The library of Philip the Bold and Margaret of Flanders, first Valois duke and duchess of Burgundy

Abstract

Dukes of the Valois Burgundian race in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries provide an instructive chapter in the history of book making and book collecting. Starting with the books of Philip the Bold (Philippe le Hardi), the Burgundian library reached an impressive size through the efforts of Philip the Good, whose love of books, as of all else in the realm of art, made it one of the most remarkable collections of the fifteenth century. To the interests and influence of the dukes in the expansion of the library were added those of the duchesses, who were naturally affected by the activities of their husbands and, in the cases of Isabel of Portugal and Margaret of York, were equally responsible for new developments in the trends in the making, gathering, and reading of books. This study, based principally upon printed sources, will treat of the acquisition of books and some of the uses of them by the first Valois duke and duchess, Philip the Bold and Margaret of Flanders.