Date: c. 1380
Medium: Manuscript
Author: Guillame de Lorris and Jean de Meun
Artist: Jean de Sy
Provenance: France
Current Location: The Morgan Library and Museum
“Ci est le Rommant de la Rose, Ou l’art d’Amors est tote enclose.”
“This is the Romance of the Rose, where the art of love is entirely enclosed.” (1)
The image shown above includes an illustration of the Old French epic poem, Roman de la Rose. The image shows the Lover, the protagonist of the poem, approaching a woman. She is the female personification of wealth. The man, with a youthful parting of the hair and simple dress, is clearly young. He is the stereotypical heroic “young lover” character. Lady Wealth, on the other hand, has her hair done up and wears a flowing, elegant gown. She is standing at the entrance of a castle. Her depiction in this image earns her her name. The text, apart from the letters being different, is written in Old French. In some ways it is very similar to modern French, in others it is an entirely different language.
This poem is a very important part of the Middle Ages’ romantic culture. It’s also potentially the most important piece written in the Old French vernacular, and it set a precedent for centuries to come. In the, we see the writers explore what it means to pursue love, and we also see that definition change over time and between authors. The original author, Guillaume de Lorris, began writing it around 1230.
In the poem, the Lover tells the story of a dream he had when he was twenty. In this dream, the Lover visits a garden and is struck by arrows from the God of Love. Because of this, he falls in love with one particular flower. After a stolen kiss, the guardians of the flower lock it away from the Lover. Guillaume de Lorris’ part of the poem tells a story with very high romantic ideals. It is, as he says in the intro, a story about the art of love (“l’art d’Amors”). That is the focus of the first part of the poem.
Then, about forty years later, a man named Jean de Meun finished the poem. In his part of the story, the Lover plucks the Rose.
"N'était la peur d'être blame/ Ou saisi, j'aurais, mais je n'ose,/ Cueilli de ma main une rose."
"There was no fear of being blamed/ Or seized up, that I had, then I dared to pluck from my hand a rose." (1)
The Lover plucks the rose, in a bawdy retelling, through deception. This is very different from the first author’s romantic ideals. In fact, all of part two is different. The second author’s part of the poem has much more to do with intellectual 13th century ideals, particularly with his personification of virtues. This shows the shift from romance to intellect in just forty years.
Nevertheless, this poem remains an interesting example of both idealistic romance and human nature. It deals with many issues that separate lovers even today, including parents/guardians, jealousy, avarice, lust, and envy.
http://www.themorgan.org/collection/Illuminating-Fashion/9
1. Lorris, G. and de Meung, J. Le roman de la rose. 2005, Project Gutenberg. Web. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16816/16816-h/16816-h.htm ( June 6, 2016)
Medium: Manuscript
Author: Guillame de Lorris and Jean de Meun
Artist: Jean de Sy
Provenance: France
Current Location: The Morgan Library and Museum
“Ci est le Rommant de la Rose, Ou l’art d’Amors est tote enclose.”
“This is the Romance of the Rose, where the art of love is entirely enclosed.” (1)
The image shown above includes an illustration of the Old French epic poem, Roman de la Rose. The image shows the Lover, the protagonist of the poem, approaching a woman. She is the female personification of wealth. The man, with a youthful parting of the hair and simple dress, is clearly young. He is the stereotypical heroic “young lover” character. Lady Wealth, on the other hand, has her hair done up and wears a flowing, elegant gown. She is standing at the entrance of a castle. Her depiction in this image earns her her name. The text, apart from the letters being different, is written in Old French. In some ways it is very similar to modern French, in others it is an entirely different language.
This poem is a very important part of the Middle Ages’ romantic culture. It’s also potentially the most important piece written in the Old French vernacular, and it set a precedent for centuries to come. In the, we see the writers explore what it means to pursue love, and we also see that definition change over time and between authors. The original author, Guillaume de Lorris, began writing it around 1230.
In the poem, the Lover tells the story of a dream he had when he was twenty. In this dream, the Lover visits a garden and is struck by arrows from the God of Love. Because of this, he falls in love with one particular flower. After a stolen kiss, the guardians of the flower lock it away from the Lover. Guillaume de Lorris’ part of the poem tells a story with very high romantic ideals. It is, as he says in the intro, a story about the art of love (“l’art d’Amors”). That is the focus of the first part of the poem.
Then, about forty years later, a man named Jean de Meun finished the poem. In his part of the story, the Lover plucks the Rose.
"N'était la peur d'être blame/ Ou saisi, j'aurais, mais je n'ose,/ Cueilli de ma main une rose."
"There was no fear of being blamed/ Or seized up, that I had, then I dared to pluck from my hand a rose." (1)
The Lover plucks the rose, in a bawdy retelling, through deception. This is very different from the first author’s romantic ideals. In fact, all of part two is different. The second author’s part of the poem has much more to do with intellectual 13th century ideals, particularly with his personification of virtues. This shows the shift from romance to intellect in just forty years.
Nevertheless, this poem remains an interesting example of both idealistic romance and human nature. It deals with many issues that separate lovers even today, including parents/guardians, jealousy, avarice, lust, and envy.
http://www.themorgan.org/collection/Illuminating-Fashion/9
1. Lorris, G. and de Meung, J. Le roman de la rose. 2005, Project Gutenberg. Web. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16816/16816-h/16816-h.htm ( June 6, 2016)