In an Illuminated Medieval Work of Art from the Famed French Illustrator Perrin Remiet, King Edward I of England Pays Homage to the French King Philippe, Preserving for a Time the Peace Between the Great Wars that Would Convulse Europe

This remarkable manuscript, surviving from one of the ornate account books belonging to royal circles after the great plague swept France, also tells of new rulers in Luxembourg, Aragon, and the Papacy

As a result of King Henry III’s of England’s military failures in France and the constant demand to finance his wars, the barons of England sought to reassert the authority of the Magna Carta, which had been signed earlier in the century. As tensions between loyalists and rebels grew and civil war seemed a very real possibility, Henry came to an agreement with King Louis IX in 1259 by the Treaty of Paris which included accepting the loss of the lands in France seized since 1200, and to pay homage for those that remained in his hands. This period of peace was more definitively finalized (or it seemed) with the Treaty of Montreuil-sur-Mer, ratified June 19, 1299 by then-French King Philip the Fair and King Edward I of England. It provided for the double marriage of Margaret, Philip’s sister, to Edward, and Isabella, Philip’s daughter, to Edward’s son, also named Edward. The English Kings would still pay homage for the peace and their rights on the Continent to the French King.

Edward was not only under the threat of domestic and Continental quarrels. The Scottish war for independence required resources. William Wallace, the Scottish leader, was appointed Guardian of Scotland and served until his defeat at the Battle of Falkirk in July 1298. Such pressure pushed Edward yet further toward the 1299 treaty.

The Continent as a whole was roiled. Just a few years earlier, the Battle of Worringen was fought in 1288. It was a decisive battle of the War of the Limburg Succession, and would eventually lead to the rule of King Henry VII of Luxembourg as the Holy Roman Emperor, the first from the House of Luxembourg.

This rivaly between France and England, what historians call the first Hundred Years War, was a particularly volatile point for both countires, when the nobility and monarchy needed the reassurance that they were the true heirs to the might of Europe. The violent struggle between them, lasting for many years, would eventually sever England from its Continental holdings and re-enforced the wedge between the two powers, whose fates would be so tied together. It is a large part of why Europe looks as it does today.

The Great Chronicles of France

The Grandes Chroniques de France is a manuscript book begun in 1270 that chronicles the history of France from the mythic Trojan period to the reign of the then-current King Charles V in the 14th century. Originally in Latin and written by the monks of Saint Denis, this vernacular translation became a very important touchstone for medieval French culture and a status symbol to own such a luxurious book. As a piece of literature, at this time period in France’s history, it granted legitimacy to the expanding French empire and the power of her monarchy through chronicling the often-bloody history of France.

Among the most striking elements of these books were the ornate illustrations, paintings to demonstrate visually the events taking place.

The Great Illuminator, Perrin Remiet

Occasionally, scribes wrote their name at the end of their work to claim it. This is called a colophon and they are precious to understanding the life of a medieval manuscript. However, there is a general absence of illuminators and illustrators signing their works. So, to that end we have nearly anonymous medieval Master illuminators, named after their works, their patrons, their locations, their notable styles, but not named with their own name.

How do we know the name of an artist who illustrated for high status patrons? Michael Camille, the art historian, revived this man’s story from the shadows of history, explaining that we know Remiet “not because of something he painted but because of something he did not paint.” In the margins of a manuscript housed in Paris’ Bibliothèque Nationale de France is the short set of instructions in French directed at our artist: “Remiet, make nothing here because I will make a figure which should be there.”

Born into the Black Plague

Thanks to the research of Michael Camille, we have a vivid picture of Perrin Remiet’s life in Paris at the end of the 14th century. Remiet was likely born as the first wave of the Black Plague washed its pestilence upon Paris in 1348, reducing the city’s population by a third. We can be even more certain that our artist began as an apprentice to the Boqueteaux Master, the Master of the Little Trees, known for his distinct arboreal style. After having become an illustrator in his own right, Remiet had a “house on the Rue de la Parcheminerie,” looking on to the “Rue Erembourth de Brie,” where other illuminators lived and worked alongside him. Likely, Remiet had his workshop on the ground floor and the tax records from 1428 indicate that he and his family lived above the shop. The location of his shop puts him right in the heart of the manuscript manufacturing trade in Paris, as well as the University. Remiet is listed among the “servants of the university of Paris,” a responsibility bestowed by King Charles V on 5 November 1368, along with several other illuminators, book-sellers, scribes, book-binders, and parchment-makers.

Books had become objects of art and art became collectable. This construct is apparent based on the collections of Charles V, Louis I d’Anjou and Jean de Berry, the latter of whom is well known for his richly illuminated manuscripts. This collecting habit was driven by socio-political reasons: the wealthy and powerful men in France were using their wealth and power to draw in important cultural works to bolster France’s status. As Camille explains, “Remiet’s commissions all seem to have been directed towards the upper stratum of the aristocracy.”

