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Envy from BL Royal 19 B XIII, f. 6v

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Envy from BL Royal 19 B XIII, f. 6v

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Summary

Detail of a miniature of Envie (Envy) looking at a pair of lovers. Image taken from f. 6v of Roman de la Rose. Written in French.

The BL Royal Manuscript Collection, also known as the Royal Collection, consists of over 2,000 manuscripts that were once owned by the British monarchs, including English and later British kings and queens from the late 12th to the 19th centuries. These manuscripts are notable for their historical and artistic value.

The collection was initially stored in various royal libraries and palaces, such as the Tower of London and Westminster Palace. During the English Civil War in the 17th century and the subsequent Interregnum, many royal treasures, including manuscripts, were dispersed and sold. Some manuscripts were lost, destroyed, or ended up in private hands.

In 1757, King George II donated the Old Royal Library to the British Museum (which later became the British Library), where the manuscripts were integrated into the museum's collections. This marked the formal establishment of the Royal Manuscript Collection within the British Museum.

Roman de la Rose was one of the most widely read works in France for three centuries, and possibly the most read book in Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries. The work started around 1220, possibly by Guillaume de Lorris, and continued later by Jean de Meun: between 1269 and 1278. This particular manuscript was copied from a printed edition published at Lyon, probably around 1487. "Romance of the Rose" was both popular and controversial provoking attacks of many writers and moralists of the 14th and 15th centuries. The medieval French poem styled as an allegorical dream vision with a purpose to entertain and to teach others about the Art of Love. The "Rose" of the title is seen as the name of the lady and as a symbol of female sexuality in general. The other characters' names also serve as abstractions of the various factors that are involved in a love affair. Its emphasis on sensual language. Historian Johan Huizinga writes: "It is astonishing that the Church, which so rigorously repressed the slightest deviations from dogma of a speculative character, suffered the teaching of this breviary of the aristocracy (for the Roman de la Rose was nothing else) to be disseminated with impunity." About 320 manuscripts of the text survive, nearly 200 of these are illustrated.

date_range

Date

1200 - 1500
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Source

British Library
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Copyright info

Public Domain

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guillaume de lorris and jean de meun
guillaume de lorris and jean de meun