Thread by @AsinusDocet

Hi Twitter, #MedievalTwitter and #TwitterStorians!

On this first summer #MondayManuscript thread of mine, I'd like to kick this off with the research of medieval tournament illuminations, as to illustrate my @askhistorians contribution on the topic. ⬇️

reddit.com/r/AskHistorian…

This will be a live tweeting experiment, so either come along the way with me (or us?) or come back once the thread is over 🥰⬇️

First stop at the @BDLSS with the wonderful Douce 308 which contains Jacques Bretel's "Tournoy de Chauvency".

digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/inquire/p/6379…

Let's head to folio 107r where the poem begins and tells the story of a lavish tournament held in the northern parts France in 1285 which also involved many nobles from the Holy Roman Empire such as the Luxemburg brothers.

The manuscript itself dates from the early 14th century. There is little marginalia and few ornaments beyond some gold or red penflourished initials. It doesn't make it less beautiful, the text reads very clearly.

This is a big event, full of handsome knights and beautiful ladies (if you believe every word Bretel wrote). Knights appear in full coats of arms and that is how you can differenciate them from underneath their armor. This is a spectacle as much as it is a proper fight.
~ f. 117r

Knights fight during the day like the men they're expected to be, then at night, they play, dance and sing with the ladies like the men they're also expected to be. The countess of Luxemburg makes a very strong impression with her beauty and her joyful character.
~ f. 123r

There is even talks about kidnapping the Countess! The jousts make place to a tournament. Let's be clear... This is an open battle between two parties. There is blood. People are wounded, captured and put to ransom.
~ f. 132r

The tournament ends as the Countess is left untouched. Her husband feared no one. She presides to the last night of festivities, sings, dances and takes a bow. Bretel ends his tale on this faithful word: "Amen".
~ f. 139v

Next up in an unexpected guest from the @kbrbe, an all-time favourite of mine, the Books of King Modus and Queen Ratio!

It opens as an allegoric dialogue with hunting tips and their spiritual exegeses. Did I get lost on the web or what?

This fine work of technical and spiritual litterature is where you'll find the Devil's Ten Commandments, also made available on my blog.

asinusdocet.tv/2019/06/18/the…

The Books of King Modus and Queen Ratio are actually concerned with aristocratic lifestyle. The manuscripts containing this work will often show illuminations of ladies indulging in falconry!
~ f. 79v-80r

Once the Hunting treatise (or "Livre des deduis") ends, as it is a common trope in medieval litterature, the author fells asleep and dreams. So begins the "Songe de Pestilence" which brings up a large cast of supernatural characters starring God and the devil.
~ f. 104v, 111r

Don't trust your friends with this book! You'll find the Devil's Charter within it. Well... They may have to go through a few courses of paleography first 😉
~ f. 125r

The Songe of Pestilence actually reads as a long commentary on medieval society by one of his contemporaries. I never took the time to read it... but it DOES display scenes of tournaments among other types of illustrations, some curious, other cosmic!
~ f. 141r, 152r, 163r, 169r

We're leaving the @kbrbe for the University Library of @UniHeidelberg, but I'd like to quickly jump back by the @BDLSS if you'll allow me?

In a manuscript of the Romance of Alexander, you do find this super cute marginalia ❤️
~ Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Bodl. 264, f. 101v

This thread is momentarily interrupted because my cat is begging for food by wrecking havoc to my desk.

The next manuscript to come up in this thread is a very famous one: the Codex Manesse! It also dates from the early 14th century, like Douce 308, but it shows a level of art that is far beyond most of what we witness in manuscripts of this time!
digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cpg848/…

The Codex Manesse displays some of the most beautiful illuminations there is. They're often found on the cover of scholarly volumes. They depict many galant, touching and knightly scenes.
~ f. 39r, 36v

Wait, isn't that something similar to what we just stumbled upon in the Songe of Pestilence??? What is the story behind this? I don't know! Can anyone enlighten us? Is this a medieval version of Rapunzel? Sure thing, this is slightly more industrious.
~ f. 78r

The Codex Manesse displays various scenes of jousts. As women watch from the galleries, some knights fight on horses...
~ f. 52r, 192v

Other knights fight on foot!
~ f. 204r, 321v

At some point, one young and daring lady find its way in the middle of a jousts which undeniably shocks the audience!
~ f. 397v

Ladies are everywere. In the gallery, sure, but also before and after the battle. One brings food to her spouse as he's forging his weapons while another holds her husband in her arms as he's being treated for his broken leg ❤️ #LoveIsReal

~ f. 158r, 256v

On this #InternationalKissingDay, I also feel obligated to tweet the two following illuminations of lovebirds kissing with their falcon. Falcons were a symbol of true love in medieval manuscripts according to B. Van den Abeele's monumental thesis on the topic.
~ f. 69r, 249v

Before we head to the last manuscript of this #MondayManuscript thread. I'd like to share a few parodic or funny takes on knightly jousts and tournaments I happened to find in medieval marginalia.

Like this one from @GallicaBnF!
~ Paris, BnF, fr. 2643, f. 174r

Circling back to a manuscript from the @BDLSS, the Douce 337, we also find children playing knights on broomsticks with fake horses heads!!! I mean... I HAD one of those when I was seven. Some things never change...
~ f. 5r

Those same children also play with swords much to big for them! Please someone stop them before they hurt themselves or break something!
~ f. 42v

This reminds me how William Marshal saved his life and avoided execution because he toyed with an arrow, which melted the king's heart.
asinusdocet.tv/2019/08/08/med…

It is time for our last manuscript before we part, my friends.

I'd like to pause and thank all the wonderful people who stopped by and liked this thread already!
@StuartKells @Ayurvedable @elrambo @commish24 @Ancient0History @willianpbusch @DemiClemi @surly_nz @wyrdwritere

But also @steelerspensfn @heraldic_artist and @staletlux!

Did you guess what our terminus was yet? It couldn't be no other than a lavish copy of René d'Anjou's "Traité de la forme et devis comme on peut faire les tournois"!
~ Paris, BnF, fr. 2695, f. 11r

By the late 15th century, knightly tournaments were less gory and more gallant.

Erratum: @saletlux

The practice of jousting had evolved greatly just as the code of chivalry got more refined. Knightly titles belonged exclusively to the high-end aristocracy whereas they were more widespread, a few centuries ago. Wealth had become the better part of chivalry!
~ f. 13v

Tournaments and jousts were still held at weddings and most festivities but they were more heavily regulated. Weapons weren't a matter of choice or free-will anymore! They were certainly less deadly than they were before, according to C. Gaier papers on the topic.
~ f. 31v

Tournaments used to be held on the margins of a siege or during truces. They later became the occasion of major urban celebrations, involving every member of the late medieval society. They were held on town squares instead of open fields!
~ f. 55r, 57v, 68r, 76v

The last manuscript I showed you was illuminated by my fellow countryman, Barthélemy d'Eyck. However, there are at least two more gorgeous manuscript at the @GallicaBnF hosting René d'Anjou's Treatise on Tournaments.

Here is the first one: fr. 2693, f. 46v

Here the other one: fr. 2692, f. 52v.

Both were owned by Louis de Bruges, whereas the manuscript containing Barthélemy d'Eyck illuminations serves as the original manuscript which belonged to René d'Anjou.

That's all folks! You've reached the end of my first #MondayManuscript summer thread, dedicated to medieval tournaments. I hope you all enjoyed it ❤️ See you next week for another live tweet session--if everything goes well.

In the meantime, take care of yourself!

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