Christine de Pizan - Imago Editore - Il Codice del Duca Carlo Il temerario (anno 1460): edizione facsimile - 2023

The Codex of Duke Charles the Bold - Ms. 2361
Nuremberg, Erlangen University Library

Copy number: XXX

15th Century
126 parchment leaves
Hand-treated parchment
Handcrafted binding}

The Codex of Duke Charles the Bold

The magnificence of the Burgundian court in 103 miniatures.

In 15th-century Burgundy, the illuminated manuscript was a prestigious object: it housed knowledge and reflected the taste, culture, and ambitions of the court. This milieu is what the reproduced facsimile here belongs to, produced around 1460, probably on commission from Charles the Bold or his mother, Isabella of Portugal.

Its 103 grisaille miniatures, attributed to Willem Vrelant and his workshop, convey the refinement of that artistic season. Framed within gold leaf borders, the scenes blend the delicacy of shading with the precision of drawing, turning the pages into a sequence of figurative narratives.

The manuscript, consisting of 126 parchment folios, preserves Christine de Pizan’s Épître d’Othéa, written around 1400. Through the allegorical figure of Othéa, personification of wisdom and prudence, the author addresses the young Aeneas of Troy, offering teachings on the duties of a knight and the responsibilities of a good ruler.

It is precisely this intertwining of prince’s education with artistic splendor that makes the codex an expression of court culture: myth becomes a mirror in which to recognize virtues, choices, and responsibilities of those destined to wield power.

Having previously belonged to the margraves of Bayreuth and later passing into a private collection, the manuscript was acquired in 1932 by the University Library of Erlangen, where it is today preserved.

The facsimile edition allows close access to a work that unites the charm of the Burgundian court, the finesse of 15th-century miniature art, and the voice of one of the medieval era’s most authoritative female writers.

Complete copy with case and commentary.

Published by Imago - The Nobility of the Facsimile