Articles and Papers

Laidlaw, James (1987), 'Christine de Pizan: a Publisher's Progress', The Modern Language Review, 82, (1987) 35-75.  http://hdl.handle.net/1842/1552

Reno, Christine (2005,) 'Christine de Pizan's Enseignemens moraux: Good Advice for Several Generations', PDF Download http://www.pizan.lib.ed.ac.uk/morauxnov05.pdf

Laidlaw, James (2005), 'The Date of the Queen's MS (London, British Library, Harley MS 4431)', PDF Download http://www.pizan.lib.ed.ac.uk/harley4431date.pdf

Laidlaw, James and Mansfield, Charlie (2006), 'Designing a Digital Version of British Library Harley MS 4431. The Making of the Queen's Manuscript' in Van Hemelryck, Tania & Van Hoorebeeck, Céline (éds), L'écrit et le manuscrit à la fin du Moyen Âge, Turnhout: Brepols, 2006 (ISBN 2503519911)

Walters, Lori J. (2012), 'Signatures and Anagrams in the Queen's Manuscript (London, British Library, Harley MS 4431)' http://www.pizan.lib.ed.ac.uk/waltersanagrams.html

Walters, Lori J. (2012), 'Depictions of Books and Parchment Sheets in the Queen’s MS (London, British Library, Harley MS 4431)' http://www.pizan.lib.ed.ac.uk/waltersbooksandletters.rtf

Walters, Lori J. (2013), 'Christine de Pizan's Prologue adreçant a la royne: Translations into Modern French and English' http://www.pizan.lib.ed.ac.uk/Translations of Prologue.rtf

Walters, Lori J. (2015), 'Occurrences of the Term seulette in the Queen’s MS - 15 June 2015' http://www.pizan.lib.ed.ac.uk/Walters Seulette Queen's MS.rtf

Conference and Working Papers

Mansfield, C. (2010) 'The Accolades Project on Large Textual Corpora - Working Paper', Edinburgh Research Archive (ERA), Edinburgh. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/4836

Mansfield, C. (2007) 'Modéliser l'espace dans les textes en moyen français : le développement d'un script informatisé pour faire le tamisage (SIFT)', Edinburgh Research Archive (ERA), Edinburgh. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/1983

Please cite this site:

Grout, A., Laidlaw, J., Mansfield, C. (2023) The Making of the Queen's Manuscript, [online] <https://sites.google.com/view/harley4431> Accessed 6-Jan-2023.

Research Context

Christine de Pizan (1365-ca1431) was the first woman in Europe to earn her living as writer and publisher. Fifty of the extant manuscripts of her works were produced by her scriptorium in Paris between 1399 and 1418, for presentation to patrons. All these manuscripts were copied by one or more of three scribes - P, R and X. Scribe X has been identified with Christine herself. (Please see Presentation Copies for a list of the presentation copies which have been identified so far.)

British Library, Harley MS 4431, commissioned by Queen Isabel of France about 1413, is the most important surviving presentation copy. Prepared in nine sections, it comprises 398 folios ruled in double columns, and contains thirty works: lyric poetry; narrative, moralising and devotional verse; prose works on education and on illustrious women.

To ensure a collection fit for the Queen, Christine engaged artists of the highest quality. The decoration is lavish; the miniatures, the majority by the Master of the Cité des Dames, are complemented by numerous decorated initials, borders, rubrics and paragraph marks. Emphasis is given to the Epistre Othéa, illustrated by 101 of the 132 miniatures in the manuscript. For very many of Christine's works Harley MS 4431 represents her last word, no later copies being known. In artistic and literary terms, therefore, the Queen's MS marks the culmination of Christine's career as author and publisher.

HARLEY  MS 4431 CONTENTS OF THE MANUSCRIPT

SECTION 0 (4 FOLIOS, numbered 0, 1-3)

0.     2c-d, Table des Dictiez en general

1.     3a-d, Prologue Adreçant à la Royne

SECTION 1 (91 FOLIOS)

2.     4a-21b, Cent Balades: 100 poems

3.    21b-24b, Virelays: 16 poems

4.    24b-25a, Balades de Plusieurs Façons: 4 poems

5.    25b-27a, Une assemblée de plusieurs rimes auques toutes léonimes en façon de Lay

                      (Lay de Vers Léonimes)

6.    27a-28d, Ung Aultre Lay

7.    28d-34b, Rondelz: 67 poems

8.    34c-37c, Gieux à vendre: 71 poems

9.    37c-48a, Plusieurs Balades de Divers Propos (Aultres Balades): 50 ballades and 1 rondeau

10.  48b-49c, Une Complainte Amoureuse

11.  49c-51a, Encore Aultres Balades: 5 ballades and 4 rondeaux

12.  51b-56c, L'Epistre au Dieu d'Amours

13.  56d-58b, Une Autre Complainte Amoureuse

14.  58c-71b, Le Livre du Debat des .ii. Amans

15.  71c-81a, Le Livre des .iii. Jugemens

16.  81b-94a, Le Livre de Poissy

SECTION 2 (47 FOLIOS)

17.  95a-141c, L'Epistre Othéa

SECTION 3 (35 FOLIOS)

18.  143b-177d, Le Livre du Duc des Vrays Amans

SECTION 4 (42 FOLIOS)

19.  178a-219c, Le Livre du Chemin de Lonc Estude

SECTION 5 (16 FOLIOS)

20.  221a-236c, Le Livre de la Pastoure

SECTION 6 (53 FOLIOS)

21.  237a-254a, Le Livre des Epistres du Debat sus le 'Rommant de la Rose'

22.  255d-257a, Une Epistre à Eustace Morel (Eustache Deschamps)

23.  257b-259b, Une Oroison de la Vie et Passion de Nostre Seigneur

24.  259c-261c, Proverbes Moraulx

25.  261c-265b, Les Enseignemens (Moraux) que Cristine donne à son Filz

26.  265b-266d, Une Oroison de Nostre Dame

27.  267a-c, Les .XV. Joyes Nostre Dame Rimées

28.  268a-287c, Le Livre de Prudence

       288c-289b, Table des Rubriches du 'Livre de la Cité des Dames'

SECTION 7 (87 FOLIOS)

29.  290a-374a, Le Livre de la Cité des Dames

SECTION 8 (23 FOLIOS)

30.  376a-396b, Cent Balades d'Amant et de Dame

       396b-398b, Lay de Dame (Lay Mortel)