Seeing Sens: Guillaumes de Machaut and de Melun

Internet publication

I think one of the famous portrait miniatures in the Prologue section of Machaut’s MS A has an additional portrait, of Guillaume II de Melun, archbishop of Sens, playing the allegorical character of Sens. I think it is also possible that his brother is figured in the depiection of Sweet Thought in the other miniature. The Melun family might therefore be the patrons of the manuscript, at least in the shape we have it now with its fancy opening bifolio by a major royal miniature painter. The paper first gives an overview of the opening of Machaut’s Prologue before offering reasons for this identification.

Authors: Leach, EE

• Publication date: 2015-08-02
• Language: English