3-041-905 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Roussillon Going to Martel's Aid; Histoire de Charles Martel, written 1463-1465; illuminated 1467-1472. Additional Info: Charles Martel was an early ruler of France, and Duke Gerard de Roussillon was his Burgundian vassal. In the 700s, the duke came to Martel's aid, saving him from death in a battle against the Saracens. When this book was made in the 1400s, such a battle between East and West had great relevance: the Ottoman Turks, heirs to the Muslim Saracens, had just conquered Constantinople, putting an end to the Byzantine Empire and Christian rule in the east. The scene of the earlier battle would have reminded European viewers of this recent conquest and their long-time enemies, the Turks.