Châlons-en-Champagne, Bibliothèque Municipale MS 0270, fol. 90v, end of XIVth century | MARGOT

Detailed manuscript information (based on Ernest Langlois, Les manuscrits du Roman de la rose. Description et classement, Geneva: Slatkine Reprints, 1974, p. 121-22 and Enluminures):

Parchment, measure: 316x226, 159 folios at two columns. The Roman de la rose is on fols 1-155 followed by Che sont les heures de le Crois onfol. 155v and Prières en prose on fol. 157r.

Scene depicted

The Duenna, along with False Seeming and Abstinence, speaks to Fair Welcoming, who guards the tower.

Miniature description

Size:

316x226mm

Column miniature

Height: 7 lines

Material and colors:

Parchment

Gold leaf, blue, red, orange, white, brown, black, grey, green

Initial:

Above the miniature: Pen-flourished initial with red, blue and white decorative details.

Frame:

Simple gold leaf exterior frame with gold leaf foliate extenders at the corners and at the centre of the left and right sides.

Background:

Background has a red and black diaper pattern with decorative white details. There is a blue brick tower and green ground.

Place of production of miniature:

Amiens, France

Date of production of miniature:

1340-1350

Similarities with other images of the corpus:

The tower also appears in the following manuscripts: PML. Ms.132, fol. 91v; BNCF. Codice Laurenziano Acquisti e Doni 153, fol. 150v; ÖNB. Codex 2592, fol. 87v; PML. Ms. 132, fol. 95r.

Other Allegories: JPG. Ms. Ludwig XV 7, fol. 81v.

Secondary Source:

Langlois, Ernest. Les manuscrits du Roman de la Rose. Description et classement. Geneva: Slatkine Reprints, 1974, pp. 121-22.

Detailed description

Allegories:

Fair Welcoming is on the left.

Duenna, False Seeming, and Abstinence are on the right.

Clothing and other features:

1. Fair Welcoming

Grey hair
Orange cotehardie with tippets

2. Duenna

Long orange robe
White wimple falling to the shoulders

3. False Seeming

Black monk's habit with cowl
White rope belt with three visible knots (probably making reference to the mendicant order of the Dominicans)

4. Abstinence

Greyish blue robe
Greyish blue mantle buttoned at the neck
White wimple falling to the shoulders
Orange satchel with what appears to be a book inside

Architecture:

Blue ashlar tower with white steps at the front and crenellations at the top.

Gestures:

The Duenna has her left finger raised in a gesture of speech and her right hand raised, palm facing upwards. She is looking at False Seeming, who is standing behind her. Fair Welcoming has his left hand extended, palm facing downwards. False Seeming has both hands extended, his right hand raised and facing upwards. He is looking at the Duenna. Abstinence is standing behind False Seeming, holding a satchel.