"...contemporary brown roan, raised bands and gilt fleurons on spine, red morocco label (L'Ordre du navire), slight restauration. [sic]
French Order of Chivalry].
Manuscript in black ink on laid paper, 57 leaves. Collation: Calligraphic title in red (blank verso); 1 leaf, n° 1 (blank verso); 1 unnumbered leaf of text (blank verso); 39 leaves of text and coats of arms, nos. 2 to 33 and unnumbered (blank verso); 12 unnumbered leaves with empty cartouches for text and coats of arms (blank verso); 3 blank leaves. The manuscript contains 219 contemporary colored coats of arms, highlighted in gilt and silver, comprising 1 plate showing the coat of arms of the French Order of Chivalry the Ordre du Navire, 1 plate for the coat of arms of the city of Paris, 38 plates containing 6 coats of arms on each plate and 1 plate comprising 1 coat of arms and 4 cartouches of text only."
"Spectacular 18th century heraldic manuscript, entirely illumated.
The illustrations comprise 219 colored coats of arms, highlighted in gilt and silver. The neatly handwritten text specifies the family name, the city, region or country of origin and the heraldic description of each coat of arms.
In a brief introduction, the writer explaines the origin of the Order du Navire, ""dit d'Outremer et du double croissant, institué par le Roy Saint Louis au second voyage qu'il fit en Affrique l'an 1262 pour récompense et prix d'honneur de la Noblesse Françoise qui ferait le voyage d'Outremer avec luy (…) Saint Louis pour laisser la mémoire de ce passage en Affrique a la postérité permit aux seigneurs et gentils-hommes qui le suivirent en ce dernier voyage de se qualifier Chevaliers du Navire (…) Il permit pareillement à ceulx qui le voudroient faire, de prendre ce navire pour Armes"". [called Overseas or Double Croissant, founded by King Saint Louis on his second journey to Africa in 1262, to reward the French nobility who accompanied him… In order to leave to posterity this passage to Africa and enable the noblemen accompanying this last vyage to be qaualified as Knights of the Vessel… It also permits those who wish to do so, to use this vessel for Armorials]. Concluding that those families whose coats of arms bear shipping vessels are the descendants of the companions of Saint-Louis, our heraldist has therefore composed this Recueil des famillles qui portent des Vaissaux, et des Navires pour leurs Armoiries, contenües dans l'Armorial de France, et Pays Etrangers [Collection of French and Foreign Countries Family Coats of arms that bear Vessels and Ships.
Pierre Larouuse does not give any further information on this supposedly unrecognized Order of Chivalry and also (if we rely of Saffroy's information) no published or manuscript work exists on this Order. According to Larousse's Grand Dictionnaire Universel (XI, p. 833), some historians report that in 1269, Sain Louis, King of France, upon departing for the crusade to Tunis founded an Ordre du Navire, of the Coquille de Mer or of the Double Croissant, rewarding the knights who distinguished themselves during the war, but no contemporary documents have ever been found about this institution, which in any case disappeared without trace. In spite of the limited knowledge on the historical tradition relating to the Order du Navire, the present manuscript represents a considerable effort from the iconographical, heraldic and artistic point of view. Also the interest of this work for book and manuscript collectors interested in maritime matters…[all sic]"
Measurements: 34.5 cm x 23.4 cm
Full pdf available, https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/islandora/object/mu%3A448731/datastre...