Contenu du sommaire : Autour des testaments des Capétiens

The Importance of the Will in the Economy of the Capetian Memorial to Saint Denis The author focuses on the importance of the will in the economy of the Capetian memorial to Saint Denis : indeed the wills of kings and princes make it possible to study their commemorative foundations, from birthday to chaplaincy, including the keeping of a perpetual lamp, even though these may not be the only documents to refer to for such a study. Philip Augustus created a large enough legacy to maintain twenty monks whose purpose was to pray to the memory of the king ; from Alphonse de Poitiers onwards, the creation of chaplaincies to Saint Denis was the rule – in fact, Capetian wills are characterized by a certain conformity, although there are some changes. In the first half of the 14th Century, the many widows in the family were innovative in organizing the financial autonomy of their foundations, which were no longer based on Treasury income, but were guaranteed by lands donated to the Abbey for this purpose. Nevertheless, the interests of the testators were not always the same as those of the abbot or monks, particularly when the latter became overwhelmed with requests for masses : thus there were tight negotiations between Queen Jeanne d'Evreux and the Abbot of Saint Denis.

Philip of Artois († 1298)'s Last Wishes and the Birth of the Cult of Saint Louis in the Capetian Family The Capetian prince Philip of Artois died on September 11, 1298, a year after his great-uncle Saint Louis was canonized by Pope Boniface VIII (on August 11, 1297). The codicil by which he modified his initial will a few days before his death is one of the first pieces of evidence of the cult with which the Capetian family surrounded the new saint. The publication of his will and its codicil is an opportunity for exploring the devotion of one of Saint Louis's great nephews, while reviewing the life of a little-known prince, whose early death deprived him of a more important role in Philip III and Philip Le Bel's entourage.

Jeanne d'Évreux : her Testaments and their Execution During the forty-three years of her widowhood, Jeanne d'Évreux (d. 1371), the third wife of Charles IV (1294 – 1328), devised and implemented novel testamentary strategies that influenced other members of the royal family and a number of leading royal officials at the end of the fourteenth and beginning of the fifteenth centuries. Beginning in 1339, and perhaps inspired by the example of her great-aunt Mahaut of Artois (1285 – 1311), Jeanne began executing herself the provisions of her last will and testament, which she revised on several occasions. Doubtless fearful that her wishes would be disregarded after her death, as often happened, Jeanne succeeded in gaining numerous spiritual benefits for herself and her dead husband through the anticipatory endowments and gifts she bestowed on many ecclesiastical establishments, including the abbey of Saint-Denis.

The Final Wishes of John of Burgundy, Bishop of Cambrai (1439 – 1480). A Critical Edition of His Wills and Codicils John of Burgundy (Dijon, 1414/1417 – Malines, April 27, 1480), the bastard son of Duke John the Fearless and of Agnes de Croy, was made Bishop of Cambrai by Eugene IV on May 12, 1439, at the end of a career in benefices that was as short as it was profitable. His testamentary file consists of about fifteen documents preserved in the Archives of the Département du Nord in Lille (3 G 337 and 3 G 1055). Five of these are the subject of this current edition : the first will of June 16, 1475, a codicil as binding as a will, dated July 14 of the following year, the will called “principal” of December 23, 1477, a codicil of the same date, and an addendum to the second will drafted on September 20, 1479. This set of documents testifies to the “double life” of a Burgundian Prelate, who had initially chosen his cathedral as his final resting place, and to a father anxious to ensure that his numerous offspring should be provided for.

Rise and fall of the estat du clergiét : the testimony of Jean Molinet's Roman de la Rose moralisé In his commentary, the exegete of the moralized Roman de la Rose gives a vivid picture of the contemporary ecclesiastical world. Indeed, in this work, Jean Molinet expressly reaffirms the moral superiority of the first of the three orders. However, his speech aims above all to condemn the vices which too often stain the clerical world. The writer hunts down the sin of pride wherever it may hide, thus denouncing more particularly the vanity of the prelates. He judges less harshly the behaviour of the mendicant orders and underlines the beneficial effects of the reformist currents to which they were subjected. As he points out, monks and nuns are nevertheless very likely to be trapped by the devil, who quite often manages to overcome their virtue. Lastly, the work also gives a subtle self-portrait of the canon-writer, who regards his exegesis as a unique occasion to fulfil the function of preacher.

A Prose Version of Pierre de Nesson's
Vigiles des Morts , an Unknown Text Attributable to Jean Miélot In 1457, the Burgundian copyist and writer Jean Miélot transcribed in his own hand most of the Latin and French prayers added to a personal book of hours belonging to Philip the Good, who had inherited it from his grandfather, Philip the Bold (BRUSSELS, KBR, ms. 11035 – 37). Among these is a prose version of the Vigiles des Morts by the French poet Pierre de Nesson. This article presents this text, unknown to philologists until now, and suggests that it should be attributed to Jean Miélot ; this copy (the only evidence of this text) would therefore be an autograph manuscript. A study of the way the translator has turned the verse of the Vigiles into prose enables us to refine our knowledge of the nature and role of the drafting and copying work performed by Jean Miélot for the Duke of Burgundy.