PART II—
PERSONIFICATIONS AND ALLEGORIES AS COGNITIVE AND MNEMONIC SUBJECT GUIDES:
THE PROGRAMS OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN CHARLES V'S COPIES OF THE LIVRE D'ÉTHIQUES

4—
Preliminary Considerations

Oresme's Identification of His Readers

Among the valuable information contained in Oresme's prologues to his translations of the Ethics and the Politics is his identification of the readers and the functions of the works.^[1] In stressing the universal and historical authority of the works, Oresme insists on the primacy among the Philosopher's writings of these texts.^[2] Regarding them as two halves of one work, Oresme describes the Ethics as a "livre de bonnes meurs" (book of good morals), aiding the individual to live the good life, while he designates the Politics as the guide to the "art et science de gouverner royaumes et citéz et toutes communitéz" (the art and science of governing kingdoms and cities and all other communities).^[3] The two are interconnected inasmuch as the goal of the political community is to help the citizens to lead the best life defined in the Ethics , while the Politics is concerned with the systematic study of the ideal political community.

In praising God for providing his people with a ruler "plain de si grant sagesce" (full of such great wisdom), Oresme identifies Charles V as the most crucial member of his audience. For, the translator asserts, after the Catholic faith, nothing is more beneficial to the king's subjects than a knowledge of the Ethics , which teaches an individual to be a "bon homme" (good man).^[4] Thus, Oresme rightly establishes a context for the translations within the tradition of Mirror of Princes texts: both the Ethics and Politics are deeply concerned with the education of the young and the conduct of rulers.

Oresme's prologue to the Ethiques mentions not only the prince but his counsellors as readers who will profit from study of these works. Since the Politics deals with the science of government, Oresme links knowledge of these texts with the common good: "ceste science appartient par especial et principalment as princes et a leurs conseilliers" (this knowledge concerns first and foremost princes and their counsellors).^[5] Oresme goes on to say that the study of all books brings about "affeccion et amour au bien publique, qui est la meilleur qui puisse estre en prince et en ses conseilliers, après l'amour de Dieu" (attachment to and love for the public good, which is the best kind of love a prince and his counsellors could have after the love of God).^[6]

In addition, Oresme includes an unnamed group, identified only as "autres" (others), who will also profit by French versions of the Ethics and Politics , since the Latin texts are so difficult to understand:

[Full Size]

Figure 5
Charles V Reads in His Study.  John of Salisbury, Le policratique.

le Roy a voulu, pour le bien commun, faire les translater en françois, afin que il et ses conseilliers et autres les puissent mieulx entendre, mesmement Ethiques et Politiques , desquels, comme dit est, le premier aprent estre bon homme et l'autre estre bon prince.

(The king has desired for the sake of the common good to have them translated into French, so that he and his counsellors and others might better understand them, especially the Ethics and the Politics , of which, as they say, the first teaches one to be a good man and the second, a good prince.)^[7]

In short, Oresme identifies his "autres" as persons of influence with little knowledge of Latin. Their understanding of the texts in French translation will benefit the common good. Thus, the moral and social values of the texts make the translations instruments of benevolent public policy. As noted previously, other passages of the Ethiques prologue declare that as these works were transmitted from Greece to Rome, so now they are translated into French. Under enlightened monarchic patronage, the translations of Aristotle's writings form part of a translatio studii directed to an informed circle of French readers.

Throughout the fifteenth century, the subsequent readership of the translations generally belonged to the groups mentioned by Oresme. Later manuscripts of Oresme's translations were owned by members of the royal family, royal counsellors, members of the nobility, and the municipal government of Rouen.^[8] Not surprisingly, the number of manuscripts of the Ethiques, Politiques , and Yconomique —with one printed edition by Vérard dating from 1488 to 1489—is relatively small, compared to such popular works as the French versions of Valerius Maximus or Livy. Monfrin cites twenty-one manuscripts of the Ethiques , seventeen of the Politiques , and ten of the Yconomique .^[9] Then, as now, the market for scholarly books was limited. The difficult subject matter and the learned nature of Oresme's word-for-word translations and their extensive commentary certainly contributed to their limited popularity. Historical texts with strong narrative threads or anecdotal features obviously had greater appeal as recreational reading than weighty works by the Philosopher. Nevertheless, illustrated copies of the Ethics, Politics , and Economics were not only collected but consulted throughout the fifteenth century.

