1581 HISTORY of FRANCE ILLUSTRATED w/ 6 FOLDING MAPS antique FOLIO rare FRENCH

Pierre de Saint Julien de Balleure 


De l'origine des Bourgongnons, et antiquité des estats de Bourgongne

(Of the origin of the Bourgongnons, and antiquity of the States of Bourgongne)

Paris: Nicolas Chesneau ; 1581

Illustrated with full-page engraved coat of arms (hand colored) , and 6 wood-engraved plans on a double page: cities of Dijon, Beaune, Autun, Mâcon, Chalon and Tournus

Full leather binding, spine with raised bands and title label, richly gilt. Marbled endpapers.

Good condition, some wear, maps frayed, spot to the back cover

 manuscript ex-libris (name partly rubbed out) dated 1758

Folio. Size 8.5 by 13"

Text in French
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This treatise of historical erudition aims to trace the origins of the Burgundian people and to exalt the antiquity and political legitimacy of the States of Burgundy -

The author develops a historical narrative that blends ancient sources, medieval traditions, and humanist interpretations, in order to construct a prestigious genealogy of the Burgundies -

He seeks to show the continuity between the ancient peoples settled in the region and the contemporary political structures of his own era, emphasizing the nobility of origins and the stability of Burgundian institutions -

The text gives wide space to the accounts of Burgundian migrations, dynastic alliances, and territorial evolutions, while trying to place Burgundy in a long and glorious history -

"Pierre de Saint Julien de Balleure set himself to this provincial literature, to this regional history whose merits and virtues are unknown to the general public; his main effort consisted in erecting a history of Burgundy, and especially of the dioceses of Autun, Chalon-sur-Saône and Mâcon; yet he looked much further than the banks of the Saône, he judged things and men of his time. He had the ambition to solve the difficult problem of origins [...]" Mario Roustan, senator, "A provincial scholar of the Renaissance: Saint-Julien de Balleure",
 in Revue politique et parlementaire, September 10, 1927"

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