MS. e Mus. 65

Decoration

Fine grisaille miniatures, borders, initials. (Pächt and Alexander i. 612, pl. XLVII). The decoration is attributed by François Avril to the 'Maître du Policratique de Charles V' (‘Le Parcours Exemplaire d’un Enlumineur Parisien à La Fin Du XIVe Siècle. La Carrière et l’oevre de Maitre Du Policratique de Charles V’, in De La Sainteté à l’hagiographie : Genèse et Usage de La ‘Légende Dorée’, ed. Barbara Fleith and Franco Morenzoni, 2001, p. 265ff.)

One half-page miniature and 56 column miniatures, grisaille against gold and coloured chequered grounds (demi-grisaille).

• (fol. 1r) half-page miniature: left, the Lover asleep in a canopied bed under a finely carved roof supported by castellated columns (line 21); and right, the Lover standing with his left hand raised, by a stream outside a garden wall. (lines 103-128). The backdrop for the bed scene is blue fleurs-de-lys diaper pattern, and, for the garden scene, light brown and black rose design in a square grid pattern.
• (fol. 2r) Hatred, a female, seated on pedestal wearing long grey dress and headscarf (line 139).
• (fol. 2v) Villainy: seated female wearing long grey dress. Man kneels before her presenting gold vessel.
• (fol. 2v) Covetousness: a female seated between two chests, wearing grey dress, holding gold cup.
• (fol. 2v) Avarice: a female seated on stone bench, dressed in grey dress and holding cup. (lines 152, 156, 177, 197).
• (fol. 3v) Dance of ladies, wearing long dresses, three youths with them, on left three musicians, one playing bagpipes and 2 flutes. (line 727). (Manuscript leaf bound in wrong order.)
• (fol. 5v) The God of Love fires his first arrow into the Lover’s eye. (line 1689.) (Manuscript leaf bound in wrong order.)
• (fol. 6r) Envy, a female, in long grey dress seated on pedestal, chin resting on hand. (line 235).
• (fol. 6v) Sorrow, a female with long hair, seated on pedestal, wearing long dress and beating her breast. (line 291).
• (fol. 7r) Idleness, a female holding mirror and comb stands by the entrance to the garden, and the Lover asks to be let in. (lines 527-574). (Manuscript leaf bound in wrong order.)
• (fol. 8r) Old Age, and old woman wearing long gown and cloak, with crutches. (line 339).
• (fol. 8v) Hypocrisy, a nun holding open book, kneels before cloth-covered altar. (line 407).
• (fol. 9r) Poverty, a bare-footed figure in rags seated on mound. (line 445)
• (fol. 10r) Among the inhabitants of the Garden, Frankness, a female wearing long dress and shallow headdress stands before man in tunic and pointed shoes: she is speaking and he listens with his arms crossed. (line 1191).
• (fol. 10v) Among the inhabitants of the Garden is Courtesy. Inside garden wall among trees, seated man with spurs, lady kneels before him in flowing dress holding goblet, and page in tunic stands behind her holding jug and goblet with lid. (line 1229). (Illustration perhaps of another inhabitant of the garden, like Wealth or Largesse?)
• (fol. 11r) Among the inhabitants of the Garden, Fair Idleness: two young maidens in a garden, one on left seated holding something, one on right standing with outstretched left hand, right hand behind her holding hood to strike butterfly above her head (line 1251)
• (fol. 11r) Youth: in long dress, kissing man in long robe and feather in hat (line 1260).
• (fol. 12v) Narcissus kneels by pool, dressed in tunic and pointed shoes and pointed hood; behind him stands charger with large golden bit; on right stands Echo in long white dress praying (line 1439).
• (fol. 13v) As the Lover gazes into the water at the 'Fontaine d’Amor' with a bush of red roses growing next to it, the God of Love, who has followed him, looks on, crowned and wearing long tunic and holding bow and arrows (line 1604).
• (fol. 15r) Lover in long robe kneeling in homage before God of Love who is winged and crowned, and holding sceptre (line 1881).
• (fol. 15v) God of love winged and crowned, with gold belt and wallet, embracing lover wearing long robe. (line 1955).
• (fol. 16r) God of Love, winged and crowned, holding large key, locks heart of the Lover, who is wearing long robe (line 1999).
• (fol. 22r) Lover and Comradery, both in long robes, stand next to hedge protecting rose garden. (line 2787). Comradery, Courtesy’s child (here a female), who bids the Lover climb the hedge into the garden to smell the rose.
• (fol. 22v) Unbeknown to the Lover and Comradery, the gardener, Reserve (Dangier), is hiding, watching and listening with his companions, Evil-Tongue, Shame and Fear (line 2824).
• (fol. 23v) As the Lover stands disconsolate Reason descends from her tower to address him. Youthful folly, she claims, has brought him to this pass. Her advice is that he should leave the service of Love. To which the Lover replies that he is Love’s man and would rather die than betray his Lord. Reason, realizing that what she advises is unacceptable departs (line 2971).
• (fol. 25r) Friend gives the Lover advice on how to deal with Reserve (Dangier) who stands leaning on his club (line 3123)..
• (fol. 26r) Jealousy, long scarf twisted round head, chides Comradery (Bel Acueil), here a girl wearing long dress, and hands in slits in the front of her skirt (line 3535).
• (fol. 27r) Fear talking to Shame, both wearing long dresses and hoods, one has hand in slit of skirt. (line 3647).
