Martin le Megissier - La Chronique des roys de France - 1552

The Chronicle of the Kings of France and the Memorable Occurrences Advenuz is a major historical work of the Renaissance, written by Jean Du Tillet (Sieur de La Bussière, scribe at the Parliament of Paris and bishop).

Historical content: It is a chronological summary tracing the succession of the kings of France from legendary origins (King Pharamond) to the author’s contemporary reign, that of Henry II. The history is presented in the form of tables or columns indicating the years of Christ, the years of reign, and memorable deeds of war or politics. Illustration: The Rouen edition of 1552 is distinguished by the inclusion of 3 king portraits engraved on wood in medallions. Precious supplements: The volume typically includes in the appendix the Catalogue of Popes (up to Paul III) as well as the Catalogue of Emperors (from Octavian Caesar to Charles V). The humanist approach: Jean Du Tillet was one of the first historians to base his work rigorously on authentic documents, charters, and the archives of the Parliament of Paris rather than on mere medieval myths.

The 1552 edition of The Chronicle of the Kings of France by Jean Du Tillet, printed in Rouen by Martin Le Mégissier (or Jehan Petit), uses the classical foliation system rather than modern pagination. The book is not numbered by page (1, 2, 3...), but by leaves (recto only). The structure of its composition is as follows:
Preliminary leaves: 4 unnumbered leaves at the beginning of the book (marked [4] ff.), reserved for the title, the dedicatory epistle, or the table. The body of the work: 172 numbered leaves (marked 172 ff.). On some copies, there is also a section of 14 leaves that show slight numbering errors of the time (badly numbered). The end: Generally 1 unnumbered leaf at the very end containing the colophon or the printer’s mark.

Good inner condition, stains and damp traces, page CLV torn, with loss; pages XCII and XCIII, CXXIX, CXXX and CXXXI, CXXXII, CXXXIII, CXXXIV, CXXXV, CXXXVI missing; the work enriched with 3 wood engravings in medallion (portraits of kings and a Portrait of a pope) + 1 printer’s mark.