Romance of The Rose Vatican Library Book Repro

Reproduction from the 13th Century

The Vatican Library Urb. lat 376

Integral reproduction of the manuscript in its orginal format. 

Comes in a Beautiful box  and book cover is leather.

From its first apperance, the Romance of the Rose, in old French, was read widely. Any estimate of the number of manuscripts preserved would be uncertain and the printing press at its start tirelessly distributed the text.      No one remained indifferent to the story: readers loved it or hated it. Many of the manuscripts were read and reread: others damaged by outraged readers. For this reason well preserved manuscripts, abundantly illustrated and written with care, are rare. No one can say which of the surviving manuscripts is the oldest, but none of those which have came down to us originated in the immediate circles of the authors.

Among those which dated from the 13th century, this manuscript is a prize. It was made with particular care: it contains 93 miniatures rather then the usual 12 and its initial letters have a certain expressive elan. It is not known when it was added to the Urbino Library which was transferred to the Vatican Library in 1657.

An inscription at the end of this manuscript attests to its orgin: it is signed by Berthaud d"Achy. He is believed to have been a calligrapher and an illuminator who lived and worked in the circle of the University of Paris. 

 Condition: NEW By Belser Incoporated Publishers in 1986