[Sidenote:
_Wool and Silk._
H. 8 _ft._ 4 _in._
W. 20 _ft._ 4 _in._
]
[Sidenote: Formerly in Skipton Castle, Ireland.]
SCENES FROM THE ROMAN DE LA ROSE: _This piece illustrates one of the most
popular romances of the Middle Ages, the Romance of the Rose, the first
part of which was written in 1337 by Guillaume de Lorris, the second part
in_ 1378 _by Jean de Meung, and translated into English by Chaucer. The
culminating scenes are represented. Jealousy has imprisoned Bel Acceuil
in a tower because he helped the Lover see the Rose after Jealousy had
forbidden it. The Lover calls all his followers, Frankness, Honor, Riches,
Nobility of Heart, Leisure, Beauty, Courage, Kindness, Pity, and a host of
others, to aid him in rescuing the prisoner. In the course of the struggle
Scandal, one of Jealousy's henchmen, is trapped by two of the Lover's
followers posing as Pilgrims, who cut his throat and cut out his tongue.
With the aid of Venus, the Lover finally wins._
[Sidenote: Exhibited:
_Chicago Art Institute, Gothic Exhibition_, 1921.]
The piece is very close in drawing to the illustrations of the Master of
the Golden Fleece,[2] whom Lindner has identified as Philip de Mazarolles.
The long bony, egg-shaped heads that look as if the necks were attached
as an afterthought, the shoe-button eyes, flat mouths, and peaked noses
all occur in his many illustrations. Characteristic of him, too, are
the crowded grouping of the scene and the great care in presenting the
accessories, every gown being an individual design, whereas many of
his contemporary illustrators contented themselves with rendering the
general style without variations. The conventional trees are probably the
weaver's interpolations. The top of the tapestry being gone, there is no
possibility of knowing whether his customary architectural background was
included or not.
[Sidenote: Lent by _P. W. French & Company_.]
The tapestry is interesting, not only because it is quaint, but because
it is a vivid illustration of the spirit of the time--virile, cruel, yet
self-consciously moralistic.
[Sidenote: 5]