8.  Gilles Corrozet, Hecatomgraphie

The first edition of an emblem book by a Parisian bookseller, Gilles Corrozet who was responsible for illustrated Aesop, a guide to heraldry entitled Blasons anatomiques (1536), as well as several emblem books. These were actually printed by Denys Janot who had also printed the first emblem book in French. For Hecatomgraphie, Corrozet re-used some of Janot's woodblocks and added his own verses to them. The result,  however, was apparently successful, as it was reprinted four times in the eight years after the initial publication.

The emblems show that Corrozet had a wide readership in mind. Accompanying verses in a dialogue form - the style often used in the Middle Ages to teach basic catechsims -   explain the meanings of the picture in detail. The figure of Nemesis [1] has a palm in her left hand representing strength, standing upright in a storm. A bit in the right hand signifies temperance in thought and speech. Nudity indicates that the just will be avenged in the end, despite the passage of time.

A frequent use of Aesop's fables also gives the impression of plainness. In another emblem, a popular tale of an astronomer who fell into a hole watching the sky [2], is here interpreted as a warning against vain inquiry into divine matters at the neglect of self-knowledge. The message was a common one in the Middle Ages.

Othe Images : [3]

BL STC French, p.123; Landwehr, Romanic, 236; Praz, p.308; Keio, PTP, 77