Villard de Honnecourt is a project superintendent of the 13th century, famous for its Carnet containing many sketches of Architecture, now preserved at the National library of France.

Life of companion

Villard, born around the year 1200, is originating in the village of the Honnecourt-on-Scheldt located close to Cambrai. Like the companions of his time, it makes its training while going from city downtown and building site in building site. It will become later magister latomus , i.e. project superintendent, profession which includes the trade of architect. Its community activity covers the years 1225 with 1250.
the much travelling experts of the time, we know, thanks to his Carnet , some of the stages of its tour: Vaucelles, where he worked with the construction of the Cistercian abbey, Cambrai, where he attended " the rise in the chorus of Notre-Dame de Cambrai " , Rheims, Laon, Chartres and Lausanne, but also, about 1235 the Hungary, where it built with Košice, the cathedral dedicated to Sainte Elisabeth of Hungary.

The Notebook

Of a dimension of 14x22 centimetres, the Carnet of Villard de Honnecourt was composed in the beginning of a hundred of pages, of which only a little more than one about sixty remain. They contain many sketches, of a high degree of accuracy, accompanied by legends. One finds there:
  • of the boards naturalists
  • of the representations of characters: Allegory S, religious or civil scenes
  • of the sketches of architecture and the geometrical studies
  • of the machines: military machines or of building site, and even of the outlines of machines with Perpetual motion

See too

External bonds

  • association Villard de Honnecourt with Honnecourt
  • the '' Carnet '' with the BNF
  • Site dedicated to the '' Carnet '' and with Villard de Honnecourt
  • Discussion of the life of Honnecourt and the '' Carnet ''
  • Images of the '' Carnet '' on Commons
  • the '' downloadable Carnet ''

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