Book Description

This is the first complete, modern critical edition of the personal copy of the poetry of Charles, duc Orléans (BnF MS. fr. 25458), a manuscript made up primarily of lyrics. The duke also included lyrics composed by members of his household, his family, his friends, his peers, and various visitors to his court at Blois. The manuscript was almost certainly commissioned in London near the end of the duke's captivity (1439-1440). The edition contains the first translation (facing-page) of the duke's collection into English. It is intended to supersede Pierre Champion's 1923 edition of the same manuscript. Before Champion, editions of the duke's poetry simply reproduced the poems in manuscript order; his edition offered a new order based on his observations of the manuscript's construction. This new edition corrects that order by basing it on a recent codicological study of the manuscript, "The poet's notebook", by Mary-Jo Arn.