Jean Miélot
Encyclopedia
Picardy
This article is about the historical French province. For other uses, see Picardy .Picardy is a historical province of France, in the north of France...
, died 1472) was an author, translator, manuscript illuminator, scribe and priest, who served as secretary to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy
Duke of Burgundy
Duke of Burgundy was a title borne by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, a small portion of traditional lands of Burgundians west of river Saône which in 843 was allotted to Charles the Bald's kingdom of West Franks...
from 1449 to Philip's death in 1467, and then to his son Charles the Rash. He also served as chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
to Louis of Luxembourg, Count of St. Pol
Louis de Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol
Louis de Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol, of Brienne, de Ligny, and Conversano belonged to the Ligny branch of the House of Luxemburg and was Constable of France....
from 1468, after Philip's death. He was mainly employed in the production of de luxe illuminated manuscript
Illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...
s for Philip's library. He translated many works, both religious and secular, from Latin or Italian into French, as well as writing or compiling books himself, and composing verse. Between his own writings and his translations he produced some twenty-two works whilst working for Philip,. which were widely disseminated, many being given printed editions in the years after his death, and influenced the development of French prose style.
Career
Abbeville
Abbeville is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Location:Abbeville is located on the Somme River, from its modern mouth in the English Channel, and northwest of Amiens...
and Hesdin
Hesdin
Hesdin is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France.-Geography:The N39, from Arras to Montreuil, used to be the main thoroughfare of the town. In the 1950s, a circular route was created to help traffic flow...
, in what is now the Somme
Somme
Somme is a department of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme river. It is part of the Picardy region of France....
département, but was then in Picardy, and from 1435 part of the Duchy of Burgundy
Duchy of Burgundy
The Duchy of Burgundy , was heir to an ancient and prestigious reputation and a large division of the lands of the Second Kingdom of Burgundy and in its own right was one of the geographically larger ducal territories in the emergence of Early Modern Europe from Medieval Europe.Even in that...
. He was recruited by the Duke after he translated and adapted the Speculum Humanae Salvationis
Speculum Humanae Salvationis
The Speculum Humanae Salvationis or Mirror of Human Salvation was a bestselling anonymous illustrated work of popular theology in the late Middle Ages, part of the genre of encyclopedic speculum literature, in this case concentrating on the medieval theory of typology, whereby the events of the Old...
into French in 1448, and as well as his court salary he was made a canon
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
of Saint Peter's in Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
in 1453, serving until his death in 1472, when he was buried in the church. He was probably not usually resident. As a priest and as an employee of the court he would have been exempt from guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
regulations, which was probably an advantage to his career. He seems to have had lodgings in the palace, which are perhaps realistically shown in a miniature in Brussels, and also to have run a workshop of scribes in Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
. After the Feast of the Pheasant
Feast of the Pheasant
The Feast of the Pheasant was a banquet given by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy on 17 February 1454 in Lille, now in France. Its purpose was to promote a crusade against the Turks, who had taken Constantinople the year before...
in 1454, an enthusiasm in the Court to revive the Crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
led to commissions to translate travel books about the Middle East.
Because of the particular Burgundian fashion for presentation miniatures, where the author is shown presenting the book (in which the miniature itself is contained) to the Duke or another patron, we have an unusually large number of portraits of Miélot for a non-royal person of the period, which mostly show consistent facial features - he would have been very well known to the artists, and may well have had influence in allocating commissions to them. These are in books he wrote - in both senses of the word, as he usually scribed Philip's copy himself.
Philip the Good was the leading bibliophile of Northern Europe, and employed a number of scribes, copyists and artists, with Miélot holding a leading position among the former groups (see also David Aubert
David Aubert
David Aubert was a French calligrapher, who transcribed and adapted courtly romances and chronicles for the court of the Duke of Burgundy...
