Pierpont Morgan Library Ms. 132, fol. 66r, ca. 1380 | MARGOT

Detailed manuscript information (based on Pierpont Morgan Library Catalogue MSS. 1906, no. 112):

Vellum, measure 8x5.5", 1 + 189 fols, two columns 34 lines. This manuscript contains the Roman de la rose (fols 1-156r), the Testament (fols 158r-189v) by Jean de Meun.

Scene depicted

Jealous husband beats his wife

Miniature description

Size:

Column picture.

Height: 12 lines.

Material and colors:

Vellum

Gray, green, pink, blue, gold leaf

Initial:

Decorated gilded initial “L” on blue and red background with pen-flourished white ink detail.

Rubric:

Above miniature. Reads: “Co[m]ment le jalous bat sa fe[m]me e vilainement la diffame"

Frame:

Gilded outer frame with inner border composed of red/white on left and right and blue/white on tip and bottom. Gilded foliate extenders from the right and left side of the frame.

Background:

Nature: White background (sky) with grass ground line.

Place of production of miniature:

France

Date of production of miniature:

ca. 1380

Detailed description

Allegories:

Jealous husband on the left

Wife on the right

Clothing:

* semi-grisaille. Landscape, flesh and objects are rendered in colour, whereas clothing is not.

1. Jealous husband:

Chaperon
Knee-length surcote
Hose
Pouleines

2. Wife:

Gown

Gestures:

Husband's left hand, holding a club, is raised over his head and ready to strike his wife. His right hand is grasping her hair. The wife is almost on her back, holding herself up with her right arm, as though her husband is dragging her. Her left hand is slightly raised with palm facing outwards, as if to soften the blow from the club, or as a sign of submission.

Objects:

Club

“This weapon [...] semiotically connects the husband with the allegorical figure of Dangier, who is usually depicted wielding a club at Amant” (Desmond, Marilynn.Ovid’s Art and the Wife of Bath. The Ethics of Erotic Violence. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 2006: p. 95)

Landscape:

Grass ground

Ex-libris

Inscription on fol. 158: Johannes Marous (ca. 1525)
Inscription on first folio: Pierre Vischer de Bâle (1773)
Ex-libris: Bought 20 June 1995 by William Morris
Inscription on fly-leaf, and ex-libris: Richard Bennett collection, 1897.