‎N.-O. Jonsson‎
‎Vie et miracles de saint Josse' de Jean Mielot‎

‎, Brepols - Harvey Miller, 2004 Hardcover. XXXII 168 p., 16 b/w ill., 160 x 240 mm, Languages: French, Including an index. Fine copy. ISBN 9782503517698.‎

Reference : 45190

‎Vie et Miracles de saint Josse was written in 1449. Jean Mielot was a translator and writer in the service of the Dukes of Burgundy. The manuscript, which was written by the author himself, is preserved in the Royal Library of Brussels, no. 10958. The greater part of the text is a translation, but a few pages of the manuscript have been copied by Mielot from other sources, and some parts have been composed by Mielot himself. Another manuscript, which is a copy of the original, is preserved in the Municipal Library of Valenciennes. Only a few pages of the manuscript have been published before. Saint Josse (Jodocus, Judocus) was born in Brittany about 600, son to a local king. He left his home for Picardy, where he met Duke Haymon. He was ordained and served Haymon for seven years. Afterwards he withdrew to the solitude along the river Canche, where he built a hermitage, which was transformed into a church by the Duke. After his death on the 13th of December c. 668, his body was buried in his church. Saint Josse has been venerated in large parts of Europe, not only in France, Belgium and Great Britain, but also in the countries along the Rhine; in the south as far as Slovenia and in the north as far as Scandinavia. Even in the fourteenth century, he was well-known in England - Chaucer's Wife of Bath swears by God and by Seint Joce. His life was written in latin in several versions, the first from about 800. Pierre de Beauvais wrote the first Life of Saint Josse in French, in octosyllabic verses, in the beginning of the thirteenth century. In the introduction to this edition the relationship of the latin lives and Mielot's translation is discussed. There is also an investigation of the author's language and style. Mielot's vocabulary is large and contains several words which have not been attested before. The text is followed by explanatory notes, an index of proper names and a glossary. The illustrations at the end of the edition consist of thirteen of the miniatures of the Brussels manuscript and three drawings representing Mielot and his workroom, taken from another Mielot manuscript, preserved in the Royal Library of Copenhagen. Jean Mielot etait traducteur, auteur et copiste au service de Philippe le Bon. C'est Philippe qui a demande a Mielot de traduire la Vie et les Miracles de saint Josse. Le manuscrit de Mielot, qui est un autographe, est conserve a la Bibliotheque Royale de Bruxelles sous le numero 10958. Une copie du manuscrit est conservee a Valenciennes. Seulement quelques pages du manuscrit ont ete publiees avant. La plus grande partie du manuscrit est une traduction du latin, mais il y a aussi des parties qui ont ete composees par Mielot lui-meme et egalement quelques pages empruntees a d'autres sources. Le manuscrit contient de nombreuses miniatures. Josse (Jodocus, Judocus) naquit vers l'an 600, fils d'un roi en Bretagne. Il n'accepta pas la demande de succeder a son pere mais suivit des pelerins vers le Ponthieu, ou il rencontra le duc Haymon. Josse fut ordonne pretre et servit Haymon pendant sept ans. Ensuite il alla vivre dans le desert pres de la Canche. Il y construisit un ermitage, qui fut ensuite agrandi par le duc. Apres sa mort le 13 decembre vers 668, son corps fut enseveli dans son eglise. Le culte du saint est repandu dans une grande partie de l'Europe, non pas seulement en France, en Belgique et en Grande-Bretagne, mais aussi tout le long du Rhin ; jusqu'en Slovenie dans le sud et jusqu'aux pays Scandinaves dans le nord. La premiere vie latine de saint Josse fut ecrite vers l'an 800, la deuxieme vers l'an 1000 et la troisieme quelques annees plus tard. Pierre de Beauvais ecrivit la premiere Vie en francais, en vers octosyllabiques, au debut du XIIIe siecle. Jean Mielot ecrivit Vie et Miracles de saint Josse en 1449. Dans l'introduction de l'edition de l'?uvre de Mielot, la relation entre le texte de Mielot et ses sources est discutee. Il y a aussi une etude de la langue et du style de l'auteur. Le vocabulaire de Mielot est tres grand, et on y retrouve des mots qui n'ont pas ete attestes avant. Le texte de l'edition est suivi de notes, d'une table des noms propres et d'un glossaire. A la fin de l'edition se retrouvent treize planches, qui sont des reproductions du manuscrit de Bruxelles, et trois planches d'un manuscrit de Copenhague.‎