[POMPE FUNÈBRE DE CHARLES III] - LA RUELLE - BRENTEL - MERIA - Lot 735

[POMPE FUNÈBRE DE CHARLES III] - LA RUELLE - BRENTEL - MERIAN (Claude de - Friedrich - Matthaüs) - Dix grandes tables, contenantes les pourtraictz des cérémonies, honneurs et pompes funèbres, faitz au corps de feu Serenissime Prince Charles III du nom, par la grâce de Dieu 63ème Duc de Lorraine et 30ème Marchis, duc de Calabre, Bar, Gueldres, Marquis du Pont-à-Mousson, Comte de Provence, Vaudemont, Blamont, Zutphen &c. à ses obsèques et funérailles tant en aucunes chambres et sales de l'Hostel Ducal. Nancy, Blaise André, 1608; in-folio, 63 plates mounted on tabs, bound in René Wiener's long-grained brown half-maroquin with corners, spine decorated with 5-ribbed Lorraine symbols. Our copy is incomplete with La Ruelle's plan of Nancy and the second large table, and a piece is missing from a plate of the procession. There is some foxing on text pages, and the seventh large table is damaged at one corner and missing, with heavy foxing on the right-hand side. On the other hand, one procession plate is duplicated, the one that begins with the three trumpets with the Bell d'Armes. This series of plates shows the funeral procession of Charles III, as well as the important locations of the ceremony. This is one of the finest books of the 17th century. It is made up of 64 half-plates describing the convoy accompanying the body of Charles III, with all the details, both diplomatic and religious (the lances are turned towards the ground, the cross towards the Duke, and the bishops' crosses respect protocol and etiquette), 8 double-page spreads depicting the key events of the ceremony inside the Ducal Palace, as well as the duke's coat of arms, and 6 full-page engravings showing the horses, the chapel and His Excellency's bed and death chamber. Charles III de Lorraine (Nancy, February 18, 1543 - Nancy, May 14, 1608) was Duke of Lorraine and Bar. He ruled Lorraine for 63 years. Like his predecessors, he maintained strict neutrality between France and the Empire. In 1572, together with Cardinal Charles de Lorraine (1524-1574), he founded the University of Pont-à-Mousson in 1580. In 1590, he enlarged Nancy, creating from scratch the Ville Neuve, four times larger than the old town, but he failed to establish a bishopric in Nancy, as France, master of the Three Bishoprics, refused the spiritual (and political) independence of the Lorraine duchies. It was also under his reign that Nicolas Rémy officiated, fiercely combating witchcraft. This prince was the benefactor of his people and the legislator of his country; he founded the towns of Clermont-en-Argonne and Stenay, and laid down the plan for the city of Nancy. Charles III died in 1608 at the age of 65. Charles III's funeral pomp was one of the most lavish ceremonies of his time, compared to the coronation of a German emperor or the coronation of a French king. A fine copy in a binding by René Wiener. Consultant: Monsieur Philippe HENRY