A meeting between Joan of Arc and Charles VII; from "La Mer des Hystoires" (Sea of Stories)

Anonymous

Though the origins are confusing, this appears to be one of 530 folio leaves from "La Mer des Hystoires", this shows Charles VII, who achieved the throne through the actions of Joan of Arc, meeting the "Maid of Orleans" in Chinon in February of 1429. The French Fleur-de-Lys hangs above them. There is printed text on the verso.

Joan of Arc was a peasant girl who, as a teenager, lead a French army to the besieged city of Orleans, where it achieved a momentous victory over the English and their French allies, the Burgundians, leading to the crowning of Charles VII. Joan of Arc was captured by Anglo-Burgundian forces, tried for witchcraft and heresy and burned at the stake in 1431, at the age of 19.

The encyclopedic world history structured on medieval theology, "Rudimentum Novitiorum," which became better known through French translations under the title "La Mer des Hystoires". "Rudimentum Novitiorum" was first printed in Lubeck by Lucas (Lukas) Brandis in 1475. There were several sixteenth-century editions of the "La Mer des Hystoires" printed in Paris in 1488-89 and then around 1503 and 1517; also printed in Lyon in 1491 and 1506. This image is from one of these French editions.

The Rudimentum was a comprehensive history of the world derived from the Bible, the Church Fathers, pagan mythology and compilations such as that of Vincent of Beauvais, offering the basics of historical knowledge to young clerics.