Reading the Translations

Although the intended audience for Oresme's translations of the Ethics and Politics is easily identified, it is less clear how these books were read and used. If definitive answers are lacking, some suggestions can be made by piecing together different types of evidence. As for the primary audience, Charles V himself, several miniatures in vernacular works show him as a solitary, silent reader in his study (Figs. 4 and 5).^[10] The frontispieces of manuscripts in the king's library represent him immersed in the perusal of Oresme's Traitié de l'espere and the Foulechat translation of John of Salisbury's Policraticus .^[11] Furthermore, the dedication frontispiece of A shows in the lower left quadrilobe a king and his associates with books in front of them listening to a lecture (Fig. 7).^[12] Here the point is that the king and his companion read individually from their own copies of the text discussed by the lecturer. The miniature of the frontispiece also illustrates the following passage from Oresme's Ethiques prologue: "Et en puet l'en bien dire ce mot de l'Escripture : 'Audiens sapiens sapientior erit'—'le sage sera plus sage de oÿr ceste science'" (And in this regard one can well cite this phrase of Scripture [Prov. 1:5]: 'Audiens sapiens sapientior erit'—the wise man will become even wiser from hearing this knowledge).^[13] Both the text and the image suggest that individual reading was supplemented by oral explication of the text.^[14]

In addition, the contemporary political treatise Le songe du vergier , a translation commissioned by Charles V and completed in 1378, notes that daily the king "lit ou fait lire devant luy de Ethyques, de Pollitiques ou de Yconomiques, ou d'autres moralités, pour savoir que appartient au gouvernement de tout seigneur naturel" (reads or has read to him [parts of] the Ethics and the Politics , and the Economics , or other moral treatises, to know what is important for the task of anyone who is born to rule).^[15] Christine de Pizan relates that especially in winter the king "se occupoit souvent à ouir lire de diverses belles hystoires de la Sainte Escripture, ou des Fais des Romains , ou Moralités de philosophes et d'autres sciences jusques à heure de soupper" (often spent his time listening to readings from various stories drawn from Holy Scripture, or the Deeds of the Romans , or the Moral Reflections of Philosophers and other books of knowledge until the supper hour).^[16] Readings from the Ethics , a source of both earlier and contemporary Mirror of Princes texts, belong to the category of moral teachings mentioned in the passage cited above and this one: "Item , et lui, comme circonspect en toutes choses, pour l'aournement de sa conscience, maistres en theologie et divinité et touz ordrez d'Eglise lui plot souvent ouir en ses collacions, leurs sermons escouter, avoir entour soy" (Item, and he, ever attentive to whatever might further improve his mind, liked to surround himself with masters in theology and divinity, and all clerical orders of the Church, to hear their conversation at table, and to listen to their sermons).^[17] Christine repeats in her Livre de la paix that Charles V was in the habit of "souvent ouir, et à certaines heures et jours leccons de sapience" (often listening on specific days and hours to readings from books of wisdom).^[18]

Charles V's enjoyment of intellectual interaction with members of his entourage described by Christine is confirmed in two prologues of translations commissioned by him. A passage in the prologue to the Songe du vergier refers to a past controversy: "Et, mon tres redoubté Seigneur, en la presance de Vostre Majesté ceste doubte a esté aultre foiz disputée, par maniere d'esbatement et de collacion" (And, my most revered lord, in the presence of your majesty this question was debated once before at table and in a lighter vein).^[19] Oral discussion is mentioned by Raoul de Presles in the dedicatory epistle of his City of God translation. At the end of his narrative on the origins of the oriflamme, he interjects the phrase "comme vous m'avez oy raconter" (as you have heard me tell).^[20]

It is known, too, that there were officially designated lecteurs du roi , who read and explained texts to the king. Vincent of Beauvais fulfilled this function for St. Louis.^[21] Christine de Pizan tells us that Gilles Malet, Charles V's librarian and valet de chambre , was a favorite reader of the king.^[22] Thus, the custom of public oral reading and explication at the French court had a considerable tradition.

