Froissart, Jean

Information about the life of Froissart is limited by the fact that he himself indicated himself in the text of the Chronicle.

The years of his life remain the subject of debate. In his narrative, Froissart spoke of two dates of his birth - 1333 and 1337.

The first version refers to that place in the Chronicle, where Froissart claims that in 1390 he was 57 years old. This date was inclined to believe Baron Kervin de Lettenhove, one of the main publishers and commentators of Froissart in the XIX century.

However, at the end of Book IV, the author recalls that he was 24 years old when he attended the farewell of Queen Philip and the Prince of Wales in Berkevested, in 1361. This link dates his birth in 1337 .

Froissart, by birth, was a Walloon and came from Valenciennes to Hainaut (Gennegau). His father was probably a craftsman making noble coats of arms .

In his youth (until 1359), Froissart was a merchant for some time, then he became a clerk in Prague under King Charles IV of Luxembourg , where he met Petrarch who lived there after staying in Milan and before moving to Venice .

By the age of 24, he already had the recommendation of the King of Bohemia, Charles IV of Luxembourg , who certified him as a court poet, and in 1361 - 1369 he served as a chronicler (historian) at the court of the English Queen Philip , wife of Edward III .

He traveled extensively in the British Isles and continental Europe . In 1364 and 1366, he may have visited France .

In 1367 - 1368 he was in Italy, along with Jeffrey Chaucer .

After the death of Philippa ( 1369 ), Froissart came under the patronage of John, Duchess of Brabant , who rewarded his labors with the estate of Hainaut; income from the estate allowed him to travel in search of materials for the chronicles at his own expense.

In addition to historical research, he continued to write poetry until the end of his life. In 1395, Froissart returned to England, but was disappointed with the changes that took place there and the fading of the knightly spirit of the war years.

The date of his death, as well as the date of birth, is controversial. A. D. Lyublinskaya and E. Yu. Akimova agree that the year of his death is 1404th. MV Anikeev calls the later date of death - 1410 , explaining this by the fact that starting from 1410 the traces of the author are lost and his historical narrative stops.

Chronicles

The Chronicles consists of 4 books. Of particular interest to researchers is “Book I,” known by several editions. There are three main editions: “Amienskiy manuscript”, “Manuscript of the A / B family” and “Roman manuscript”. The Amienskii manuscript came to us in only one list, which was completed by an unknown copyist no later than 1491. The “A / B family manuscript” has been preserved in several dozen lists, which are still not systematized. The "Roman manuscript" has come down to us in only one list. In 1860, Kervin de Lettenhove discovered it in the Vatican library and prepared its first scientific publication. The time frames of manuscripts are also quite controversial. Anikeev M.V. believes that the "Amienskii manuscript" covers the time period from 1325 to 1378, A. Lyublinskaya but it speaks of the period 1326-1370. Also in medieval studies there is still a debate about which of the editions of "Book I" is earlier.

The central plot of the Chronicle is the Anglo-French conflict of the Hundred Years War. The overwhelming majority of chapters are devoted to the description of the main battles, smaller battles and just small skirmishes during the Hundred Years War. A special place in his narrative is occupied by Flanders, which is the knot of the contradiction between England and France.

It was Flanders that was one of the causes of the Hundred Years War and played an important role in it. Thus, Froissart describes the politics of England and France in alliance with Flanders. For example, in one of the chapters of Book I, a case is described of the alliance of Edward III and the inhabitants of Flanders. Edward III suggested "attacking France and walking along Touraine and the castellations of Lille and Douai." But the inhabitants of Flanders refused, because they had an agreement with the Pope that if they start a war against France, they would “incur a huge fine and excommunication for it. At the council, it was decided that if Edward III wants to be the king of France, then let him put the coat of arms of France on his heraldic shield and in letters he is called the king of France. Then they will honor him as a king and obey him. ” So they avoided a fine. The contract was concluded.

In addition to political unions and military operations, the author’s attention is drawn to political events: the birth and death of royal people, peace negotiations, embassies, elections of popes, solemn entrances to the city and holidays; moreover, popular movements and revolts of cities do not escape the pen of Froissart. Urban subjects are given quite a lot of chapters in his narrative. Many pages of his Chronicle are dedicated to the story of the uprising of the cities of Flanders, the unrest in Paris in 1383.

Froissart deservedly received the title of "singer of chivalry" and "the best of the medieval historians of France." He himself emphasized that the motivation for writing the Chronicle was the desire to talk about "glorious military deeds and exploits in France, England and neighboring countries." Heroes and participants are valiant knights and high-ranking lords.

More than a hundred illuminated manuscripts of his Chronicle have been preserved, the most famous was made in 1470 by masters from Bruges , commissioned by the Flemish Ludwig Gruuthuse.

Other works

In addition to the Chronicle, Froissart wrote a number of poetic works ( pasturels , le , virele , rondo , di ).

L'Horloge amoureux is a voluminous treatise on love, which is built, like most works of this era, as a series of frame designs: connected rows of ballads are built into didactic discourse, subject to a dream that is introduced by the type of meeting.

Froissart is also the author of the last poetic knightly novel Meliador , adjacent to the Arthurian cycle . He specially remade it to include in it in the most favorable light about eighty lyric poems of his patron duke of Luxembourg.

The name of Froissart is the symphonic overture of Edward Elgar (1890).

• It is mentioned in the historical novel by A. Dumas the father “Bastard de Moleon” (1846), the plot of which is the participation of France and England in the war for the Castile legacy , which is part of the Hundred Years War . Froissard Dumas also used the Chronicles when writing other novels: Isabella of Bavaria (1835), Countess of Salisbury (1836), Edward III (1836).

• Froissart, Jean . Love captivity. / Per. M. Greenberg. Entry article by L. Evdokimova. - M .: Carte blanche, 1994 .-- 240 p.
• Froissart, Jean . Chronicles 1325–1340 / Transl. and approx. M.V. Anikeeva. - SPb. : Publishing House of St. Petersburg State University, 2008. - 656 p. - ISBN 978-5-288-04460-1 .
• Froissart, Jean . Chronicles 1340–1350 / Transl. and approx. M.V. Anikeeva. - SPb. : RCA; Juventa, 2012 .-- 856 s. - ISBN 978-5-88812-541-0 .

• Froissart // Small Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : in 4 volumes - St. Petersburg. 1907-1909.
• FRUISSARD, Jean. Chronicles of England, France, Spain and neighboring countries (Neopr.) . Eastern literature . Date of treatment May 18, 2011.
• Full edition of Froissart's Chronicles in12 volumes translated by Thomas Johnes