Bibliothèque nationale de France Ms fr. 24392, fol. 103v, XVth century

Size:

330x236mm

Column miniature

Hight: 9 lines

Material and colors:

Parchment

Gold leaf, blue, dark red, white, brown, black, grey

Frame:

Exterior: gold leave frame, on a flat background with thicker corner pieces in the upper corners.

Initials:

Initial “O” decorated in red, blue and black ink, with decorations on the inside of the initial. Red and black ink decoration frames the initial.  

Rubric:

Thirteenth line above miniature: "Cy parle l'amant"

Three lines, above the miniature: "Comme la vieille s’assit empres / Belacueil et li commenca a preschier / Comme il se doit maintenir"

Fifth line above the miniature: "Cy parle la vieille de la beaute belle"

Background:

The background presents in rudimentary perspective three visible walls, and five arched decorative windows. The allegories are sitting on a brown and gold-leaf bench; a tapestry hangs behind them.

Place of production of miniature:                 

France

Date of production of miniature:

15th century

Similarities with other images of the corpus:

The position of the allegories is similar in the following manuscripts:  BSG,  Ms. 1126, fol. 91r; OBL, Ms. Selden supra, fol. 92r.

Secondary sources:

Langlois, Ernest. Les manuscrits du Roman de la Rose. Description et classement. Genève: Slatkine Reprints, 1974, p. 61-62.

Allegories:

Fair Welcoming is on the left.

The Old Woman is on the right.

Clothes and other features:

1. Fair Welcoming

• Blond hair

• Crown

• Blue houppeland with fittest sleeves, belt around the waist

2. The Old Woman

• Black dress

• Blue kirtle

• White apron

• Black headdress

• Black pouleines

Architecture:

The scene takes place inside a palace. The room where the allegories are situated has a window on the left and right wall and three windows on the wall behind them. The windows are in gothic style with two lancet windows with trefoil tracery, topped with rosettas. The ground is in checkerboard pattern. The interior also contains a bench behind which hangs a decorative tapestry.

Gestures:

The Old Woman is standing with her right hand on Fair Welcoming’s shoulder and her left hand raised signaling her speech. Fair Welcoming seems to listen to her with his right hand in front of him and his left hand on his knee.