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Prussia

Prussia, a historical region extending from the south-eastern coast of the Baltic sea to the Masurian Lake District; it is not to be confused with the former German state of Prussia that derived its name from the region. At present, the historic region is divided between Poland, Russia and Lithuania.

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fol. 140r, col. A: French knights defeat the Jacques in Meaulx. On the right an army of knights on foot with full body armour. Their commander is Charles of Navarre, shown with an armorial surcoat and a banner with his arms (quarterly, 1 and 4, gules, an escarbuncle with eight rays or charged with bells, a bordure or, 2 and 3 France ancient, azure, a semy of fleurs-de-lis or). Behind Charles of Navarre is the Captal de Buch, also shown with an armorial surcoat and his banner (or, a cross sable charged with five shells argent). The text does not refer to Charles of Navarre, but to the count of Foix, so the miniature probably conflates the earlier episode in Clermont, where Charles of Navarre attacked the Jacques (illustrated in New York, Morgan Library, MS M.804, fol. 138v), with the episode in Meaulx, where the Jacques were defeated by the count of Foix and the Captal de Buch. On the left are the Jacques, with open helmets and mail rather than the plate armour worn by the French. The Jacques have pikes with which they attack the knights, but in the foreground there are several dead bodies of Jacques and one knight. The background is diapered with gold, blue and red with white penwork.

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