Medieval & Renaissance Manuscripts

Roman de la Rose
France, Paris, between 1340 and 1350
MS M.48 fol. 150r

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Trinity: Mercy Seat -- God, cross-nimbed, seated on bench, supports arms of tau-cross, to which Christ, nimbed, eyes closed, head inclined, wearing long loin cloth, bleeding from wounds in hands, side and feet, is affixed with three nails, and above which dove of Holy Ghost descends toward the Christ’s head, all flanked by husband and son on left and wife and daughter on right..
Scene against diapered background, within decorated pink and blue frame decorated with foliate tendrils on two sides.
Margins decorated with rectilinear bars of ivy leaves and inhabited by hound on left and rabbit on right in lower margin (bas-de-page).
Below miniature, rubric caption of scene, CI CO(M)MENCE LI TESTAMENT MAISTRE JEAN DE MEUN QU’EST APPELE LI PEREZ ET LI FILZ ET LI SAI(N)T ESP(R)IT.
Below rubric, champide initial L of Li in left column with foliate ornament and tendrils, at beginning of text of Jean de Meun, Le Testament, LI PERES ET LE FILZ / ET LE SAINS ESPERIS / UN DIEU EN TROIS PERSONNES.