Sign-In
Cart
The Testament Was a Forgery
Paperback
Series: Le Testament Était Un Faux, Book 3
Medieval & Renaissance History
Please select the version of book you would like to purchase.
ISBN13: 9791098072963
Publisher: International Restitutions
Published: Nov 14 2025
Pages: 242
Weight: 0.72
Height: 0.51 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Publisher: International Restitutions
Published: Nov 14 2025
Pages: 242
Weight: 0.72
Height: 0.51 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
In October 2023, Professor Pierre Bertier discovers a disturbing absence in the French royal archives: no trace of the naturalization letters that Leonardo da Vinci should have obtained to bequeath his property. Without this document, the droit d'aubaine (right of escheat) imposed the confiscation of all his possessions by the French crown upon his death in 1519, including the famous painting La Joconde (the Mona Lisa).Based on true facts, this historical novel reconstructs the fateful night when Francesco Melzi and Salaï, Leonardo's disciples, stole major works before the royal inventory, then fabricated a false testament to justify their possession.Bertier's account reveals how this deception has endured for five centuries. This novel, at the crossroads of historical thriller and scientific investigation, questions the boundary between crime and heroism: were Melzi and Salaï thieves or the saviors of priceless heritage?
The author Robert Casanovas is an honorary agrégé professor and member of the Société des Gens de Lettres. A jurist passionate about the history of art collections, he has devoted many years to studying the appropriation of artworks by states. President of the NGO International Restitutions, he has published numerous academic works on the subject.
Also from
Casanovas, Robert
Also in
Medieval & Renaissance History
The Power of Place: Rulers and Their Palaces, Landscapes, Cities, and Holy Places
Rollason, David
Hardcover
From $34.99
The Saint and the Sultan: The Crusades, Islam, and Francis of Assisi's Mission of Peace
Moses, Paul
Hardcover
$25.65
Self-Help from the Middle Ages: What the Seven Deadly Sins Can Teach Us about Living
Jones, Peter
Hardcover
$27.00
Dark Renaissance: The Dangerous Times and Fatal Genius of Shakespeare's Greatest Rival
Greenblatt, Stephen
Hardcover
$30.39
The Golden Thread: A History of the Western Tradition, Volume II: The Modern and Contemporary West
Hankins, James
Guelzo, Allen C.
Hardcover
$114.00
Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages, Through the Women Written Out of It
Ramirez, Janina
Paperback
$19.79
Alchemy: An Illustrated History of Elixirs, Experiments, and the Birth of Modern Science
Ball, Philip
Hardcover
$38.00
Dark Renaissance: The Dangerous Times and Fatal Genius of Shakespeare's Greatest Rival
Greenblatt, Stephen
Paperback
$17.99
The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century
Mortimer, Ian
Paperback
$19.95
The Surgeon, the Midwife, the Quack: How to Stay Alive in Renaissance England
Skuse, Alanna
Hardcover
$27.50
The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time
Kelly, John
Paperback
$16.99
Irish History & Mythology: Exploring The History, Celtic Myths, Folklore, Sagas, Traditions of Ireland
Brought Alive, History
Paperback
$19.94
Oathbreakers: The War of Brothers That Shattered an Empire and Made Medieval Europe
Gabriele, Matthew
Perry, David M.
Paperback
From $11.99
The Wolf Age: The Vikings, the Anglo-Saxons and the Battle for the North Sea Empire
Skeie, Tore
Paperback
$18.95
What God Kept for Himself: Atheism, Sodomy, and Radical Dissent in Renaissance Italy
Grassi, Umberto
Hardcover
$42.00
A World Lit Only by Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance: Portrait of an Age
Manchester, William
Paperback
From $9.99
The History of the Medieval World: From the Conversion of Constantine to the First Crusade
Bauer, Susan Wise
Hardcover
$37.99
Stone Lands: A Journey of Darkness and Light Through Britain's Ancient Places
Robertson, Fiona
Hardcover
$28.45
Our Island Story: A History of the Kings, Queens and Battles of England, Scotland and Britain for Boys and Girls
Marshall, H. E.
Paperback
$18.73
Ancient and Medieval Siege Weapons: A Fully Illustrated Guide To Siege Weapons And Tactics
Nossov, Konstantin
Paperback
$19.95
The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire
Weatherford, Jack
Paperback
$19.00
When Asia Was the World: Traveling Merchants, Scholars, Warriors, and Monks Who Created the Riches of the East
Gordon, Stewart
Paperback
$17.99
The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise: Muslims, Christians, and Jews Under Islamic Rule in Medieval Spain
Fernandez-Morera, Dario
Hardcover
$31.34
Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts: Twelve Journeys Into the Medieval World
de Hamel, Christopher
Paperback
$24.70
Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia's Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane
Starr, S. Frederick
Paperback
$23.70
The Battle of Yarmuk: An Assessment of the Immediate Factors behind the Islamic Conquests
Ibrahim, Raymond
Paperback
$19.19
The Manuscripts Club: The People Behind a Thousand Years of Medieval Manuscripts
de Hamel, Christopher
Paperback
$23.40
Venice and the Mongols: The Eurasian Exchange That Transformed the Medieval World
Di Cosmo, Nicola
Pubblici, Lorenzo
Hardcover
$52.50
The History of the Renaissance World: From the Rediscovery of Aristotle to the Conquest of Constantinople
Bauer, Susan Wise
Hardcover
$37.99
A Medieval Life: Cecilia Penifader and the World of English Peasants Before the Plague
Bennett, Judith M.
Paperback
$33.25
Women in the Middle Ages: The Lives of Real Women in a Vibrant Age of Transition
Gies, Joseph
Gies, Frances
Paperback
$18.99
Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages, Through the Women Written Out of It
Ramirez, Janina
Hardcover
$31.34
Urban Infrastructure in Medieval England: Sustainability and Resilience
Magnusson, Roberta J.
Paperback
$94.18
The Magic Books: A History of Enchantment in 20 Medieval Manuscripts
Lawrence-Mathers, Anne
Hardcover
$36.10
The Birth of the Anglo-Saxons: Three Kings and a History of Britain at the Dawn of the Viking Age
Adams, Max
Hardcover
$33.25
Cryptic: From Voynich to the Angel Diaries, the Story of the World's Mysterious Manuscripts
Shaw, Garry J.
Hardcover
$39.00
Financial Vipers of Venice: Alchemical Money, Magical Physics, and Banking in the Middle Ages and Renaissance
Farrell, Joseph P.
Paperback
$23.70
In the Shadow of the Sword: The Birth of Islam and the Rise of the Global Arab Empire
Holland, Tom
Paperback
$19.95
Il Fior di Battaglia by Fiore dei Liberi Facsimile: With translation by Guy Windsor
Windsor, Guy
Hardcover
$68.74
The Bookseller of Florence: The Story of the Manuscripts That Illuminated the Renaissance
King, Ross
Paperback
$20.90
The House of Wisdom: How Arabic Science Saved Ancient Knowledge and Gave Us the Renaissance
Al-Khalili, Jim
Paperback
$18.05
The Prince (Royal Collector's Edition) (Annotated) (Case Laminate Hardcover with Jacket)
Machiavelli, Niccolò
Hardcover
$49.94
Old Norse - Old Icelandic: Concise Introduction to the Language of the Sagas
Byock, Jesse
Gordon, Randall
Paperback
$28.49
The Greatest Knight: The Remarkable Life of William Marshal, the Power Behind Five English Thrones
Asbridge, Thomas
Paperback
$20.90
This Earthly Globe: A Venetian Geographer and the Quest to Map the World
Di Robilant, Andrea
Paperback
$18.05