Fauvel Studies: Allegory, Chronicle, Music, and Image in Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, MS Français 146

The manuscript Paris, Bibliothe'que Nationale, fonds francais 146, one of the most sumptuous and important of the fourteenth century, stands as an unparalleled witness to the politics, society, and culture of the French royal court in the early fourteenth century. It contains an interpolated version of the Roman de Fauvel, completed by Gerve's de Bus in 1314, that uniquely combines the Old French text with music setting poetry in French and Latin, high-quality illuminations (including early depictions of the architecture of medieval Paris), and further literary elaborations and additions. The narrative finds a place within several literary traditions, serving both as a satire on a fallen minister, Philip IV (d. 1314), Enguerran de Marigny, and as admonition or advice for the new King Philip V (crowned 1317). Alongside the Roman de Fauvel, fr. 146 also includes French and Latin narrative dits (the latter edited here for the first time), the complete known works of Jehannot de Lescurel, and an important French verse chronicle. It invites complementary works by such shoalrs in several disciplines.

This volume assembles papers by leading medievalists and younger scholars in different fields that reflect a period of interchange and collaboration viewing the same material from different perspectives. It is generously illustrated and includes essential new reference material for medievalists in political, social, and urban history, art and architecture history, musicology, the history of the book and codicology, and medieval languages and literatures, principally Old French and Latin. This interdisciplinary collection presents a wealth of new material for medievalists working in a number of fields.