Nicole Oresme and Pèlerin de Prusse, Astronomical tracts translated for Charles V
(France, between 1365 and 1377)
MS 164
From France to England – part of the bibliographic spoils of the Hundred Years War?
An inventory of the royal study at the Castle of Vincennes from 1418 lists this manuscript with a green binding instead of its current binding in red velvet (Hanna, p. 230). Owing to the English army’s victory at the Battle of Agincourt (1415), the castle was handed over to them as part of the Treaty of Troyes (1420), which decreed that the French throne would be transferred to King Henry V of England (1386-1422) or his heir after the death of Charles VI of France (1368-1422). Not only did the English troops move into the castle but Henry V died there just two years later. How has this manuscript ended up in England? Was it like so many other books in Charles V’s vast collections shipped to London as spoils of the Hundred Years War? May it possibly even have found itself, like the Louvre library, in the possession of John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford, who acted as regent of France for his brother Henry V? Unfortunately, there is no evidence for this and the book certainly does not appear in the extensive published inventory of Bedford’s possessions. We only know that much later the
manuscript belonged to William Paddy (1554-1634), royal physician of James I and owner of an impressive personal library. Paddy, who donated and bequeathed hundreds of books to his alma
mater St John’s, presented this manuscript to the College in 1633.
The book contains translations of astronomical treatises by Nicole Oresme and Pèlerin de Prusse into French, probably commissioned by Charles V of France (1338-1380). It includes the earliest known copy of Oresme’s Traité sur l’espère, a cosmographical work on the celestial spheres. All texts are beautifully decorated with floral frames and the odd creatures. Several illustrations show Charles V in his study. Displayed in the exhibition are two of the six elaborate horoscopes at the end of the volume, which were made for Charles V and four of his children, including the future Charles VI. In these birth charts, the person’s name as well as their date and time of birth are in the middle square, which is surrounded by the relevant astrological houses, which, in turn, are associated with zodiac signs and planetary rulers.
Further Resources
Full digitization available at Digital Bodleian
Descriptive catalogue record available at Medieval Manuscripts in Oxford Libraries