The Book of Hours of Louis de Roucy Second Edition

Abstract

The Book of Hours of Louis de Roucy was a manuscript, illuminated by a disciple of the renowned Master of the Troyes Missal. Regrettably, it became a victim of biblioclasm in Germany in 2009. Employing the innovative WayBack Recovery Method, Professor Carla Rossi has successfully reconstructed the manuscript's iconographic cycle and over a hundred text leaves, thus presenting a virtual facsimile edition. Introducing, for the first time, the diplomatic transcription of texts from a Book of Hours intended for the use of Châlons sur Marne, she has provided scholars with an invaluable resource for future investigations into Champenois liturgical customs. Within her analysis, the Author delves deeper into the coat of arms, recurrently depicted at least six times throughout the manuscript. The coat of arms belonged to Jean VII, Count de Roucy-Pierrepont and Sire de Montmirail, as dictated by his mother Jeanne's wishes. In 1438, Jeanne formally documented her intention to bequeath her entire estate to her son, under the stipulation that he incorporate her father's (Jean VI, Count de Braine and de Roucy-Pierrepont, who fell at Azincourt in 1415) heraldic emblem. In a similar vein, Jean VII, lacking legitimate heirs, passed down his title and heraldic insignia to Louis (1465-1536), his illegitimate son from the liaison with Isabelle de Montchâlons. The youthful male patron depicted on folio 191v, kneeling before the Virgin in a full-page illumination for the 'O intemerata' prayer, is believed to represent Louis himself. The pervasive presence of the De Roucy coat of arms within the manuscript can be interpreted as a de facto legitimization of this young aristocrat. Carla Rossi is a respected philologist with over thirty years of engagement in the scholarly realm. Following the release of this edition and her exposé of a biblioclast lobby, traiding in medieval manuscripts dismembered for monetary gain, the scholar became the target of a malicious online campaign of hate and defamation, which forced her to leave Switzerland, her place of residence, where she faced various physical threats as well. Presently, she continues her research and academic activities in Italy.