Honoré Bonet

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Honoré Bonet (c. 1340-c. 1410) was an Occitan heraldist, the prior of Salon near Embrun.

Bonet was a heraldist from Provence. He studied at the Avignon University where he received a doctorate and traveled around France and Aragon. In his work Arbre des Batailles (between 1382 and 1387) Bonet dealt with heraldry. He was deeply influenced by Bartolo de Sassoferrato. His book was written to obtain favour of Charles V. king of France, but without much effect. However, it became a manual for commanders and a lot of European rulers and gentlemen had this book in their libraries as well.

Bonet was very influential in the 15th century. Christine de Pisan copied liberally from him, quoting him as one of her sources: her writing was popularized by William Caxton in England in the late 15th century. The herald Sicile Jean Courtois, herald of Alfonso V of Aragon, also used Bonet extensively in his Blason des Couleurs, as well as 15th century Burgundian heralds.

In 1456, it was translated to English in the Rosslyn castle for Gilbert de la Haye, Chancellor of Scotland, Earl of Orkney and Caithness.

It is a kind of scholastic dialogue. Each chapter starts with a yes/no question, proceeds with a dialogue, and ends with a conclusion.

Editions:

The first French edition Lyon 1481. Then it was published several times, like Bruxelles 1883.