Guillebert de Mets was a scribe of manuscripts born in Geraardsbergen. Even though he is not mentioned in the Geraardsbergen Manuscript, there may have been a connection between him and this codex: Guillebert used to be the owner of an inn in Geraardsbergen mentioned in Text 69, the ‘In the French shield’.
Compared to the manuscripts Guillebert copied – books meant for the dukes of Burgundy, lavishly illuminated – the Geraardsbergen Manuscript looks very modest.
It has been argued that Guillebert may have been involved in the production of the Geraardsbergen Manuscript (see Story 2), but that seems unlikely. The presence of Dutch, French and Latin texts seems to fit his profile, but since there are no archival records about him anymore after 1460 the chances he copied this manuscript in the 1460’s are small. This does not rule him out as a possible compiler, though.
- People connected with the Geraardsbergen Manuscript
- Geraardsbergen Manuscript: Story 2
- Geraardsbergen Manuscript opening page