Adenet le Roi et l’Héraldique Médiévale

Abstract

An examination of the coats of arms in ms. 3142 of the Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal, Paris, containing the four works attributed to Adenet le Roi, leads us to believe that Adenet was consulted about the illumination of the manuscript due to his close association with the court of Flanders. Of particular interest is Adenet’s creation of coats of arms for Charlemagne and other epic heroes which were copied by later heralds, artists, and poets. These inspired short heraldic lists of the Nine Worthies and of Charlemagne and his Twelve Peers are the precursors of the great Arthurian armorials of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.