At the heart of 15th-century Paris was a square mile within which most of the luxury book trade was located, governed by the University. Froissart’s Chronicles (four Books totalling 5 million words) were popular: about 150 manuscripts survive in libraries across Europe and the USA, copied between 1410 and 1480. Some of the earliest incunables and printed books (including some overseen by Caxton – on which Wynkyn de Worde may well have spent his energies) included copies of the Chronicles. Of the handproduced

manuscripts, over a dozen were copied and illustrated under the supervision of an early entrepreneur named Pierre de Liffol. His story unfolds as part of this talk, which also introduces some of the quirkier tales from Froissart’s Chronicles.

Peter Ainsworth is Emeritus Professor of French at the University of Sheffield where he was Head of French and Director of Research for the Arts and Humanities. He is Director of the Online Froissart project, and has co-curated a major exhibition in Paris on Froissart’s Chronicles at the Musée de l’Armée, Invalides.

He holds the title Chevalier dans l’ordre des Palmes Académiques (awarded by the French prime minister for services to French culture) and is a member of the Société de l’Histoire de France and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

For booking form, click here.

For booking form, click here.

Despite what it says on the booking form, booking for this will be accepted until a few days before the event. The booking form is available here.