). His translations were first produced in draft form, called a "minute", with sketches of the images and illuminated letters. If this was approved by the Duke, after being examined and read aloud at court, then the final de luxe manuscript for the Duke's library would be produced on fine vellum
Vellum
Vellum is mammal skin prepared for writing or printing on, to produce single pages, scrolls, codices or books. It is generally smooth and durable, although there are great variations depending on preparation, the quality of the skin and the type of animal used...
, and with the sketches worked up by specialist artists. Miélot's minute for his Le Miroir de l'Humaine Salvation survives in the Bibliothèque Royale Albert I in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, which includes two self-portrait
Self-portrait
A self-portrait is a representation of an artist, drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by the artist. Although self-portraits have been made by artists since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid 15th century that artists can be frequently identified depicting...
s of him richly dressed as a layman. The presentation portrait to La controverse de noblesse, a year later, shows him with a clerical tonsure
Tonsure
Tonsure is the traditional practice of Christian churches of cutting or shaving the hair from the scalp of clerics, monastics, and, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, all baptized members...
. His illustrations are well composed, but not executed up to the standard of manuscripts for the court. His text, on the other hand, is usually in a very fine Burgundian bastarda blackletter
Blackletter
Blackletter, also known as Gothic script, Gothic minuscule, or Textura, was a script used throughout Western Europe from approximately 1150 to well into the 17th century. It continued to be used for the German language until the 20th century. Fraktur is a notable script of this type, and sometimes...
script, and paleographer
Palaeography
Palaeography, also spelt paleography is the study of ancient writing. Included in the discipline is the practice of deciphering, reading, and dating historical manuscripts, and the cultural context of writing, including the methods with which writing and books were produced, and the history of...
s can recognise his hand.
Works
Translations
- CiceroCiceroMarcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
's letter to his brother on the duties of a governor - Philip presented this to his son Charles the Rash - Romuleon of Benevento da Imola, a history of Ancient Rome, surviving in six copies. Like other works below, this addressed issues of the correct conduct of rulers of great interest to the inner court circle. Philip the Good's copy was scribed by Colard MansionColard MansionColard Mansion was a 15th century Flemish scribe and printer who worked together with William Caxton. He is known as the first printer of a book with copper engravings, and as the printer of the first books in English and French.-Biography:Colard Mansion was a central figure in the early printing...
, who was shortly to become the first printer of books in French. - Vie et miracles de Saint Joss
- La controverse de noblesse, a translation of De nobilitate (1429) by Bonnaccursius de Montemagno (Buonaccorso da Pistoia), a precursor of CastiglioneBaldassare CastiglioneBaldassare Castiglione, count of was an Italian courtier, diplomat, soldier and a prominent Renaissance author.-Biography:Castiglione was born into an illustrious Lombard family at Casatico, near Mantua, where his family had constructed an impressive palazzo...
's Il CortegianoThe Book of the CourtierThe Book of the Courtier is a courtesy book. It was written by Baldassare Castiglione over the course of many years, beginning in 1508, and published in 1528 by the Aldine Press just before his death...
, together with: - Le Débat d'honneur from the Italian of Giovanni Aurispa, a version of "Comparatio Hannibalis, Scipionis et Alexandri, LucianLucianLucian of Samosata was a rhetorician and satirist who wrote in the Greek language. He is noted for his witty and scoffing nature.His ethnicity is disputed and is attributed as Assyrian according to Frye and Parpola, and Syrian according to Joseph....
's Twelfth Dialogue of the Dead. Both works survive in fourteen manuscript copies, and were printed together in about 1475 by Colard MansionColard MansionColard Mansion was a 15th century Flemish scribe and printer who worked together with William Caxton. He is known as the first printer of a book with copper engravings, and as the printer of the first books in English and French.-Biography:Colard Mansion was a central figure in the early printing...
in Bruges. - Traité sur l'Oraison Dominicale
- Miroir de l'âme pécheresse, a translation of the Speculum aureum animae peccatricis.
