Author Description

Boissard's Emblematum liber (1588) is one of the most complex and fascinating we possess: it comprises 42 emblems, each occupying an opening, with a quatrain in Latin by Boissard, a sonnet in French by Pierre Joly, and sophisticated engravings, many of them including more text, much of it in Greek. It is a daunting work but one which amply repays study and attention. Two particularly interesting features are 1) the autograph manuscript at the Bibliotheque de l'Institut in Paris which, as well as giving Boissard's own pictura, almost certainly used by the engraver, contains a prose commentary in French, and 2) the Brussels copy of the 1588 edition, a presentation copy to Louis Malarmey, which has Greek citations of relevance to our understanding of the emblems added, again in Boissard's own hand. I would need to refer to these regularly. The edition includes a critical introduction, situating the work, and a substantial critical apparatus.