Lorris, Guillaume de (c. 1200-1240) & Jean de Meun (1240-1305)
Cy est le Rommant de la Roze.
Paris: On les vend en la grant salle du palais au premier pillier en la bouticque de Galliot du Pré, libraire iure de l'universite, 1531.
Third edition of Clément Marot's (1496-1544) text, this issue bearing only du Pré's name on title, and woodcut device on final leaf, illustrated with a large woodcut at the head of the prologue and fifty-nine smaller text woodcuts, printed in lettres batardes type throughout, in two columns, title page printed within woodcut border, text on title page printed in red and black; bound in later green parchment over boards with tanned leather corners, cloth ties, title very slightly cropped at foot, small hole in S3, light stain in inner margin throughout, binding neatly rebacked, 10 3/4 x 7 1/4 in.
A tale begun by de Lorris, continued by de Meun, freely adapted by Marot, and then wrought again by Chaucer into his enduring tale, The Roman de la Rose was something of a medieval and renaissance crowd-sourced project. It is the timeless story of the lover's quest, and tells its tale in sensual verse with thinly veiled sexual language. Gaston Paris described the work as "an encyclopedia in disorder." Its popularity is without question, with approximately 300 medieval manuscript versions, and seven incunabula editions, and always a favorite with readers, especially when illustrated.
Brunet III 1175 & Supplement I 892; Fairfax Murray French 330; Adams L-1519.
From the Ken Rapoport Collection.
