoration was undertaken by artists based in Bruges. In 1468 the illuminator Pol Fruit was paid for the decorated initials in the third volume, and in 1472 the miniaturist Loyset Li�det was paid for the forty-three miniatures in the third and fourth volumes, as well as further initials and the bindings, his signature is also incorporated into one of the miniatures at the beginning of the final volume (ms. 7, fol 9). The echo of Eyckian artistic ambitions found in this rare signature is complemented by Eyckian parallels in the composition of the opening miniature of the first volume, in which the writer is depicted being visited by Charles Martel in his study.

Important illuminated manuscripts were often, sometimes elaborately, personalised by adding the owner’s coat of arms, devices, and mottoes, as in the present illumination, near the upper edge of selected folios.

This manuscript in two volumes contains a compendium of Roman history from the foundation of the city to the age of Constantine. It was composed in the 14th century by the Bolognese author Roberto della Porta for the governor of Bologna. The text in the manuscript was translated into French for Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. Some of the miniatures were executed by Loyset Li�det.

On folio 1 of the first volume, Philip the Good and other members of the court are shown visiting the workshop of David Aubert where the manuscript was produced. David Aubert dominated the book market of Bruges from 1460.

This manuscript in two volumes contains a compendium of Roman history from the foundation of the city to the age of Constantine. It was composed in the 14th century by the Bolognese author Roberto della Porta for the governor of Bologna. The text in the manuscript was translated into French for Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. Some of the miniatures were executed by Loyset Li�det.

The scene on folio 215 of the second volume shows the entrance of an army into a town.

The miniature on folio 50 represents Alexander the Great receiving the mother and wife of the conquered King Darius. The arms and clothes as well as the landscape detailes illustrate contemporary Flanders.

The codex was executed by Loyset Li�det who worked for the Duke of Burgundy. This copy of the manuscript was made for Charles the Bold.

The present folio is from the manuscript L’Histoire de Charles Martel, vol. 3 (Ms. 8, fol 7r), the author (or rather the translator) of which was David Aubert (1435-after 1479), one of the most famous calligraphers, translators, and compilers in the service of the Duke of Burgundy between 1458 and 1479.

Whereas the text was copied by Aubert within the ducal household at Brussels - the first volume in 1463 and the last in 1465 - the decoration was undertaken by artists based in Bruges. In 1468 the illuminator Pol Fruit was paid for the decorated initials in the third volume, and in 1472 the miniaturist Loyset Li�det was paid for the forty-three miniatures in the third and fourth volumes, as well as further initials and the bindings. The echo of Eyckian artistic ambitions can be seen in the composition of the opening miniature of the first volume, in which the writer is depicted being visited by Charles Martel in his study.

Important illuminated manuscripts were often, sometimes elaborately, personalised by adding the owner’s coat of arms, devices, and mottoes, as in the present illumination, near the upper edge of selected folios.

This manuscript was produced in France, in the region between Burgundy and Provence. The universal history narrated in the book goes from the creation of man to the war between Caesar and Pompey. There are two coloured miniature, filling the upper half of the pages, and nine smaller black and white drawings.

In the miniature on folio 171, shown here, which shows the burning of Troy, palaces being consumed by flames stand out in the background while ships are foundering at see and in the foreground a procession of women and children is seen abandoning the city, led by a male figure who presumably represents Aeneas. The miniature is framed by a rich flower border which fills the side and bottom margins. It is the work of Loyset Li�det, an outstanding representative of the Flemish school who worked for the dukes of Burgundy between 1460 and 1478.