Charles V may have particularly requested oral explication from Oresme on certain passages or questions relating to difficult or intriguing matters. For example, a Quaestio added by Oresme to his commentary on a passage from Book IX of the Ethics is one of the few lengthy interpolations he inserted into the text.^[23] The discussion, choosing one of three worthy persons to be saved from execution, is a topic Oresme may have included for his patron's benefit, as it lends itself to oral argument and debate.^[24] In this case, Oresme could have used as points for

discussion the elaborate inscriptions that form a kind of internal dialogue within the miniature.

Indeed, the inscriptions that are a distinctive feature of the miniature cycles in A and C can furnish important clues on how the books were read. Embedded within the pictorial field and emphasized by a banderole, the inscriptions act as a reference, locating or summarizing a key concept, unfamiliar term, or neologism (Fig. 12). Guided by the inscriptions, the reader can consult the explanation furnished by the translator in the chapter titles preceding the miniature, the glossary of difficult words, or the index of noteworthy subjects placed at the end of the text.

The inscriptions also allow the reader to connect verbal information with the concrete imagery of the miniatures. An analogue to the vernacular language, in many cases the pictorial representation translates abstract ideas or terms borrowed from Latin into familiar visual modes. Such visual language includes personification and allegorical figures arranged in a coherent structure and clothed in contemporary dress. A preference for concrete visual imagery may correspond to the mental habits of readers accustomed to similar use of language in the vernacular.^[25] The inscriptions may also have played a crucial role in forming associations between the verbal and the visual by singling out words as memory devices, perhaps for oral repetition by the reader. The persistence of aural habits of reading, or lectio , may have encouraged sounding out a word featured in the inscription to locate, associate, and assimilate the verbal concept with visual imagery.^[26]

As was discussed in the previous chapter, scholars have recently recognized the cognitive and affective powers assigned to images in medieval faculty psychology and scholastic memory treatises. V. A. Kolve stresses the role of memory in making mental images the road to understanding and retaining verbal concepts.^[27] Sight and hearing are separate pathways to the castle of Lady Memory, a metaphor used by Richard de Fournivall and illustrated in an early fourteenth-century French manuscript of Li bestiaires d'amour (Fig. 18).^[28] Referring in part to Frances Yates's seminal work, The Art of Memory , Kolve emphasizes that Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas assign to visual images the ability to fix general concepts in the mind by attaching them to specific details and places located within an imagined geographical or architectural structure.^[29] Moreover, the great scholastics find in visual images affective powers that can move the soul to positive ethical action.

The inscriptions and images of Charles V's illustrated copies of the Ethiques unite through their functions as memory aids the verbal concept and its visual realization within a clearly defined pictorial field. In fact, an architectural memory gateway, similar to that of the Fournivall miniature, is a distinctive feature of the cycle in MS A .

In short, reading Oresme's translations may have combined individual study and oral explication. In view of the long intellectual relationship between Charles V and Oresme, as well as of the limited time available for the king and his counsellors to make their way through the lengthy and weighty translations, oral explications of crucial sections of the text by Oresme seem plausible. In both processes, the illustrations—particularly the inscriptions—had important didactic and mnemonic functions.

Three Modes of Illustration

The analyses of the pictorial cycles in Charles V's copies of the Ethiques (A and C ), and also of the Politiques and the Yconomique (B and D ), assume the illustrations' general functions as visual definitions and re-presentations of abstract ideas.^[30] As noted above, the illustrations rely on well-known representational modes of embodying abstract ideas to define key ideas in the text. In all the miniatures of the Ethiques program, personifications constitute the basic unit of representation. Individual miniatures are generally placed on the same folio as the list of chapter titles to permit the reader's quick identification of the principal subjects discussed. Not only inscriptions but also attributes or appropriate costumes facilitate association of the personification with the verbal concept. Interpretation of the personification's psychological or moral character may be limited. In A and C the typical Christian iconography of the virtues, or of other suitable personifications, is adapted without explicit reference to the text's classical and pagan content. Personifications appear as laconic subject guides in Books III, IV, and VIII of A .

