Meliadus or Guiron le Courtois (BL Add. MS 12228)

Knights and their retinue, f. 157r.

Colloquial name(s): Meliadus or Guiron le Courtois
Official name(s): British Library Additional MS 12228

Date: 1352-1362 (source)
Origin: S. Italy (Naples?) (source)

Online facsimile available via: British Library Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts

This manuscript is a copy of Meliadus or Guiron le Courtois, which is part of the romance also known as Palamedes and was composed between 1235 and c. 1240 (source). This manuscript contains the prologue and the first part of the romance (source). It is thought to have been commissioned by Louis de Tarente, King of Naples (r. 1352, d. 1362) due to the presence of his arms in the background of several of the miniatures (source).

This manuscript contains 363 bas-de-page miniatures, produced by several Neapolitan artists with French influence (source). Some miniatures were added later (e.g. f. 313v) and some remain unfinished outline drawings (e.g. ff. 151v-152r) (source). There are also 13 inhabited initials and 6 decorated initials (source). All in all, it is a fantastic source of imagery of upperclass civilian and military dress in southern Italy in the third quarter of the 14th Century.

A list of the folios containing illustrations will be added here in due course.