Geneva, Bibliothèque de Genève, FR 178, fol. 82r, 1353 | MARGOT

Detailed manuscript information (based on Ernest Langlois, Les manuscrits du Roman de la rose. Description et classement, Geneva: Slatkine Reprints, 1974, p. 195):

Parchment. 290x213, 190 fols, two columns at 39 lines, written in Paris in 1353. Beginning of the second folio: Lors pris l'aguille a enfiler. It contains the Roman de la rose fols 1-160v and the Testament on fols 161r-190v.

Scene illustrated

False Seeming kneeling in front of the God of Love

Miniature description

Size:

290x213mm
Column miniature
Height: Approx. 11 lines

Material and colors:

Parchment
Blue, red, white, gold leaf, black, grey

Initial:

Foliate initial “F” with blue and red foliate extenders spring upwards and downwards, partially framing the miniature and the text.

Rubric:

Placed above miniature, two lines that read: “Comment amours recoit faussemblant / Et le fait Roi des ribaus de sa court"

Frame:

Simple gold leaf exterior frame with cornerpieces, over a broader inner blue frame. A white zigzag pattern decorates the left and right sides; there is a wavy pattern with decorative details on the top and bottom. There is a further inner frame with a quatrefoil border in red, white, and blue with gold leaf fillings between the borders. Gold leaf foliate extenders and "sperm" are located on the left and right sides of the frame.

Background:

Red and white diaper pattern with a dark red checkerboard pattern and lozenges in white. Interior spaces are decorated with dots in red and white.

Place of production of miniature:

France

Date of production of miniature:

1353

Similarities with other images of the corpus:

The act of crowning is similar in the following manuscripts: BimUM, Ms. H245, fol. 69v; ÃNB. Codex 2592, fol. 75v.

The position of the allegories is similar in the following manuscripts: BimUM, Ms. H245, fol. 69v; ÃNB. Codex 2592, fol. 75v ; BSG. Ms. 1126, fol. 77r.

Secondary Sources:

Langlois, Ernest. Les manuscrits du Roman de la Rose. Description et classement. Geneva: Slatkine Reprints, 1974, p.195.

Detailed description

Allegories:

False Seeming is on the right.

God of Love is on the left.

Clothing and other features:

1. God of Love

Red robe with girdle
Gold leaf crown
Grey wings
Curly blonde hair

2. False Seeming

Black monk's habit with cowl
White alb
Gold leaf crown

Gestures:

False Seeming kneels on his left knee before the God of Love, holding the God of Love's right hand. His left palm is open and facing upwards, indicating deference for the God of Love.

God of Love is standing in front of False Seeming, his left hand raised in a gesture of acceptance. His right hand is being held by False Seeming.

Ex-libris

Beneath the last explicit, some lines in a more modern hand have been erased.
Puis que de vous et A.S.A. qui Fortune a.
The Bibliothèque de Genève received this manuscript in 1742 from Am. Lullin who had bought it from the heirs of A. Petau