Romance of the Rose & Language of Birds

Cerulean

I enjoyed the beautiful "Language of Birds" essay and wondered what known literature of Romanesque times might also provide examples of allegory that may have later fed into the cards of image that many of us enjoy today. Romance of the Rose might qualify.

A small description of the author and work:

http://www.gardenvisit.com/b/lorris.htm

(this above advertises a CD of gardens)

Here's a sample 1380 illustration:

http://www.cottesimple.com/alms_purse/my_purse.html

Here's a sample of a circa 1400 French illustration:

http://www.getty.edu/art/collections/objects/o1700.html

I haven't been able to find the specific online images of the Romance of Rose that was in my calendar of Du Berry-quality series of French illustrations where Amor (Cupid), the Walled Garden, the Fountain of Youth, Birds, Lovers, Tower, etc...but hoped these links shown would convey the feeling I had...there's probably stronger connections to Romance of the Rose and perhaps trump allegory?

I was enchanted with a calendar that had illustrations from a completed version of the 1237 poem -- which predates Dante Algheri, but has many of his allegorical references that also crops up in historical courtly love literature. There's some summaries here of the Romance of the Rose...

http://www.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/medieval/rose.html

An interesting essay:
http://www.whitedragon.org.uk/articles/rose.htm

I'm interested in gathering history links of tarot and rose imagery, or perhaps
discussing more of the above to start...or what people think or know?

The Rose windows in early churches, I haven't even begun to touch on...

Regards,

Cerulean
 

Cerulean

Other images, discussion, sample verse

http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/pharos/collection_pages/middle_pages/MS.169/TXT_SE-MS.169.html

The introduction of 'allegorical archetypes' may be too far a reach...maybe others don't find it tarotlike enough...


Roman de la Rose, the Harry Robbins translation

1. The Poet dreams a dream

MANY a man holds dreams to be but lies,
All fabulous; but there have been some dreams
No whit deceptive, as was later found.
Well might one cite Macrobius, who wrote
The story of the Dream of Scipio,
And was assured that dreams are ofttimes true.
But, if someone should wish to say or think
'Tis fond and foolish to believe that dreams
Foretell the future, he may call me fool.
Now, as for me, I have full confidence
That visions are significant to man
Of good and evil. Many dream at night
Obscure forecasts of imminent events.

When I the age of twenty had attained--
The age when Love controls a young man's heart--
As I was wont, one night I went to bed
And soundly slept. But then there came a dream
Which much delighted me, it was so sweet.
No such thing which in that dream appeared
Has failed to find fulfillment in my life,
With which the vision well may be compared.
Now I'll recount this dream in verse, to make
Your hearts more gay, as Love commands and wills;
And if man or maid shall ever ask
By what name I would christen the romance
Which now I start, I will this answer make:
"The Romance of the Rose it is, and it enfolds
Within its compass all the Art of Love."
The subject is both good and new. God grant
That she for whom I write with favor look
Upon my work, for she so worthy is
Of love that well may she be called the Rose.

http://www.alittlebitofnotmuch.com/TAD/TL/The_Roman_de_la_Rose.html

Ah well, I'll keep my eyes out.

Thanks for looking at the thread even if you don't comment...it kind of nagged me that I never followed up on this idea for my own look into the Romance of the Rose...the idea was to look into early courtly love images and perhaps show an example of historical illumination of the mindset of the medieval allegory...

In my mind at least, this was a necessary threads that seem to explore as a bridge and link from the beautiful ideas of "The Language of Birds" and Romanesque church imagery--at least to me, a connection that becomes woven into historical threads that lead into the tapestry forming the 15th evolution of triumphi, tarocchi and tarot images.


Best wishes,

Cerulean

P.S. Excuse my rambling, as I could not find a thread that touched on this before...
 

Sophie

Cerulean,

I'm typing on my feet in a hotel lobby so I won't go on - I just wanted to say thank you for starting this thread, which I agree complements very well the lovely Language of Birds thread. You've given me the opportunity to return to the Romance of the Rose, which I hadn't done in years. As soon as I can do so comfortabley, I'll go through it and post on this thread. But keep giving us your reflections! I am reading them ;)

bonne nuit,
Helvetica
 

Cerulean

Allegorical personifications from lines 74-1425

In order of appearance:

Hatred

Felony

Villainy

Covetousness

Avarice

Envy

Sorrow

Old Age

Pope-Holiness

Poverty

Idleness

Diversion

Joy

Courtesy

God of Love

Sweet Looks

Arrows: Beauty; Simplicity; Openness, Company

Arrows: Pride, Villiany, Shame, Despair, New Thought

Beauty (person)

Wealth

Generosity

Openness

Courtesy

Idleness

Youth

....Narcissus is first mythological hero from there...

I don't know whether these characters could be considered 'trumplike'--perhaps contributing to the idea of having an allegorical cast or categorization of Vice and Virtue beings in an edenlike area assembled for tale that develops. (for there is a walled garden setting, castle tower, etc., as the story unfolds.) The 'hero' (spoken in first person) is very attracted harmonious singing in the walled garden--it is the birds, "three times as many birds in the kingdom of France..."

Regards,

Cerulean
 

Diana

Thanks for this thread.

It makes the sometimes tiresome efforts of panning for gold on Aeclectic worthwhile.
 

Moonbow

Cerulean

Wonderful thread, do you know of any site which shows more of the poem?
 

Cerulean

Romance of the Rose online experimental sites

1. Some excerpts at a Geoffrey Chaucer site for Romance of the Rose (the author of Romance of the Rose is Guillaume de Loris):

http://www.courses.fas.harvard.edu/~chaucer/canttales/monkt/rom-trag.html


2.Sometimes portions of the experimental site below is not available and I just found it today. But I couldn't access the manuscripts yet.


http://rose.mse.jhu.edu/pages/main_frameset.htm



If I find a better or more full translation (I'm going to search project Gutenberg next week after I return from vacation)...

If someone else has found something related or has comments, that'll be lovely to see when I return.
 

jmd

moderating note...

...I have split the posts that were moving into less specific domains on Sophia and Gnosticism into its own thread:


 
CHESS and Tarot? Readable cousin of Tarot?