The book of the dear heart
The book of the loving heart (French Le Livre du cœur d'amour épris ) is an allegorical novel written around 1457 by Duke René I of Anjou .
content
The novel is written partly in prose, partly in pairs of rhyming verses. In the tradition of the rose novel , the characters are characters like Espérance (hope), Jalousie (jealousy), Tristesse (sadness), Courroux (anger), Grief Soupir (deep sigh) and many others. The locations of the action also have names such as Forêt de Longue-Attente (forest of long waiting) or Schloss Bon-Repos (good rest).
Cupid takes the heart of the sleeping poet, which personified as the knight Cœur has to endure a series of adventures in order to free the lady Douce-Merci (sweet thanks) from the power of her jailers Refus (rejection), Honte (shame) and Crainte (fear) to free. The knight is accompanied by the squire Ardent Désir (burning desire).
Manuscripts
Six manuscripts from the 15th century have survived, four of which are in Paris (three in the Bibliothèque nationale and one in the Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal ), one in the Austrian National Library in Vienna and one in the Vatican Library .
Codex Vindobonensis 2597
This manuscript is best known for its sixteen magnificent miniatures. The miniature painter was unknown for a long time and was therefore given the emergency name Cœur-Meister. Occasionally, it has even been suggested that they were painted by René himself. Today it is certain that Barthélemy d'Eyck is the Cœur master.
Particularly noteworthy is the virtuoso representation of the lighting conditions, for example in the night scenes (miniatures I, IV, XVI), the depictions of sunrise (miniatures V, XI, XIII) and dusk (miniature XIV).
The manuscript was created between 1457 and 1470 and consists of 127 sheets of parchment in quarto format (290 × 207 mm). It is unfinished; in addition to the sixteen miniatures that have been completed, there is space for 29 more.
The earliest known owner was Prince Eugene of Savoy . After his death in 1736 it was taken over by Emperor Karl VI. bought and came into the imperial court library. In 1809 it was brought to Paris and returned in 1814/15.
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, fr. 24399
This manuscript was written around 1460 and probably illuminated some twenty years later by an unknown master (“Master of the Parisian Cœur d'amour épris”). In contrast to the Viennese manuscript, all miniatures are executed here: there are a total of 68, of which the first sixteen correspond exactly to the pictorial program of the Viennese manuscript. However, the quality of the miniatures is lower.
literature
- Franz Unterkircher : René d'Anjou: From the heart full of love . Academic Printing and Publishing Company, Graz 1975, ISBN 3-201-00936-9 .
- Eberhard König: The heart that has burned in love. The Vienna Codex and the painter Barthélemy d'Eyck . Academic Printing and Publishing Company , Graz 1996, ISBN 3-201-01651-9 .
