L'arbre des batailles ... [etc.]

Bonet, Honoré, active 1378-1398 · [1450?–1471?]

A composite manuscript comprised of at least eight distinct pieces. Primary among these are Honoré Bonet’s L’arbre des batailles, John Lydgate’s The churl and the bird, and the anonymous 15th-century poem on English sea power, The libel of English policy. Also present are several smaller items. The two principle parts of this codex (ff. 1-163v and ff. 164-190), existed as at least three distinct manuscripts before they were bound together into the present volume in the Burgundian Netherlands/northern France during the third quarter of the 15th century. Based on geographic origin, age, contents, and three inscriptions bearing the name "Will[el]mo Caston," the ownership of this volume has sometimes been attributed to William Caxton, the first English printer. See the provenance note below. Some contents also cataloged separately.