Gaston Phoebus Manuscript

This artifact is an illuminated manuscript from Paris, France and it was created in approximately 1406 (New York, The Morgan Library & Museum, MS M.1044, fol. 4r.). This manuscript, titled Gaston III Phoebus, features Latin and French text in a gothic script. The most notable features on the page are: the illustration of Gaston III, the illuminated initial on the center of the page, and the decorations around the border of the page. The illustration portrays Gaston III sitting on his throne with hunters and dogs surrounding him. He is dressed in expensive clothing worn by nobles, such as a fur-lined orange houpeland with gold embroidery and large sleeves (New York, The Morgan Library & Museum, MS M.1044, fol. 4r.). He is also wearing a cape around his body and a bonnet on his head. His clothing gives this manuscript significance to the exhibit, as this exhibit explores the role of clothing in Bisclavret. While the body text is written in regular ink, the page is illuminated by an O in the centre of the page. The illuminated initial contains blue, red, and gold ink. This is a page out of Livre de la chasse, which was a medieval book on hunting (New York, The Morgan Library & Museum, MS M.1044, fol. 4r.). The edges of the page are quite obviously dirtier than the centre of the page, which indicates that the pages are turned uniformly.