A second category of illustrations, personification allegories of virtues or of other abstract philosophical ideas discussed, occurs in the cycles of both A and C . The term personification allegory here connotes a more active animation or profound psychological characterization of the personifications than that of the table of contents type.^[31] Of course, the personification allegory also functions as a visual table of contents, but it defines moral or spiritual relationships among several personifications. Personification allegories emphasize unfamiliar notions in the text by extended visual metaphors, in which kinship is frequently employed as a device to explain underlying relationships of identity, power, and social standing. Such imagery tends to be more novel and ambitious than that of simple personification.

The last category of Ethiques illustrations, the decision allegory, involves a moral or spiritual choice on the part of a personification or other figure. Erwin Panofsky uses the term to characterize the illustrations in Book VII of A and C (Figs. 35 and 36).^[32] The only other instance of a decision allegory occurs in the exceptional miniature for Book IX in C (Fig. 41). Of the three categories of illustrations in the Ethiques cycle, the decision allegory is the most unusual.

Visual Redefinitions and the Functions of the Manuscripts

Although the three categories of illustrations appear in both A and C , they are used as visual definitions in varying frequency and complexity. To make the point another way, the visual definitions of A are redefined in almost every instance. Why do these changes occur in two such closely related manuscripts executed for the same patron? An important clue comes from the different functions of A and C within Charles V's library. In its large size (318 × 216 mm) and every aspect of its appearance, A is a luxury presentation copy intended for consultation in the king's library and not for circulation.^[33] Gold and colors are lavished on the orna-

mental capitals, the vignettes, and the eleven miniatures. An elaborate layout borrowed from thirteenth- and fourteenth-century manuscripts on canon and civil law separates the text, written in two narrow columns of thirty-five lines per folio, from Oresme's surrounding commentary (Fig. 11). The formality of design expresses the luxurious nature of the book. Finished after 1372, A is a magnificent testimony to Charles V's enlightened patronage. In A only two of the eleven illustrations occupy the width of the entire text block in a half-page, almost-square format. While the scribe has been identified only as associated with Raoulet d'Orléans, the miniaturist is known as the second Master of the Bible of Jean de Sy, also called the Boqueteaux Master. Greatly favored by Charles V, this illuminator and his shop, who also participated in the illustration of B , produced a series of lively and expressive miniatures of generally high quality.

In contrast, C is smaller in size (218 × 152 mm). Like its companion volume D containing the Politics and Economics translations by Oresme, C is considered to have served as a portable volume designed as a pocketbook.^[34] Written by the well-known and official scribe of Charles V, Raoulet d'Orléans, as was D, C is altogether more modest than A . In C , text and commentary are intermingled in a two-column format, while the ornamental decoration is more limited and figures are represented in grisaille enhanced by color washes. Indeed, the presumed function of C as a "reading copy" for the king accounts for the changes in its program from its model, A . The didactic character of the C cycle is marked. For example, a wordier series of inscriptions gives more information about the contents of each book, and the format and size of the miniatures also expand. Not only virtues (as in A ) but their opposing vices are represented in the illustration for Books III and IV in C . Indeed, all the illustrations of C act as frontispieces for each book and occupy the width of the text block. The redefinitions and expansion of the program in Books I through V of C made the dimensions of the miniatures inadequate. As a result of overcrowding, the vertical dimensions of the miniatures for Books VI through X gradually increased. Dated 1376, C chiefly represents the work of the miniaturist known as the Master of the Coronation of Charles VI.^[35]

Differences between the programs of A and C may have arisen from reactions to the first manuscript by patron and translator. In some instances, Charles V may have judged that certain miniatures in A did not advance the reader's understanding of the text. Colophons and other evidence reveal that the king took an active part in specifying and correcting texts and illustrations that he himself commissioned.^[36] It is, therefore, possible that the incentive for a revised program of illustrations came from Charles V. Indeed, the king may have made specific recommendations to Oresme, for the difficult text of the Ethics is the first lengthy work Oresme translated to require a program of illustrations. Oresme may have lacked time, experience—or both—to provide detailed instructions to the illuminator. For those books in the Ethics for which iconography and models existed without additional adaptation, Oresme may have thought that only brief instructions were necessary. For those that demanded more explicit indications for definition of more unfamiliar concepts or terms, his instructions may have been misunderstood by the illuminator. Or perhaps Oresme did not foresee the precise visual form of

the translation of his instructions. Still another explanation is that Oresme may have relied too heavily on the scribe or supervisor of the book without allotting time for revisions.

