Pierre Salmon (–1424) was a French clergyman, courtier and diplomat under Charles VI. Salmon was educated at a university. He was in the royal service by 1395. In 1396, he accompanied Charles VI's daughter

Isabelle Isabel is a female name of Iberian origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of '' Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew ''Elisheba''). Arising in the 12th century, it became popul ...

to England for her marriage to King

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...

. In England, he was accused of treason and theft. He afterwards made a pilgrimage to and visited

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

. He was a royal secretary to Charles VI from shortly before 1406 until at least 1417. In this capacity, he travelled to

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Lucca Città di Lucca ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its Province of Lucca, province has a population of 383,9 ...

and

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

on diplomatic missions before the end of 1409. Salmon wrote a

Middle French Middle French () is a historical division of the French language that covers the period from the mid-14th to the early 17th centuries. It is a period of transition during which: * the French language became clearly distinguished from the other co ...

advice book or "

mirror for princes Mirrors for princes or mirrors of princes () constituted a literary genre of didactic political writings throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It was part of the broader speculum or mirror literature genre. The Latin term ''speculum reg ...

" dedicated to Charles VI, entitled ''Dialogues''. It was published against the backdrop of the a civil war in France and the papal schism. The first version, completed in 1409, survives in a single

illustrated manuscript An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers and liturgical books such as psalters and ...

designed to be presented to the king. It contains a prologue and three sections. A second, revised version was made by Salmon between 1412 and 1415. It contains a fourth section. It survives in three manuscripts, including an illustrated presentation copy.: Geneva, Bibliothèque de Genève, fr. 165 (for presentation); Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 9610 (); Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 5032 (). Production of the two presentation copies was supervised by Salmon himself. The prologue of the ''Dialogues'' contains a dedication and an explanation of its structure. The first section is written in the form of answers to the king's questions. It is divided into three parts on the virtues, habits and choice of counsellors of a king. The three virtues which a king must possess are the fear of God, honouring of the royal dignity and upholding of justice. The second section maintains the question-and-answer format. Its topic is the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

(''divine escripture'') and it ranges from questions on the divine essence to divine mercy in the afterlife. The third section is a description of Salmon's services to the king. It begins by quoting a letter from Charles asking Salmon to write up his experiences in royal service. Salmon's narrative is interspersed with thirty of his official letters from the period 1407–1409. He ends by expressing hope that he has found a physician who can cure the king of his mental ailment. When Salmon revised the ''Dialogues'', every section was edited, the third most drastically. He removed all but four of the letters and added three new ones. All seven letters are addressed to the king. In the last one, he expresses his intention to withdraw from the world. The new fourth section is a dialogue between him and three ladies who visit him in his retreat—Reason, Faith and Hope. This section is modelled on

Boethius Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, commonly known simply as Boethius (; Latin: ''Boetius''; 480–524 AD), was a Roman Roman Senate, senator, Roman consul, consul, ''magister officiorum'', polymath, historian, and philosopher of the Early Middl ...

' ''

Consolation of Philosophy ''On the Consolation of Philosophy'' (), often titled as ''The Consolation of Philosophy'' or simply the ''Consolation'', is a philosophical work by the Roman philosopher Boethius. Written in 523 while he was imprisoned and awaiting execution ...

''.

Notes

Bibliography

* * *

External links

* {{Authority control 14th-century births 15th-century deaths Medieval French diplomats Middle French literature