Mathieu-Marie BOIARDO. Le Premier [Second, Troisiesme] livre De Roland l'Amoureux, mis en italien par le seigneur Mathieu-Marie Bayard, comte de Scandian : et traduit en Françoys, par Maistre Iaques Vincent du Crest Arnaud en Dauphiné, Secretaire de monsieur l'Evesque du Puy. 3 volumes in one folio, midnight blue morocco, double framed with cold filets, spine with 6 nerves decorated in the same way, red calf lining with gilt roses and gilt roulette, gilt edges (Cuyls). Brun, 137 // Brunet, I-1052. I. (6f.)-CXXXIIIf. (the last blank missing) / ã6, A-X6, Y8 // II. (6f.)-CVIIf. (the last blank missing) / ã6, A-S6 // III. (3f. out of 4, the last blank missing)-XXXVIIIf. / ã4, a-e6, f8 / 201 x 314 mm. Rare first edition of the French translation of Roland l'Amoureux, lavishly illustrated with woodcuts in the text. Mathieu-Marie Boiardo was one of the most learned poets of the 15th century. Born in 1430, he studied hard, learning Latin, Greek and several Oriental languages before being awarded a doctorate in law and philosophy. He then embarked on a career in arms and became attached to the Dukes of Ferrara, who conferred several important offices on him. Although his jobs, his pleasures and his life as a courtier distracted him greatly from his work, he nonetheless composed... a fair number of works in verse and prose (Larousse), the most famous of which is Roland amoureux. This epic in sixty-nine songs, which remained unfinished on Boiardo's death in 1494, was composed in honour of his patron Hercules II d'Este. It is the most important romance poem in Italian literature until Ariosto, who continued it with his Roland furieux. Taken from Turpin's fabulous chronicle, its theme is the supposed siege of Paris by the Saracens. The three books of Orlando innamorato first appeared together around 1495, shortly after their author's death. It was not until some fifty years later that they were translated into French by Jacques Vincent Du Crest-Arnaud and published by Groulleau and Gautherot. This edition is illustrated with 68 woodcuts in the text in architectural frames that are sometimes repeated (respectively 28 woodcuts for the First book, 31 for the Second and 9 for the Third), in fact 46 woodcuts, 17 of which are repeated. These fine woodcuts (55 x 88 and 87 x 87 mm), in the style of D. Janot after Brun, mostly depict battle scenes. One of them, dated 1526, comes from Geoffroy Tory's Champfleury. The work also bears the printer's mark on the titles and a number of foliate initials. A fine copy in a lined binding by Cuyls. Minor rubbing to lower edges. Leaf ã2 of the first book bound upside down and title page bevelled in the second book, small hole reaching a few letters on leaves D6, I2, L5 and Y1 of the first book and E6 of the second book, two ink stains. Leaves O2 and O5 are a little thicker, probably due to the fact that they were glued a little tightly.