Alain CHARTIER. La belle Dame sans mercy. Small... Lot 26

[Alain CHARTIER]. La belle Dame sans mercy. Small booklet in-8, beautifully decorated red morocco with triple fillet, spandrels with small irons and rose in a medallion decorated in the same way, spine with 5 finely decorated nerves, interior lace, gilded edges ( Bauzonnet-Trautz). Bechtel, 135/C-263 // Brunet, I-1814 // Fairfax Murray, II-633 // Renouard, ICEP, III-462-1697 // Tchemerzine-Scheler, II-314 // USTC, 73209. (16f.) / a-b8 / 28 lines, gothic car / 79 x 121 mm. Fourth edition cited by Brunet and Tchemerzine and sixth edition cited by Bechtel. Political writer, moralist and poet, whom we introduced in the previous issue, Alain Chartier was a noble and great soul who found in poetic art a distraction, a delight in which he tried to renew the theme of gallantry. La Belle dame sans mercy tells the story of a lover who dies from the refusal of the woman he loves. The poem of 800 verses grouped in stanzas of eight octosyllables over three rhymes caused a scandal and was the subject of debate for almost a century (Bechtel). The work was the subject of controversy, with some readers protesting against its female representation, so contrary to the ideal of courtly love. Alain Chartier was criticized, insinuating that he had written his work out of spite at having been rejected and to divert others [from] the joy he had failed to deserve. This quarrel was answered by another of Chartier's poems, entitled La Belle dame qui eut mercy. Tchemerzine describes four editions and Bechtel gives six, without either being able to give a date to any of them. They are said to have been published between 1489 and 1529, and differ only in the number of pages or the engraving on the title. This edition appears to be known only by the copy we are presenting from the Fairfax Murray collection. He thought it was published by Lotrian around 1530. ICEP and Bechtel refer only to this copy, and give the edition published by Hubert around 1529. As for the USTC, it lists only one "lost" copy. "lost". It seems clear that this copy is ours. The wood on the title shows a man and woman in dialogue, with the wood frame cut into the right-hand side. A delightful, finely bound copy by Bauzonnet-Trautz. Very slight wear to lower cut (1 cm). Pale stains on last leaf. Provenance: Fairfax Murray (label, no. 633).