Image, manuscript, print : Le Roman de la rose, ca. 1481-1538

This thesis examines the transmission and reception of images in Le Roman de la rose manuscripts and printed editions of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Through in-depth case studies, I analyse how illustrators, editors, and readers used printed imagery in Rose books ca. 1481-1538, during the period of Rose printed edition production, exploring wider cross-disciplinary issues concerning the history of the book, the relationship between word and image, and readership practices following the advent of French printing. I argue that the mobility of printed imagery, which was facilitated in part by the wider dissemination of woodcuts in workshops, influenced the form and function of images in books. In addition, I problematize the 'transition' from manuscript to print in the later Middle Ages, through an investigation of artisans' personal and professional collaborations and evidence of image sharing between hand-illustrated and printed books. Bookmakers and readers used printed imagery in fascinating ways in books, appropriating and modifying woodcuts in order to engage with certain subjects and motifs. Readers' visual responses to books are under-examined, and I assess how readers' drawings add insight into their understanding of printed editions and those editions' visual iconography. French books contain a large body of evidence pertaining to image production and reception, but printed imagery is often overlooked, despite its potential to shed light on the practices of illustrators, editors, and readers. I provide new strategies for examining patterns of printed image production, circulation, and reception in the visual presentations of manuscripts and printed editions of this period. I also deepen understanding of the Rose and its consumption in the later Middle Ages and Renaissance, probing the role of images in books.