• (fol. 27v) Fear and Shame accost Reserve (Dangier) for dozing instead of guarding the rose, where he lies resting his head on a bundle of hay below a hawthorn tree (line 3669).
• (fol. 28v) Jealousy supervises masons and workmen building a tower for the castle in which to immure the Rose and Comradery (line 3833).
• (fol. 30v) Jean de Meung picks up the story with the Lover in despair: the author seated in hooded chair pointing to his book on lectern in front; also a round case with many clasped books on display (line 4059).
• (fol. 32r) Reason, crowned, comes down from her tower to remonstrate with the Lover (line 4229).
• (fol. 56r) Friend listens to the Lover, he predicts the Lover will succeed by bribery and deceit; Reason disappears into her tower (line 7231).
• (fol. 66r) Jean de Meung reads from book on lectern, Theofrastus' Aureole, with advice for young men not to marry; on right, a Jealous Husband and his Wife in discussion (line 8561).
• (fol. 66v) Following the rape of Lucretia, a virtuous woman so shamed that neither husband or relatives could stop her from killing herself. (line 8629).
• (fol. 72v) Friend tells how the Jealous Husband maltreats his Wife, others try to stop him (line 9361).
• (fol. 77v) The Lover on his way to free Comradery from the castle of Jealousy meets Wealth and her companion sitting by a fountain, guarding the road to the castle (line 10,051).
• (fol. 79v) God of Love puts his hand on the head of the Lover asking how his case now stands with that fair Rose who had his heart entranced (line 10,311).
• (fol. 81r) The God of Love summons his barons and prospose a war to rescue Comradery. The barons in full armour are led by Lady Idleness,then Noble Heart, Wealth, Frankness, Pity, Largess, Courage, Honour, Courtesy, Delight, Simplicity, Company, Surety, Pleasure, Beauty, Youth, Constrained Abstinence and False Seeming (line 10443).
• (fol. 82v) God of Love meets the Barons in council planning the war. They are dressed in helmets and tunics, first holding battle-axe and sword and gold belt, others carrying shield, spears, and belt, and sword. (line 10.681).
• (fol. 95r) Dressed as Dominican and nun, False Seeming and Forced Abstinence approach Slander who sits in wait for the Lover outside the castle gate (line 12,147).
• (fol. 97r) The repentant Slander kneels at the feet of False Seeming, who promptly grabs him by his throat and cuts out his tongue (line 12,361).
• (fol. 98v) After Conventionality (the Old-Woman) has agreed to act as go-between for the Lover, she eventually finds Comradery (Fair-Welcome) at the top of the tower leaning over the battlement (line 12555).
• (fol. 99v) Comradery (Fair-Welcome) is most reluctant to accept the Lover’s gift of a caplet, but Conventionality (the Old-Woman) forces it on him (line 12689). (Fair-Welcome is wrongly depicted as a young girl, possibly the heroine herself, instead of a young 'bachelier'. Jean de Meung from his treatment of the Lover’s gift also appears unmindful of this fact, though the Old-Woman continues to address Fair-Welcome as 'Beaus fiz').
• (fol. 100r) Conventionality encourages Comradery (the Old Woman and Fair Welcome, as a girl) to put on a caplet, a gift from the Lover, and she admires its effect in a mirror she is holding (line 12727).
• (fol. 102r) Conventionality teaches Comradery (the Old Woman and Fair Welcome, as a girl) her theory of love (line 13,001).
• (fol. 103v) Suicide of Dido (line 13198). Dido impales herself on an upright sword.
• (fol. 115r) True to her promise Conventionality (the Old Woman) comes down from the tower to tell the Lover she will leave the postern gate open so that he may visit Comradery (Fair-Welcome) (line 14694).
• (fol. 116r) The Lover declares that his sole desire is to possess the Rose: as he advances towards it the protector, Reserve (Danger) rushes out with his club raised (line 14827).
• (fol. 120r) Frankness engages in single combat with the protector of the Rose, Reserve ( Danger) who has his club raised and carries a shield with a black griffin; she is almost overcome when Pity comes to help her (line 15303).
• (fol. 124v) Nature strives to contravene the work of Death by multiplying the species (line 15,893). Man and woman together in bed, semi-circular chair beside bed, chest at foot of bed, floor covered in mat of plaited straw.
• (fol. 127v) Genius is hearing the confession of Nature: she laments her one great fault, the giving of life to men who constantly transgress her laws (line 16285).
• (fol. 131r) Nature and the Lover. Nature explains how God created the world (line 16729). Four trees. Small patch of blue sky with moon, sun and stars.
• (fol. 152r) Genius, dressed as a bishop, urges the assembled company to obey Nature’s laws and thus ensure the continuity of the human race (line 19505). His sermon, the eighth digression, occupies a further two thousand lines. To those who follow Nature’s commands he promises Paradise. On those who disobey he pronounces sentence of anathema.
• (fol. 162v) Pymalion sculpting his statue (line 20817). Pygmalion in short tunic leans over a table. He models the statue using a chisel, other tool on the table.
• (fol. 165r) Pygmalion embraces his statue which has come to life (line 21151). Two trees. Very defaced.
• (fol. 166r) Venus attacks the Tower of Shame: she shoots her fiery arrow at the shrine of the silver maiden ( line 21251).

Borders.

Initials.

Penwork initials.