Jean, de Meun, approximately 1240-approximately 1305. Roman de la Rose. Verses 4059-7230 Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery. Manuscript. HM 902
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Description
ff. 1-135. [Guillaume de Lorris; Jean de Meun] Roman de la Rose. Incipit: Meintes gens cuident que en songes/ N'ait se flabes non et menchonges. Explicit: A tant fuz jor et je m'esveille. Explicit le romans de la Rose ou l'art d'amors est toute enclose. French. E. Langlois, ed., Le Roman de la Rose par Guillaume de Lorris et Jean de Meun. Société des anciens textes français, 5 v. (Paris 1914-24); this manuscript in Langlois' group II both for the Guillaume de Lorris section (f. 17vb, three guardians) and for the Jean de Meun continuation (f. 50a, presence of interpolated verses between vv. 8178-8179); see E. Langlois, Les manuscrits du Roman de la Rose, description et classement (Lille 1910), this manuscript not included. f. 135v. [Computistic material, fragment]. Incipit: //[Qui v]eut quarante jours conter/ [De Pa]sques si pourra trouver. Explicit: Doit estre fait sans sejour/ De ces ii jours le derrein jour. French. R. J. Dean,"A Fourteenth-Century Manuscript of Le Roman de la Rose and a Fragment of Le Compot: Huntington Manuscript 902," Medium Aevum 12 (1943) 18-24, identifying and printing this text. Title from printed catalog. Support: Parchment. Script: Gothic. Layout: 1-4¹² 5¹⁰(text complete) 6-11¹² 12¹⁰(-4, 6-8, 10). Catchwords in lower right margin, enclosed in simple ink frames when done by scribe i, or in fanciful animals when done by scribe iii; also by scribe iii, catchwords internal to the quires in a small noting hand, e.g. ff. 71v, 72v, 77v, 78v, 81v, 90v. Quire and leaf signatures, except on the first and the last 3 quires, in red ink in roman numerals: (i de ii, cropped), ii de ii, iii de ii . . . ii de ix, iii de ix (remainder no longer present); quire 5, although now of 10 leaves and with complete text, must have been planned and signed before being written, since it bears the signatures: i de v, ii de v, iii de v, (iiii de v, missing), v de v, vi de v. 2 columns of 35-45 lines, ruled in lead with triple bounding lines to the left of each column; some pricking visible as groups of 3 parallel slashes in upper and lower margins. Span folios: ff. 1-135v. Other Decoration: Opening initial, f. 1, 7-line, in blue with void leaf pattern against red hatching, and a blue and red cascade along the text; 2-line initials in blue with red flourishing, or in red, usually lacking penwork, but sometimes with blue or purple flourishing; some 2-line initials in purple with red flourishing; 1-line initials washed in yellow; rubrics in red; spaces reserved for a 13-line miniature on f. 1, and for other miniatures, 10- to 4-line. Some sketched decoration on top-line ascenders and bottom-line descenders on the folios written by scribe ii; with scribe iii, from f. 70v on, occasional simplistic drawings in the lower margin, e.g. f. 95v, a man's head in profile; f. 97, a knight and his horse; f. 101, a mermaid and a jester (?); f. 110v, a woman with a bird on her hat, walking towards a pot of flowers. Assigned Date: s. XIV1. Input into Digital Scriptorium by: C. W. Dutschke, 7/30/2012. Cataloged from existing description: C. W. Dutschke with the assistance of R. H. Rouse et al., Guide to Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the Huntington Library (San Marino, 1989). Bound, s. XIX, in green velvet over wooden boards; gilt edges. HM 902. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
Illuminations (Paintings) France 14th century. (aat) Decorated initials France 14th century. (aat) Romances. (lcgft) Bookplates (Provenance) (rbprov) Manuscripts (documents) (aat)
Source
Manuscripts, Huntington Digital Library
Provenance
Belonged to William Constable-Maxwell, 10th Lord Herries (1804-76), whose bookplate is on the front pastedown; in 1870 it was seen and noted by J. Stevenson in the 1st Report of the HMC, Appendix, p. 45. Subsequently it belonged to the 11th Lord Herries' daughter, the Duchess of Norfolk, who disposed of a portion of the manuscript collection, ca. 1912 (see De Ricci,"Bibliotheca Britannica Manuscripta: a survey of manuscript material existing in the British Isles; preliminary biliography," photocopy at Huntington Library from handwritten card index at University of London). Sold by W. H. Robinson, Cat. 12 (Newcastle 1925) n. 813. Acquired by Henry E. Huntington in June 1925.
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