The medieval concept of Fortune is depicted as a wheel to remind the viewer that even when they are at the very top of the wheel, at some point, they will inevitably fall. Remiet, the illustrator, suffered a loss of vision, which becomes evident in his work. By 1440, his house, once central to the hustle and bustle of medieval Paris, is listed as empty and ruined, abandoned by Remiet’s heirs.

Camille notes the importance of these works, which exist, among other places in the:

London, British Library, Add. MS 21143
London, British Library, Add. 15269
Lyons, Bibliothèque Municipale, MS 880
Paris, Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal, MS 5223
Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, MS fr. 2813
Paris, Bibliothèque Sainte-Genviève, Ms. 783
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Ms. Fr. 2616-2617
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Ms. Fr. 2606
Paris, Jena, Thüringer Universitäts-und Landesbibliothek Jena, Ms. Gallica, fol. 87

The Illuminator’s style

Remiet’s style is evident. The text would have already been present, as would the ruling, or frame, for his illustration. The landscape in Remiet’s work tends to, but does not exclusively, incorporate a curve, rather than a straight horizontal line, with the figures occupying approximately two-thirds of the height of the miniature. The characteristic gauntness of Remiet’s figures can be seen particularly well in cheeks of the King and his retinue in the bifolium of Louis returning to Paris from Aquitaine.

Illuminated manuscript and historical account, approximately 8 x 5.5 inches, no date but very early 1400s, illuminated in the hand of Remiet himself: The chapter details in words final details around the great battle in Luxembourg; A peace is agreed on and marriages are forged. The fate of future Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII is set. The great Papal vote of that same year is set, and religious visions tell of good to come.

The scribe then tells about what Remiet’s illustration shows: France’s King Philip the Fair, son of Philip the Bold, compelling Edward I, King of England, to do homage to him. Philip, we are told, takes up the Kingship of France in 1287, the same year as Alphonso commences his reign of Aragon in Spain after the death of his father.

Text and translation:

Verso:

‘…for your brothers are dead. Soon after, the lady ran into her chambers, making the greatest sorrow in the world. But the friends who saw war to be unseemly made a treaty of peace and after a long treaty, it was agreed on and the peace was made in such a manner: That Henry, the son of the Count of Luxembourg who had died in battle, take for his wife the daughter of the Duke of Breban. And in hearing that Henry had a son and a daughter, and the son was named Jean and the daughter was married to King Charles of France. And the Count of Guelders and the archbishop of Cologne were ransomed and they were delivered. This battle was made in Ouronne in Breban, the year of the Incarnation one thousand two hundred and eighty-seven.

“In the same year, the Greeks left the subjugation of the pope and all of the Court of Rome, and they made a new pope and new cardinals. In the same year, in the city of Tripoli, came an abbot of Cistiaux and of two monks saw him with a marvellous vision of the hand of a scribe under the body, here where the monks were before the consecrated body of Jesus Christ, and it was written what was said under the bodily prognostication of many, very marvellous things to come …”

Illumination side:

“Here commences the story of King Philip the Fair, son of the aforesaid Philip who ruled France after him. How the King of England made homage to him.

“After the King Philip who was the son of Lord Saint Louis reigned in France, Philipe the Fair, his son, reigned 28 years. And he began to reign on the year 1285. And in this year Alphonso, son of the King of Arragon began to reign in the kingdom of Arragon after the death of his father; and Jacques…”

Other information

Perrin Rémiet (fl.1386-1428)

EDWARD I PAYING HOMAGE TO PHILIP THE FAIR, miniature cut from a Grandes chroniques de France, manuscript on vellum illuminated by Perrin Rémiet [Paris, c.1400-1410].

80 x 90 mm illumination on 195 x 135mm support, trimmed text block 100mm wide, with 7-line initial at 50 x 40mm. Formerly mounted on top two edges. A single folio depicting a kneeling King Edward I of England paying homage to an enthroned Philip IV of France in 1299 on black and gold diapered background. Gold and blue embellished ruled frame around miniature. Gold shell on 7-line initial A, with intricate penwork embellishing the initial and extended border flourishing with blue and shell gold, 1 single-line illuminated pilcrow in blue with red penwork. Prickings along outside margin. Ruled in graphite. Rubrication indicating subject, “Le bel,” along top margin, trimmed on verso. Bottom text slightly trimmed. Gothic bâtarde script with minimal abbreviations. Text in Middle French. Three full lines of rubrication indicating chapter beginning.

Provenance: (1) Sir John Galvin (b. 1902), Australian-American businessman who acquired Loughlinstown House, Dublin in 1963. (2) Sotheby’s, 7 July 2008