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ESSAY ON WILARS DE HONECORT

explanatory text of that work. It was subsequently shewn to several experiencedantiquaries, who carefully studied it, but reserved their opinions, possibly fromthe difficulty they found in discovering a satisfactory interpretation of the wholeof its contents. The writer of these remarks has no such ambitious pretensions,for who can be expected to explain every part of a miscellaneous collection, em-bracing every branch of construction and decoration. The purpose of this essayis simply to follow up the discovery of Willemin and Pottier by making a strongerappeal to the attention of the learned, in the form of such a detailed description ofthe contents of this precious volume as may induce them to study and discuss it,to publish it more completely, or at least to extract from it all the valuable infor-mation that can be obtained for the advance of archaeological science.

We will now endeavour to draw out, by comparing together the explanatorynotes already mentioned with the subjects of the drawings, some particularsrelating to the author of the manuscript, the period at which he lived, and hisworks.

On the second page (pi. 2) we read, “ Wilars de Honecort salutes you, and im-plores all who labour at the different kinds of work contained in this book to prayfor his soul, and hold him in remembrance. Por in this book may be found goodhelp to the knowledge of the great powers of masonry, and of devices in carpentry.It also shews the power of the art of delineation, the outlines being regulated andtaught in accordance with geometry.”

This may pass for the author’s preface. It tells us his name, his birth-place,and the nature and purpose of his book. Wilars de Honecort having com-piled this collection, bequeaths it to future artists in the same pursuits, requiringbut their grateful remembrance and their prayers.

Wilars, to judge by his surname, was a Cambraisian, for Honnecourt is a villageon the Scheldt, five leagues south of Cambray. This conjecture acquires more

fantaisies de son imagination toutes les acquisitionsde son savoir. On y trouve des sujets pieux, desscenes domestiques, des modeles d’architecture, desproblemes de geometric. Yoici au reste, sinon letitre, au moins le preambule exact dont l’auteur afait preeeder son ouvrage.” Here follows the en-tire legend of the second page, including the “ Cipoies vos trover lesagies (miracles?) des xij. Apostlesen seant,” which the writer has hastily confoundedwith Honecort’s real preface that follows it. Pottiernext gives a description of the subjects selected inthe plate, observing that “Le style des draperiesetudie, fouille, et tourmente comme dans certaines

figures du xvi e . siecle, est vraiment extraordinairepour l’epoque, si tant est qu’il n'ait pas ete rajeunipar legraveur.” The last remark is enough to provethat M. Pottier had not taken the trouble to examinethe original manuscript at all, but described thefigures from the engravings of Willemin. The de-scriptive note of the contents of the manuscript abovequoted was probably written by Willemin himself atthe time when the tracings were made for his en-graving. The figures selected by Willemin are thetwo foliage faces of pi. 9, the group in pi. 26, andthe warrior mounting his horse in pi. 45.—(W.)