The Romance of Gillion de Trazegnies tells of the adventures of a medieval nobleman. Part travelogue, part romance, and part epic, the text traces the exciting exploits of Gillion as he journeys to Jerusalem on pilgrimage, is imprisoned in Egypt and rises to the command of the Sultan’s armies, mistakenly becomes a bigamist first with a Christian and then a Muslim wife, and dies in battle as a glorious hero. The tale encompasses the most thrilling elements of the Western romance genre—love, villainy, loyalty, and war—set against the backdrop of the East.
This fascinating medieval manuscript was acquired by the Getty Museum (2012). UCLA professor Zrinka Stahuljak joined Getty senior curator of manuscripts Elizabeth Morrison to produce a lavish large-scale commercial publication “The Adventures of Gillion de Trazegnies: Chivalry and Romance in the Medieval East,” exploring the cultural, historical and artistic contexts through images, translations and companion essays.
This is first and foremost a medieval romance - the genre comprised of fictional works of chivalry and adventure, often composed in prose as well as in verse, with some of the earliest being poetic works closely resembling the verse epics of Ancient Greece and Rome in both form and content. These narrative fictions represent the adventures and values of the aristocracy - yet the Romance of Gillion reads like a modern day soap opera, as our hero embarks on one adventure after the next, from one mishap to the next.
The Romance of Gillion is a beautifully illustrated manuscript whose authorship is speculative, though academic consensus is that it was penned in mid 1450s Burgundy. Under the Valois Dukes of Burgundy, the duchy flourished and grew as the County of Burgundy was once more reunited with the duchy, as well as with the County of Artois. In addition, the wealthy Counties of Flanders, Nevers and Rethel also came under Burgundian control. With a highly mobile court and immense wealth, the ducal family extended their patronage to art, literature and other cultural activities.
Stahuljak in her commentary poses questions and theories as to the text’s unknown author, the manuscript’s patron who might have initially commissioned its creation, and traces the manuscript’s ownership through nobles of the court of Burgundy.
The most accepted pedigree of the Getty manuscript was that is was commissioned by Louis de Gruuthuse (1422-1492), trusted advisor of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy and one of the great book collectors of the Middle Ages. He amassed a library of almost two hundred volumes at a time when the English royal collection was composed of less than half that number. And quite possibly authored by the ducal court scribe, David Aubert under de Gruuthuse's direction. Philip's bastard son, Antoine de Bourgogne (1421 - 1504), also a prominent noble and court official, was said to have commissioned a copy of the Romance, though his version differs from that of Gruunthuse's copy. The copy held by Getty is the Gruuthuse copy with the illustrations by Lieven van Lathem.
Did Gillion really exist ... not in reality but he is a composite of great men bourne out of the era - and there were plenty of real historical characters to choose from .... even Louis and Antoine themselves .....
The Adventures of Gillion Trazegnies is highly entertaining and a must for those who have an interest not only in medieval manuscripts but also in the literature of the times.