- Les quattres choses derrenieres, translation of Cordiale quattuor novissimorum, later printed in Bruges by William CaxtonWilliam CaxtonWilliam Caxton was an English merchant, diplomat, writer and printer. As far as is known, he was the first English person to work as a printer and the first to introduce a printing press into England...
and Colard Mansion in about 1475. Caxton later printed an English translation from Miélot's French by Anthony Woodville, Earl RiversAnthony Woodville, 2nd Earl RiversAnthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers was an English nobleman, courtier, and writer.He was the eldest son of Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers and Jacquetta of Luxembourg. Like his father, he was originally a Lancastrian, fighting on that side at the Battle of Towton, but later became a Yorkist...
. - Advis directif pour faire le passage doultre-mer - a traveller's guide to the Holy Land.
- La Vie de sainte Catherine d'Alexandrie, later printed. The only two illuminated copies known are Philip's (BnFBibliothèque nationale de FranceThe is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Bruno Racine.-History:...
) and one illuminated by Simon MarmionSimon MarmionSimon Marmion was a French or Burgundian Early Netherlandish painter of panels and illuminated manuscripts...
for Margaret of YorkMargaret of YorkMargaret of York – also by marriage known as Margaret of Burgundy – was Duchess of Burgundy as the third wife of Charles the Bold and acted as a protector of the Duchy after his death. She was a daughter of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville, and the sister of...
. - Secret des secrets, by the Pseudo-AristotlePseudo-AristotlePseudo-Aristotle is a general cognomen for authors of philosophical or medical treatises who attributed their work to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, or whose work was later attributed to him by others....
, supposedly advice given by AristotleAristotleAristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
to Alexander the Great, originally a Middle-Eastern text, later translated into Latin.
Own works
Mostly compilations or adaptations relying heavily on other writers.- Le Miroir de l'Humaine Salvation, one of four French versions of the Speculum Humanae SalvationisSpeculum Humanae SalvationisThe Speculum Humanae Salvationis or Mirror of Human Salvation was a bestselling anonymous illustrated work of popular theology in the late Middle Ages, part of the genre of encyclopedic speculum literature, in this case concentrating on the medieval theory of typology, whereby the events of the Old...
- Miracles de Nostre Dame an important compilation.
- A version of the Epître d'Othéa by Christine de PisanChristine de PizanChristine de Pizan was a Venetian-born late medieval author who challenged misogyny and stereotypes prevalent in the male-dominated medieval culture. As a poet, she was well known and highly regarded in her own day; she completed 41 works during her 30 year career , and can be regarded as...
, augmented with material from the Genealogia Deorum GentiliumGenealogia Deorum GentiliumGenealogia deorum gentilium, known in English as On the Genealogy of the Gods of the Gentiles, is a mythography or encyclopedic compilation of the tangled family relationships of the classical pantheons of Ancient Greece and Rome, written in Latin prose from 1360 onwards by the Italian author and...
of BoccaccioGiovanni BoccaccioGiovanni Boccaccio was an Italian author and poet, a friend, student, and correspondent of Petrarch, an important Renaissance humanist and the author of a number of notable works including the Decameron, On Famous Women, and his poetry in the Italian vernacular...
. - His commonplace bookCommonplaceCommonplace books were a way to compile knowledge, usually by writing information into books. They became significant in Early Modern Europe....
or workbook survives in the BnFBNFBNF may stand for:In science:*Biological nitrogen fixation, a process that converts nitrogen in the atmosphere to ammonia*British National Formulary, the standard drug reference manual**British National Formulary for Children...
(Ms. fr. 17001, apparently not originally bound up together), containing draft translations and drawings and initials, as well as verses, including some written for court occasions. They are more of more historical than literary interest. There is a "labyrinth" design containing the letters of MIELOT.
External links
- Modern recreation of Miélot's "scribal station", as shown in the Brussels portrait.