Summary
Writing near the age of seventy, Philip of Novara, an Italian-born knight and author, composed a treatise on moral behavior and knightly values known as the Quatre âges de l'homme. The Quatre Ages outlines the four stages of life (childhood, youth, middle age, and old age), discussing the moral values and activities that one ought to pursue in order to live a virtuous life. Although the title suggests otherwise, Philip also gives guidance for the life of women throughout the text, counseling against teaching women to read in order that they may not receive love letters from unwelcome suitors. Unlike most works written in the Latin East, the Quatre Ages held some popularity in the West and circulated in noble households, where moral treatises on knightly behavior became popular in the thirteenth century.
MSS
London, British Library, Additional, 28260, f. 3r-33r.
Metz, Bibliothèque municipale, 535, f. 171v (manuscript destroyed in 1944).
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, français, 15210, f. 2.
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, français, 12581, f. 387.
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, français, 24431, f. 161.
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, français, 17115.
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, français, 17117.
Editions
De Fréville, Marcel, (editor). Les quatre âges de l’homme: traité moral. Paris, France: Firmin Didot et Cie, 1888.
Secondary Literature
Kehler, Robert, W. “Philippe de Novare and Les Quatre Ages de l’homme.” PhD dissertation, Yale University, 1974.
Schulze-Busacker, Elisabeth. “Philippe de Novare, Les Quatre Ages de l’homme.” In Romania 127 (2009): 104-146.
See also Arlima.