11-12-2010, 11:05 AM
i'd like to see this in a museum rather than private hands. it will be auctioned on Dec. 7 at Sotheby's.
Daily Mail:
A 14th century manuscript containing what is believed to be the oldest surviving account of the legends of King Arthur is to be sold for up to £2 million, it was announced today.
The Rochefoucauld Grail, a colourful, illustrated account of the knights of the round table is said to be one of the finest medieval texts in private hands.
It is due to be sold by auction house Sotheby's in London for a price estimated between £1.5 million and £2 million.
Blood and guts: This picture from the manuscript shows King Arthur fighting the Saxons. The manuscript is expected to fetch nearly £2m at auction
Lady of the lake.
Battle: Two knights fight to the death on horseback in this illustration from the tome.
More than 200 cows would have been needed to produce the vellum sheets for the three hefty volumes of the manuscript, which contains 107 finely painted illustrations.
It was written in Flanders or Artois some time between 1315 and 1323 and probably produced for Guy VII, Baron de Rochefoucauld, head of one of the leading aristocratic families of medieval France.
The manuscript went on to be acquired by 19th century collector Sir Thomas Phillipps and has changed hands twice since.
Rescued: Characters from the story carry injured warriors to the safety of a castle.
Off with his head: Another of the 107 paintings shows a knight about to execute another
The stories of Arthur, the lady in the lake and Lancelot which it contained were popular in their day and were translated widely around Europe, and became something of a guidebook for chivalry.
Wounded: Queen Guinevere and her maidservants carry Lancelot to safety
Sleeping knights: A suicidal Lancelot is stopped from killing himself by one knight. All the others were meant to be watching too but fell asleep
Sotheby's specialist Dr Timothy Bolton said: 'This is one of the principal manuscripts of the first significant medieval work of secular literature.
'It is a grand book, in a monumental format, with 107 miniatures, each a dazzling jewel of early gothic illumination.
'The scenes often have a riotous energy, and often stretch beyond the boundaries of the picture frames, with lofty towers poking through the borders at the top, and figures tumbling out of the miniatures onto the blank page as they fall or scramble to escape their enemies.'
click to enlarge:
Daily Mail:
A 14th century manuscript containing what is believed to be the oldest surviving account of the legends of King Arthur is to be sold for up to £2 million, it was announced today.
The Rochefoucauld Grail, a colourful, illustrated account of the knights of the round table is said to be one of the finest medieval texts in private hands.
It is due to be sold by auction house Sotheby's in London for a price estimated between £1.5 million and £2 million.
Blood and guts: This picture from the manuscript shows King Arthur fighting the Saxons. The manuscript is expected to fetch nearly £2m at auction
Lady of the lake.
Battle: Two knights fight to the death on horseback in this illustration from the tome.
More than 200 cows would have been needed to produce the vellum sheets for the three hefty volumes of the manuscript, which contains 107 finely painted illustrations.
It was written in Flanders or Artois some time between 1315 and 1323 and probably produced for Guy VII, Baron de Rochefoucauld, head of one of the leading aristocratic families of medieval France.
The manuscript went on to be acquired by 19th century collector Sir Thomas Phillipps and has changed hands twice since.
Rescued: Characters from the story carry injured warriors to the safety of a castle.
Off with his head: Another of the 107 paintings shows a knight about to execute another
The stories of Arthur, the lady in the lake and Lancelot which it contained were popular in their day and were translated widely around Europe, and became something of a guidebook for chivalry.
Wounded: Queen Guinevere and her maidservants carry Lancelot to safety
Sleeping knights: A suicidal Lancelot is stopped from killing himself by one knight. All the others were meant to be watching too but fell asleep
Sotheby's specialist Dr Timothy Bolton said: 'This is one of the principal manuscripts of the first significant medieval work of secular literature.
'It is a grand book, in a monumental format, with 107 miniatures, each a dazzling jewel of early gothic illumination.
'The scenes often have a riotous energy, and often stretch beyond the boundaries of the picture frames, with lofty towers poking through the borders at the top, and figures tumbling out of the miniatures onto the blank page as they fall or scramble to escape their enemies.'
click to enlarge:
![[Image: Zy3rKpW.png]](https://i.imgur.com/Zy3rKpW.png)
as frenzied bidding lasted half an hour.