Certain features of C support these suggestions. For one thing, by 1376, by which date C was produced, Oresme had designed the program of miniatures for B . The counterpart of A, B is the first illustrated copy of Oresme's French translations of the Politics and Economics executed for Charles V^[37] and is only slightly later in date than the Ethiques .^[38] The program of B is far more elaborate than that of A , indications both of the greater importance of the Politiques text and Oresme's greater experience as designer by the time C and D , Charles V's second illustrated copies of the Ethiques, Politiques , and Yconomique , were revised. Perhaps because of Oresme's knowledge of the production process, the D cycle does not show extensive revisions from its model B in the same pattern followed by C and A .

The scribe Raoulet d'Orléans was also involved in the production of C and D . He was a highly competent and experienced practitioner who probably supervised the conversion of the elaborate layouts of A and B to a simpler and less expensive format. An example of Raoulet's importance is his ingenious intervention to explain verbally certain obscure features of an important illustration revised in D .^[39] Raoulet must also have had a role in responding to the internal revisions of C , when the inadequate scale of the first five miniatures was greatly enlarged in the second half of the book to accommodate the expanded program. Thus, the process of visual redefinition is a complex one, in which translator, patron, scribe, and illuminators played significant, if not clearly designated, parts. Although the reasons and process underlying the extensive visual redefinitions of A remain conjectural, the didactic nature of the revisions in C is obvious. For one thing, the more restrictive quadrilobe format of the A miniatures gives way in C to rectangular or square pictures that occupy the width of the text block. This expanded field allows space for more inscriptions and figures. Moreover, a two-register format in seven of the C illustrations and a three-tiered arrangement in another are indications of a more complex program.

The didactic character of the C program leads not only to more elaborate verbal information and division of the pictorial field but also to a redistribution of the three representational modes established in A . Apart from the dedication miniatures, there are five personification allegories in A , but only three in C . Instead, in C , a preference for complete subject guides is obvious. In Books III and IV vices accompany the appropriate virtues, while in Books VI and VIII examples drawn from everyday life are sometimes juxtaposed with personifications. Yet the climactic image of C is a monumental personification allegory of unusual aesthetic quality and intellectual complexity. Overall, the program of C strives for "the whole picture" in terms of expanded visual tables of contents combined with consistency in details of costume and attributes. In a class by itself, however, is the decision allegory for Book IX mentioned above. Because of experiments with the complex process of re-editing and redefining verbal and visual relationships in C , the deliberate didacticism of the program does not always meet the goal of more complete or more profound interpretation of the text.

5—
Dedication Frontispieces (Book I)

The Dedication Portrait and Frontispiece of the Prologue in MS A

A comparison of the dedication scene of C with those of A reveals a different approach to illustration. All three, however, belong to the intimate type of dedication portraits, marked by the direct communication of the king with authors or translators, without the intervention of courtiers or officials.^[1] The intimate dedication portrait confirms the king's intellectual character and his enjoyment of the company of the writers and translators in his entourage. The close relationship between Charles and Oresme, for example, is documented in the dedication scene of Oresme's translation of Ptolemy's Quadripartitum (Fig. 3), dating from 1361 or 1362.^[2]

