The Book of Geoffroi de Charny: with the Livre Charny

The poem known as the Livre Charny (Charny's Book), by the fourteenth-century French knight Geoffroi de Charny, has never been published, Nigel Bryant's brilliant new translation of this long-neglected poem, based on a hitherto overlooked original Charny manuscript housed in Oxford, vividly conveys Charny's self-deprecating and extraordinarily down-to-earth attitudes towards the knightly career. Charny is surprisingly blunt in his descriptions of the mishaps and mortal dangers to be expected, from losing in a tournament, to homesickness on crusade, to being concussed whilst attempting to scale an enemy tower. Nothing else quite like it is to be found in medieval literature. Ian Wilson's introduction provides a markedly revised understanding of Charny's career as tournament performer, serving soldier, crusader, councillor, and finally royal standard-bearer: he was killed at Poitiers in 1356. Bryant and Wilson also argue that Charny's Book is so different in style from the Book of Chivalry, also attributed to him, that the latter is unlikely to be by the same author. Using the evidence of a hitherto unnoticed manuscript in Madrid, they show that the latter is likely to be a work of the 1380s composed by Charny's son of the same name, possibly as a kind of memorial to his heroic father.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Charny's Career and Writings - the Current Understanding The Charny Manuscripts The Livre Charny - Editorial Introduction The Livre Charny: an edtion of the Oxford text (with translation) Charny's Career and Writings - a Revised Understanding Appendix: The Oxford manuscript: chart of its lost and misplaced folios Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Born in south London, IAN WILSON read and graduated in history at Magdalen College, Oxford, back in the 1960s. He first took an interest in Geoffroi de Charny whilst at the British Library researching a book on the history of the Turin Shroud published in both the USA and UK in 1978. He is a prolific author of books for the general reader, including an authoritative biography of Shakespeare, Shakespeare: The Evidence, the research for which by accident brought to light the original manuscript of Charny's works now housed in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. In 1995 Ian and his wife emigrated to Queensland, Australia, and The Book of Geoffroi de Charny, his first-ever academic book, has been researched and written whilst in retirement. NIGEL BRYANT is well known for his lively and accurate versions of medieval French works. His translations of Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval and all its continuations and of the extraordinary late Arthurian romance Perceforest have been major achievements; he has also translated Jean le Bel's history of the early stages of the Hundred Years War, and the 13th- and 14th-century biographies of William Marshal and Bertrand du Guesclin. He was awarded the 2019 Norris J. Lacy Prize for outstanding editorial achievement in Arthurian studies.

Review :
Wilson shows that the works of Charny constituted a substantial codicological project that caught a moment at the French royal court. . . . What can be said about the excellent translation except that it is excellent? Bryant's contribution may well attract readers with diverse interests and give them a lively text with which to examine the concept and practice of chivalry. A delight...The translation is clear and concise and beautifully delivered in an unpretentious but informative style that allows the original author to speak to us from across the centuries. This is a truly excellent book and an essential addition to any book collection based on the Shroud. There is no question that the Livre Charny will prove a useful addition to the growing list of chivalric guides/biographies.