Valois Codex - Casanatense Evangeliary

Valois Codex - Casanatense Evangeliary – Vallecchi – Ms. 2020 – Biblioteca Casanatense (Rome, Italy)

Probably Tours (France) β€” Around 1526

A textbook for the time of his four-year imprisonment in Spain: The stories of the Gospels in magnificent miniatures for the young heir to the throne of France, commissioned by his mother and Queen Claude de France

  1. An exciting chapter in Franco-Spanish history: the hostage-taking of the French Dauphin FranΓ§ois (1518–1536)

  2. This precious manuscript was an educational aid for the young prince during his four-year captivity

  3. It has depictions that are suitable for children but are nonetheless of the highest quality

Valois Codex - Casanatense Evangeliary

Facsimile Copy Available!
Price Category: €€€€
(7,000€ - 10,000€)
  1. Description
  2. Detail Picture
  3. Single Page
  4. Facsimile Editions (2)
Description
Valois Codex - Casanatense Evangeliary

The so-called Valois Codex, also known as Casanatense Evangeliary, is a truly historical witness to an exciting and suspenseful chapter in Franco-Spanish history: the hostage-taking of the two sons François and Henri of the French King Francis I (1494-1547) and his wife Claude de France (1499-1524) after the Battle of Pavia by Emperor Charles V (1500-1558). During his four-year captivity in Spain, this gospel book served the eight-year-old heir to the throne and Dauphin François de France (1518-1536) as a precious piece of educational material. It was a gift from his mother Claude and probably originated around 1526 in Tours, where the French queen commissioned many famous manuscripts. Grandiose full-page miniatures and numerous smaller images decorate the ornate gospel book in a child-friendly way and at the same time make it an outstanding masterpiece of French Renaissance painting!

Valois Codex - Casanatense Evangeliary

In the year 1525, the French King Francis I lost the battle of Pavia and became the prisoner of Emperor Charles V in Spain. Two of his sons were exchanged as collateral in March of the following year in order to ransom the King: the eight-year-old Francois and Henry, who was not yet one year old. They spent four years in Spanish captivity until 1530. As the eldest son of Francis I and Claude de France, Francois (1518–1536) was the Dauphin, the heir to the French throne.

A Princely Manuscript

In order to allow their son to benefit from a comprehensive education and to transmit his beliefs to him, Claude de France (1499–1524), daughter of Louis XII and Anne de Bretagne, Queen of France, commissioned a precious manuscript. The evangeliary probably originates from Tours ca. 1526. It was possibly made in the studio of the Master of Claude de France, the high-ranking miniaturist who completed numerous manuscripts for the Queen. As a Bible of the French prince – who nonetheless would never become King of France – the so-called Valois Codex is famous. His escutcheon appears continuously in addition to the allegorical picture of a dolphin in an allusion to the Dauphin in the manuscript’s dΓ©cor.

Colorful Biblical Illustrations in Exceptional Quality

Numerous full-page miniatures adorn the 312 pages of the gorgeous manuscript. The biblical stories were told in depictions that are both suitable for children and are simultaneously paintings of the highest quality. Alongside the outstanding quality of the paintings, the pictorial inventions and considered compositions of the miniature pages are especially impressive, e.g. the grandiose arrangements of the frames around the miniatures. These imitate Renaissance architecture in an exceptional manner. Alongside the full-page miniatures, one additionally finds 96 small, precious pictures in the text.