As the first miniature in the manuscript (Figs. 6 and 6a), the dedication scene of the prologue exemplifies the usual format of the A illustrations. The miniature is tied to the design of the folio both in its width, equal to that of a column, and in its height, equal to sixteen lines of text. Links to the decorative structure of the folio are also strong. Figure 6 receives emphasis by its relationship to the initial E , the outer frame, and the foliate border. The inner frame of Figure 6, a red, white, and blue quadrilobe, is a typical feature of this manuscript and many others of the period. Also standard for the illuminations of this cycle is the simple double outer frame and the gold lozenges that fill out the area between the outer rectangle and the quadrilobe. The rose fleur-de-lis background is used in the first six miniatures of the A cycle. Although it plays a decorative role, it also alludes to the patron's royal status—here explicitly, elsewhere implicitly. Figure 6, moreover, follows the major color scheme of the cycle, based on a red-gold-blue triad. Charles V, wearing a blue mantle trimmed with white fur, stands out against the gold curtain and the rose fleur-de-lis outlined in black. Oresme's costume, a more subdued blue-gray, falls into the same color range. Red accents are found in the baldachin, the book, and the bystander's mantle. Gold is more prominent than usual, used here not only in the curtain but also in the faldstool and crown.

The baldachin and fleur-de-lis motifs of Figure 6, repeated in the dedication scene of Figure 7, are indebted to the famous presentation scene by Jean Bondol representing Charles V and Jean de Vaudetar, the donor of the book, a Bible historiale , dated 1371 (Fig. 8).^[3] The style of Figure 7 is also closer to that of the Bondol prototype. The convincing gestures and expressions of the king and translator suggest that this dedication scene, part of the elaborate frontispiece, was executed

[Full Size]

Figure 6
Charles V Receives the Book from Nicole Oresme. Les éthiques d'Aristote,  MS  A.

[Full Size]

Figure 6A
Detail of Fig. 6.

by the head master of the Jean de Sy shop. The excessively large head and truncated body of Charles V in the prologue dedication (Fig. 6), in contrast, suggest that a member of this atelier was entrusted with this more modest miniature. Whereas the image of the king in Figure 6 is more conventional and his appearance more youthful than in Figure 7, the portraits of Oresme are both individualized. Also similar in both dedications is the gold curtain, suspended from rods and set obliquely to the picture space; its boxlike character defines the royal sphere. Although its abbreviated form permits no conclusions, it suggests an enclosed chamber or other private space as the locale of the presentation.^[4]

The documentary function of Figure 6 is related to its position at the head of the first column of text on folio 1 of the manuscript. The illustration identifies those who set in motion the translation contained in the volume presented. Kneeling at the left is the translator, whose name appears in the three-line rubric written under the miniature: "Ci commence la translacion des Livres de Ethiques et Politiques translatéz par maistre Nichole Oresme" (Here begins the translation of the books

[Full Size]

Figure 7
Above, from left:  Charles V Receives the Translation from Nicole Oresme, Charles V and
His Family; below, from left:  A King and His Counsellors Attend a Lecture, The Expulsion
of a Youth from a Lecture. Les éthiques d'Aristote,  MS  A.

[Full Size]

Figure 8
Jean Bondol,  Charles  V Receives the Book from
Jean de Vaudetar. Bible historiale.

of the Ethics and Politics translated by Master Nicole Oresme).^[5] The next sentence, highlighted by an elaborate six-line foliated and dentellated initial E names the patron:

En la confiance de l'aide de Nostre Seigneur Jhesu Crist, du commandement de tres noble et tres excellent prince Charles, par la grace de Dieu roy de France, je propose translater de latin en françois aucuns livres lesquelx fist Aristote le souverain philosophe, qui fu docteur et conseillier du grant roy Alexandre.

(Confident of the help of Our Lord Jesus Christ, at the command of the most noble and most excellent Prince Charles, by the grace of God, king of France, I propose to translate from Latin into French some books written by Aristotle, the supreme philosopher, who was the teacher and counsellor of the great king Alexander.)^[6]

The crown and faldstool associated with the king seated on the right establish the royal identity of Charles V. Two other features of this introductory sentence are worthy of comment. First, Oresme gives himself an important role in the enterprise by using the phrase "je propose." Then he sets up a discreet but flattering parallel between Charles V and himself, the contemporary equivalents of Alexander and Aristotle, in their roles as ruler and counsellor, pupil and teacher. Following a medieval custom, the translator's appropriation of Aristotle's identity as author carries out this theme on a visual level.

