Les armes triomphantes de son altesse Monseignevr, Le Dvc d'Espernon : povr le sviet de son hevrevse entr�e faite dans la ville de Dijon, le huicti�me iour du mois de May, mil six cens cinquante six

Folio [30.5 x 20 cm], (8) ff. incl. engraved title signed Mathieu after Godran, letter press title with woodcut printer's mark, 117 (1) [colophon], [ie 122 pp., see below, including 2 half-page engravings in text, and with 16 plates, of which 4 are folding, and 1 has a folding extension. Note: as often with provincially published illustrated books, the ennumerative system is slightly inconsistent: each plate has a leaf giving the explication'; also, verso of p. 79 is unnumbered and blank; In most cases these are paginated within the collation, but for the 2nd and 3rd plate, they are unnumbered leaves outside of the collation. Bound in contemporary flexible vellum, title handwritten on spine, old ownership inscription on title leaf ("Moreau"), minimal foxing, light waterstain in blank margin on some inner leaves, browning on 3 of the 16 plates, the impression of the second plate a little faint in parts, as in the Harvard copy; clean tear skillfully restored without any loss of printed surface to one of the 110cm tall folding plate; otherwise a fresh copy with large margins and good strikes of the plates. Very good. Extremely rare first and sole edition of this richly illustrated account of the triumphant entry of Bernard de Nogaret, duke of Epernon and governor of Burgundy, into Dijon in 1656, documenting the centralization of power in French politics in the context of the suppression of the Fronde revolts. Burgundy had lived through its share of turmoil in the decades preceding Nogaret's entry: There had been a vintner's revolt, the invasion of the Imperial army, the siege of Saint-Jean-de-Losne (1636) and the revolt of the provincial nobility against Louis XIV known as the Fronde. The chief victim of these had been the local population, and the frequent grateful references in the entr�e's program to subdued rebels and the restoration of peace may have contained more than a grain of sincerity.Bernard de Nogaret (1592-1661) became duke of Epernon on the death of his father in 1642. Four years earlier, having been blaimed for the defeat at the battle of Fontarabie and condemned to death by Richelieu, he had fled to England where he was made Knight of the Royal Garter. Upon the death of Louis XIII, he returned to France, was pardoned, and given the governorship of Guienne and, from 1654-1660, of Burgundy. According to the Nouvelle biographie g�n�rale, "he distinguished himself only by his vices, his arrogance, and his rapaciousness." He beat his first wife in public and humiliated his second by flaunting his bourgeois mistress who cost him a fortune. "He did not acquit himself gracefully in the infantry, of which he was colonel general, nor in government, except through the will of his mistress." (XXXVII, 194).Griguette, a lawyer, amateur dramatist (see below) and member of the city council who had been charged with organizing the festivities, begins by describing the chronology of events that led to the entry of the duke of Epernon. His emphasis on the dates - the announcement of the duke's visit came a mere three weeks before the event - hints at the justified pride he took in the city organizing such an elaborate welcome in so little time. The remainder of the book is organized around the plates depicting the ephemeral architecture for the duke's entry, with lengthy descriptions and explanations of their iconography following the images. The designs for these were made by Jean Godran, another Dijon lawyer and evidently talented draughtsman. The first four plates show a "petite decoration" erected at the city entrance, a first arch representing the love of the people of Dijon, a second arch dedicated to the generosity of the duke, and a third arch celebrating his victory over the rebellious forces. The latter is topped by a portrait of the duke.There follow two very long fold-out plates (110 cm unfolded) giving two views of a victory column adorned with scenes from the duke's life. Next is a depiction of the fourth arch or portique celebrating the "triumph and heroic virtues of his highness." Eight plates show the allegorical statues representing Labor, Diligence, Faith, Equity, Prudence, Magnanimity, Counsel, and Arms in more detail. The final folding plate shows a spectacular firework. The work ends with the words to two songs in honor of Louis XIV and the duke of Epernon which were composed by Griguette and performed by the populace of Dijon on the evening of the event. According to the author, 8000 inhabitants of Dijon marched under arms during the duke's entree - nearly half the city's population. "Even though the latter figure was clearly exaggerated, it is clear that a large number of the city's adult males took part in each entry procession. And while many of those in the procession would not have known the classical references upon which the allegorical archways were based, they would have understood the general meaning of the images they encountered. (Michael Breen, "Addressing la ville des dieux: entry ceremonies and urban audiences in seventeenth-century Dijon" Journal of Social History, Winter 2004)The duke of Epernon was the subject of a three-volume biography which was translated into English and ran into several editions. (First edition : Girard, Guillaume. Histoire de la vie du duc d'Espernon. 3 vols. Rouen, T. Jolly, 1663.) For a more recent biography see Nouvelle biographie g�n�rale, cit. Griguette also wrote a tragedy and a book of portraits of illustrious figures. (La mort de Germanic Caesar; trag�die, Dijon, Chez Pierre Palliot, 1646 and �loges des hommes illustres peints en la galerie du Palais Royal, Dijon, P. Palliot, 1646).Brunet, Supplement, Vol I, p.61: On Godran see C. Oursel, L'Avocat Jean Godran (1606-1683). Un artiste amateur � Dijon au XVII�me si�cle. Notice sur un manuscrit de la biblioth�que de Dijon relatif � la Toison d'Or. Dijon, Nourry, 1914 With thanks to Ms. Caroline Duroselle-Melish of the Dept of Printing and Graphic Arts, Houghton Library, for checking the Harvard copy. OCLC : Harvard. No copies of this work at the Getty,and the National Gallery. * Watanabe-O'Kelly-Simon, 1826 gives author as Giuseppe Berneri. (Inventory #: 172)