BODINEAU (Urban) - Lot 278

BODINEAU (Urban) BODINEAU, Urban. Physician to Louis XIII. P.S. "Bodineau", December 31, 1632; oblong vellum folio, text on recto and receipt on verso. Rare document signed by Urban Bodineau, ordinary physician to Louis XIII, concerning payment of his wages for the year 1632. The document is an autograph receipt for the sum of "twelve hundred livres" paid for his fees as ordinary physician to the King's household. The text, written on vellum, is addressed to the Treasurer General of the King's Household, "Monsieur Sainctot", in charge of settling royal expenses. On the verso is a receipt: "Pour servir de quittance à Monsieur Sainctot conseiller et trésorier général de la maison du Roy...". An interesting administrative account of the finances of the royal household under Louis XIII, on the eve of the sovereign's death (May 1643), illustrating the practical operation of the medical offices attached to the Court. A fine piece of paleography, with a large calligraphic signature and numerous 17th-century chancery strokes. Vellum with a few old stains and traces of use, but no serious damage to the text.