Traité sur l’art de la guerre

Provenance

Probably made for Robert Stuart (circa 1470–1543), for presentation to
a local nobleman, perhaps Maurice Guenichon or his son Jean Guenichon

Description / Expertise

Illuminated manuscript on vellum with seven full-page miniatures.
Stuart’s Traité sur l’art de la guerre is a practical treatise on warfare and statecraft. On the one hand it follows Robert de Balsac’s text (circa 1500) quite closely; on the other it presents Stuart’s own ideas, the applied knowledge of an experienced military general.
Original copies of this text are extremely rare, and this manuscript is one of eight surviving examples.
The illumination is in the style of the Master of François de Rohan in
Paris. The pictorial stress on the ‘peacefulness and nobility of war’ in
this cycle suggests that the intended recipient of this manuscript had
special expectations of the treatise.