Animal Imagery in the Text and Illustrations of the Roman de la Rose
Abstract
The text of the Roman de la Rose by Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun incorporates animal imagery drawn from many disparate sources including proverbs, the Bible, Ovid and other classical authors, histories, the Books of Beasts, and the Roman de Re-nart, especially in Jean de Meun's part of the poem. The illustrated Rose manuscripts reflect and extend these animal references in hundreds of framed miniatures and marginal drawings. Analysis of the animal imagery in the Rose text and of a generous sample of illustrations in Rose manuscripts demonstrates the distinctive textual and visual predilections and strategies of the Rose authors and illustrators and may also yield clues to the identity and tastes of the patrons of individual manuscripts.