CHRISTINE DE PISAN 



and among his many gifts, one an offering to 

 Richard the Second may be seen in the British 

 Museum (Royal 20, B VI.). The library was 

 considerably depleted during the reign of Charles 

 the Sixth, when it was used as a sort of store- 

 house from which presents were made to prince 

 and prelate, or to any to whom it was desired 

 to make a gift, or a recognition of services 

 rendered. On the death of Charles the Sixth, 

 in 1425, it was bought by the Duke of Bed- 

 ford, Regent of France, and doubtless some 

 of its treasures were transferred by him into 

 England. Those that were left, and some that 

 gradually found their way back to France, may 

 now be seen in the Bibliotheque Nationale and 

 in other libraries of France, and also in various 

 libraries in other countries, but out of the 1 200 

 books collected by Charles the Fifth, rather less 

 than a hundred are now known to us. 



To increase the usefulness of his library, 

 Charles employed a number of translators, not 

 only of Greek and Latin authors, but also of the 

 most important Arabic writings, thus bringing 

 both the classics and the science of the day 

 within the reach of the many students privileged 

 to make use of it. It was in this library that 

 Christine spent long days reading and meditating 

 on the thoughts of the greatest minds, thus fitting 

 herself for the part she had to play when life 

 had ceased to be a gay dream. We can get 

 from a miniature in a Book of Hours, now at 

 Chantilly, and painted by the brothers Limbourg 



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