AA. VV. - Traitté des Fortifications - 1600

Science of War: The Bastion and Secret Projects in a Sixteenth-Century Manuscript
Elegant 17th-century French manuscript dedicated to the art of fortification, containing a Traitté des fortifications written in small, regular script. The work begins with a gloss on the main technical-military terms and is enriched with numerous ink drawings, tables, and geometric diagrams. It is a theoretical and practical compendium of military architecture, including sections on the fortification of regular and irregular figures, geometric problems, and methods for drawing fortified plans on the ground. The last part of the manuscript is written in Latin and includes exercises on circle division and an example of a horizontal clock. The work possesses remarkable technical and historical charm.
Market value
Illustrated technical manuscripts from the 17th century are highly sought after, especially if complete and equipped with original, colorful diagrams. A copy of this kind can reach values between €2,500 and €4,000, depending on its condition and graphic quality.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Contemporary full leather binding with raised bands and gold tooling. Illustrated with a pictorial title page featuring a heraldic coat of arms, 2 folded plates finely hand-colored later, 4 drawings within the text, various minor illustrations, and 3 tables (one full-page). White pages with traces of humidity in the upper outer corner. An item of notable visual value. 49 pages written, including 3 final leaves, with 18 unprinted leaves.

Full title and author
[Anonymous]
Treatise on Fortifications
Illustrated French manuscript, 17th century.

Context and Significance
The manuscript fits within the French tradition of military treatises, which, between the 16th and 17th centuries, saw the flourishing of numerous theoretical and technical texts aimed at officers, engineers, and the nobility interested in the art of war. The work begins with an Explication of the terms of fortification — from 'donjon' to 'demi-bastion' — and continues with practical and geometric sections on the design of regular and irregular fortifications. Particularly significant is the mixture of technical content and basic mathematical notions, which demonstrates the educational purpose of the manuscript. The final part in Latin attests to the continuity between technical knowledge and academic culture.

Author's Biography
Anonymous author. The technical and graphic level suggests a military engineer or a student of a mid-to-high level military school, active in the Francophone area during the second half of the 17th century.

Printing history and circulation
Unique manuscript, not linked to a known printed edition. A valuable testimony of military knowledge transmitted through handwritten and individual means in a pre-engineering era.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Not listed. For comparisons: Dufour, Traités d’art militaire français; Cioranescu; Riccardi; Cockle, Military Books to 1642. Comparable with some manuscripts preserved at the BNF and the École des Ponts et Chaussées.