Les quatre premiers livres de la Franciade [Ensemble] Le bocage royal [Ensemble] Les eclogues et mascarades [Ensemble] Les elegies

New edition and the last early collected edition of Ronsard's works, comprising volumes IV, V, VI, and VII. Engraved portraits of Charles IX and Henri III (the same used twice), and two vignette headpieces with a medallion portrait of Ronsard. Royal arms on all four title pages. Tables at the end of each volume.
Contemporary limp full vellum binding. Smooth spine. Volume numbers and date in black ink manuscript. The volume number on the first title page was pencilled in. Endpapers detached from the boards. A good copy.

Significant poetic collection of Ronsard's works. La Franciade, commissioned by Charles IX, remained unfinished at the king’s death. The poem concludes with a poetic evocation of the king’s death and a lyrical exchange between Charles IX and Ronsard. Charles IX was the poet’s closest royal patron. Ronsard intended Le bocage royal to be a monument to the glory of Henri III, and the first five poems are dedicated to him. In the Élégies, Églogues and Mascarades, the poet draws inspiration from Antiquity, particularly from Theocritus and Virgil. The mascarades are of particular historical interest, as the poet versifies several royal entertainments from a symbolic perspective.