272mm. by 102mm., letter in French from King Charles II of Navarre to the Vicomte d'Avranches, instructing him to reward the bearer (Jehan le Roussel dit Friquet), countersigned by one Froissart, dated 28 April 1370, 7 lines in dark brown ink, seal and tag missing, slightly trimmed on right-hand edge, in fine red morocco gilt-tooled binding
"Countersigned Froissart (Philibert Froissart, secretary to Charles II)
Text cropped on right margin, with loss of some words. The money grant maybe instead of a wardship; the text refers to 'lieu de la garde de louir de feu normant de champeaulz a present en nostre main pour le petit aage dicelli', but the full meaning is obscured by the loss of words preceding.
Jean dit Friquet, de Fricamps
one so named appears several times in the chronicles of Jean Froissart and served as emissary from Charles II of Navarre to England in 1359
(Kervyn de Lettenhove ed., Oeuvres de Froissart, xxi, 1875, pp. 373, 374)
Philibert Froissart, Vicomte de Fronsac
soldier and man of letters; secretary to Charles II of Navarre and his name at the base of many charters (op.cit., xxi, p. 379). This document is dated not long before the meeting of Charles II and Edward III of England at Clarendon 1 Aug. 1370 (op. cit., xxii, . 273)
Despite the wording on the present cover of this document*, Philibert is not connected with the chronicler Jean Froissart, as far as presently known.
Provenance: from the well known Barrett collection (Parke-Bernet sale 30 Oct. 1950 lot 437), then regarded as Jean Froissart.
later in the collection of Halsted Billings Van de Poel, d. 2003.
*Jean Froissart/The "Shakespeare" of Chroniclers/Document Signed/28th April 1370/Unique"
Full pdf available, https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/islandora/object/mu%3A439418/datastre...