Codicology

Alternative Titles
Codice Valois - Il Vangelo del Principe di Francia
Codex Valois - The Gospel of the Prince of France
Valois-Codex - Casanatense-Evangeliar
Casanatense Gospel Lectionary
Size / Format
312 pages / 22.4 Γ— 15.7 cm
Origin
France
Date
Around 1526
Language
Script
Humanistic Minuscule
Illustrations
Numerous full-page and several smaller miniatures; magnificent borders; countless gold-decorated initials
Patron
Queen Claude of France
Artist / School
Previous Owners
Dauphin Francis, heir to the French throne

Available facsimile editions:
Valois Codex - Casanatense Evangeliary – Vallecchi – Ms. 2020 – Biblioteca Casanatense (Rome, Italy)
Vallecchi – Florence, 2008
Limited Edition: 499 copies (+100 copies with Roman numeration)

Valois Codex - Casanatense Evangeliary – Vallecchi – Ms. 2020 – Biblioteca Casanatense (Rome, Italy)
Vallecchi – Florence, 2008
Limited Edition: 100 copies
Detail Picture

Valois Codex - Casanatense Evangeliary

The Communion of Saints

This colorful miniature represents all the saints united with the triune God in heavenly communion. While the Trinity above is flanked by Mary and John the Baptist, among others, the rest of the community appears in hierarchical ranks between clouds adorned with gold.

The hierarchy begins at the bottom of the image with the holy virgins, including martyrs, just princesses and nuns. They are followed by church fathers and holy monks, a row of martyrs and six apostles who are closest to God. Two of the most important saints of Christianity are depicted in their midst: Peter and Paul, characterized by key and sword.

Valois Codex - Casanatense Evangeliary – Vallecchi – Ms. 2020 – Biblioteca Casanatense (Rome, Italy)
Single Page

Valois Codex - Casanatense Evangeliary

Crucifixion

In the twilight, Jesus hangs bleeding on the cross, flanked by the two thieves. While a wide landscape with a view of Jerusalem opens up in the background, a group of his followers, led by Mary in blue and John, mourns him at the left edge of the picture. At the foot of the cross lies a skull as a reference to the tomb of the forefather Adam, over which Jesus was crucified according to medieval ideas.

This circular reasoning is complemented by the opulent pictorial border, which transfers the scene's significance for salvific history to a symbolic level. On the right hand side, the Arma Christi are depicted, i. e. the Instruments of the Passion associated with Jesus' suffering and death. Among them are the empty tomb, the Crown of Thorns, the ladder with which Jesus' body was taken down from the cross, the vinegar-soaked sponge, the column of his flagellation and the dice with which the soldiers cast lots for Jesus' seamless robe. They all represent Christ's triumph over suffering, death and not least Satan and symbolize the passion that the Son of God took upon himself for mankind in order to give Christians eternal life.

Valois Codex - Casanatense Evangeliary – Vallecchi – Ms. 2020 – Biblioteca Casanatense (Rome, Italy)
Facsimile Editions

#1 Codice Valois. Il Vangelo del Principe di Francia (Italian Edition)

Vallecchi – Florence, 2008

Publisher: Vallecchi – Florence, 2008
Limited Edition: 499 copies (+100 copies with Roman numeration)
Binding: Red leather binding with ornamental gold tooling and a golden clasp
Commentary: 1 volume by Giovanna Lazzi and Isabella Ceccopieri
Language: Italian
1 volume: Exact reproduction of the original document (extent, color and size) Reproduction of the entire original document as detailed as possible (scope, format, colors). The binding may not correspond to the original or current document binding. Limited edition of 499 copies numbered from 1 to 499 for the Italian market.
Facsimile Copy Available!
Price Category: €€€€
(7,000€ - 10,000€)

#2 Codice Valois. Il Vangelo del Principe di Francia (International Edition)

Vallecchi – Florence, 2008

Publisher: Vallecchi – Florence, 2008
Limited Edition: 100 copies
Commentary: 1 volume by Giovanna Lazzi and Isabella Ceccopieri
Language: Italian
1 volume: Exact reproduction of the original document (extent, color and size) Reproduction of the entire original document as detailed as possible (scope, format, colors). The binding may not correspond to the original or current document binding. Limited edition of 100 copies numbered from I to C for the international market.
Facsimile Copy Available!
Price Category: €€€
(3,000€ - 7,000€)
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