Bibliothèque nationale de France Ms fr. 12595, fol. 33v, XVth century

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Folio 033v Detailed manuscript information (based on Ernest Langlois, Les manuscrits du Roman de la rose. Description et classement. Geneva: Slatkine Reprints, 1974, p. 48-49):

Parchment, measure: 325x231mm, 200fols numbered by a rubricator, at two columns, 37 lines. Beginning of second folio: D'un aiguillier mignot et gent. Binding with Napoleon's coat of arms. The Roman appears on fols 1-157r, followed by the Testament on fols 158r-167v. Fol. 168 is left blank followed by the Sept articles de la foi on fols 169r-200r and the Codicille on fol. 200r-v.

Scene depicted

Lady Reason descends from her tower to meet the Lover in order to instruct him in the art of love.

Miniature description

Size:

Approximately 113mm x 89 mm (including tower, 59.5 mm width for frame).

Column picture.

Height of frame: 9 lines.

Height of frame with tower: 18 lines.

Material and colors:

Parchment

Blue, red, white, pink, gray, green, gold leaf

Initials:

Pen-flourished initial “T” (2 lines). Located below the miniature. Gilded initial with black ink background detail.

Rubric:

5 lines above image we see “l’amant” in red, indicating his role as speaker in the following section.

Frame:

Framed with gold and red border with perpendicular bands and a partial illusionistic border with Lady Reason’s tower extending out of the right side of the frame and 8 lines above it. Only the base and stairs of the tower appear within the frame.

Black ink-penned foliate with gold leaves extending from the initial “T” down the left side of the frame.

Background:

Gold diaper over dark blue background. Star pattern. Possible reference to the text (Lady Reason has stars in her eyes).

Placement of miniature:

Placement of the miniature before the textual description of the scene differs from other manuscripts depicting the same scene (PML, Ms. M. 324, BMC, Ms. 207,ÖNB, Codex 2592, BNF, Ms. Fr. 380), which place the image after the description.

Place of production of the miniature:

Paris, France.

Date of production of the miniature:

15th century.

Similarities with other images from the corpus:

There are subtle similarities with the miniature found in BNF, Ms. Fr. 380, fol. 29v. First, with the coloring used for the garments of the Lover and Lady Reason. Second, Lady Reason’s tower, which extends outside of the frame, is also mirrored (position is reversed in BNF, Ms. Fr. 380, fol. 29v: Lady reason and her tower are on the left side). Both of these miniatures feature pen-flourished initial “T”, with black ink details.

In addition, the gestures depicted are similar in all three miniatures from BNF, Ms. Fr. 12595 as well as gestures in PML, Ms. M. 324, ÖNB, Codex 2592 , BMC, Ms. 207, KBR, Ms. 4782

Lover listens attentively.

Secondary sources :

Fleming, John V. The Roman de la Rose: a Study in Allegory and Iconography. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1969.

Lady Reason is typically thought of as a queen, represented with a crown and standing by or descending from her tower, a symbol of her exalted station and a reminder that she descends to aid man. Sometimes wears the scarf of 14thcentury Gothic Virgins (Fleming 113).
Reason shares the iconographical attributes of Lady Philosophy, kinship with Divine Sapience, or the Second Person of the Trinity in both Guillaume and Jean (Fleming 114).