ON THE CHRONICLE OF ENGUERRAND DE MONSTRELET, BY M. DE FONCEMAGNE, MENTIONED IN THE PRECEDING PAGE, TRANSLATED FROM THE XVITH VOLUME OF THE ‘MEMOIRES DE L’ACADÉMIE DE BELLES LETTRES,’ &c.
The Chronicle of Enguerrand de Monstrelet, governor of Cambray, commences at the year 1400, where that of Froissart ends, and terminates at 1467; but different editors have successively added several continuations, which bring it down to the year 1516.
The critics have before remarked, that the first of these additions was nothing more than a chronicle of Louis XI. known under the name of the ‘Chronique Scandaleuse,’ and attributed to John de Troyes, registrar of the hôtel de ville of Paris. Those who have made this remark should have added, that the beginning of the two works is different, and that they only become uniform at the description of the great floods of the Seine and Marne, which happened in 1460, for the author takes up the history at that year. This event will be found at the ninth page of the Chronique Scandaleuse (in the second volume of the Brussels-edition of Comines), and at the third leaf of the last volume of Monstrelet (second order of ciphers) edition of 1603.
The second continuation includes the whole of the reign of Charles VIII. It is written by Pierre Desrey, who styles himself in the title, ‘simple orateur de Troyes en Champagne.’ The greater part of this addition, more especially what respects the invasion of Italy, is again to be met with at the end of the translation of Gaguin’s chronicle made by this same Desrey,—at the conclusion of ‘La Chronique de Bretagne,’ by Alain Bouchard,—and in the history of Charles VIII. by M. Godefroi, page 190, where it is called ‘a relation of the expedition of Charles VIII.’
M. de Foncemagne says nothing more of the other continuations, which he had not occasion to examine with the same care; but he thinks they may have been taken from those which Desrey has added to his translation of Gaguin, as far as the year 1538. This notice may be useful to those who shall study the history of Louis XI. and of Charles VIII. inasmuch as it will spare them the trouble and disgust of reading several times the same things, which they could have no reason to suspect had been copied from each other.
We should be under great obligations to the authors of rules for reading, if in pointing out what on each subject ought to be read, they would, at the same time, inform us what ought not to be read. This information is particularly necessary in regard to old chronicles, or what are called in France Recueils de Pieces. The greater part of the chroniclers have copied each other, at least for the years that have preceded their own writings: in like manner, an infinite number of detached pieces have been published by different editors. Thus books multiply, volumes thicken, and the only result to men of letters is an increase of obstacles in their progress.
The learned Benedictine, who is labouring at the collection of french historians, has wisely avoided this inconvenience in regard to the chronicles.[13] A society of learned men announced in 1734 an alphabetical library, or a general index of ancient pieces scattered in those compilations known under the names of Spicilegia, Analecta, Anecdota, by which would be seen at a glance in how many places the same piece could be found. This project, on its appearance, gave rise to a literary warfare, the only fruit of which was to cool the zeal of the illustrious authors who had conceived it, and to prevent the execution of a work which would have been of infinite utility to the republic of letters.[14]