Oresme also points to the value of the text, recognized by "pluseurs docteurs catholiques et autres" (many Catholic doctors [of the Church] and other authorities), and its universal reputation "en toutes lays et sectes" (in all religions and sects), from the time of its composition to the present day.^[7] The translator does not neglect to pay tribute to the wisdom and intellectual interests of his patron.^[8] Charles V's love of study and learning not only promotes the common good but unites the two men. These mutual interests and long personal ties are commemorated in Figure 6a, particularly in the direct glances and friendly expressions of both parties. While Oresme's kneeling posture expresses his respect, his knee and hands penetrate the space occupied by the king. Moreover, the left side of the book held by Oresme is supported on the right by Charles V. The volume's red color, highlighted against the gold curtain, emphasizes the book as both document and symbol of the concrete tie that exists because of their mutual efforts. Finally, the gesture of Oresme's left hand indicates the act of handing the book over to the king, a moment of gratification to both translator and patron.

The Dedication Frontispiece:
The Upper Register

The dedication scene of A (Fig. 7) is not a self-contained unit but one of four quadrilobes that make up a miniature occupying half the folio. The exceptional size of the illustration, the second largest of the manuscript, indicates the importance of the folio. The double set of dentellated and foliated initials that introduce the six lines of text below the miniature gives a decorative emphasis to the folio. The contrasting red and blue geometric backgrounds accentuate the symmetrical composition of the miniature, enhanced by the color scheme of the inner frames. The use of gold for the lozenges on all edges of the quadrilobes and in the curtain on the upper left completes the sumptuous effect of the overall design. In a minor key, the pinks, blues, reds, and golds of the exterior frames, initials, and leaves weave a decorative unity with the major color chords of the miniature.

The quadrilobes are the same size as that of Figure 6 and are laid out symmetrically, with the central squared tip of the lower one reaching up to touch the corresponding part of the upper one. The left and right edges of each quadrilobe line up with the text block and are equal to the width of each of the two text columns; the central gold lozenges span the space between the columns.^[9]

An interpretation of the four miniatures can begin by analyzing this first scene. Placed on the upper left, it begins a sequence that proceeds from left to right,

beginning at the top. In one sense, the miniature inaugurates the book's emphasis on the theme of education, beginning with Charles V's instruction by Oresme in general and extending to the specific knowledge contained in the Ethics and Politics . The changes in iconography from the prologue dedication (Fig. 6) may also indicate a temporal sequence. The king's homely coif lends an informal quality to the less official character of Figure 7. The king's smile conveys an intense, personal relationship between patron and translator. Charles V glances at Oresme, whose head now overlaps the royal sphere. Moreover, the translator's movement toward the king is reinforced by the gesture of Oresme's left hand, which seems to loosen the book's lower clasp. The suggestion of opening the book indicates a further step in the temporal sequence, either in the narrow sense of proceeding with the next step in the presentation ceremony or with a wider suggestion of disclosing the reasons the translations were commissioned and the appropriate audiences for them. In Figure 7 the illuminator's style—its fluent rendering of movement and naturalistic corporeality—helps to intensify the close relationship between Oresme and Charles V and their expressions of pleasure in the completion of the jointly undertaken project.

The second scene, on the upper right, emphasizes the king's role in making the teachings of the Ethics available to his family by commissioning the translation. Although Charles V's portrait is more generalized than in the dedication scene, the facial features suggest that this scene is meant to refer to him and his family. By 1372, the date of the colophon of A , Charles V and Queen Jeanne de Bourbon had three children.^[10] Precedents for a king giving instructions about the education of his family come from various Mirror of Princes works. This theme is standard in French translations with royal connections of Giles of Rome's De regimine principum . Repeating Aristotle's emphasis on the importance of educating the young, a French translation of Giles's text, Li livres du gouvernement des rois executed for King Philip IV in 1296 by Henry of Gauchi, stresses the responsibility of the ruler for his children's education. The royal offspring must possess greater goodness, learning, and virtues than those of their subjects.^[11] A lavishly illustrated mid-fourteenth-century text closely related to Giles's work, the Avis au roys (New York, The Pierpont Morgan Library M. 456) makes a similar point in the rubrics of a section devoted to the education of princes.^[12] Furthermore, the Avis au roys contains two illustrations that represent a king giving instructions on the upbringing of his family.^[13] In Charles V's own library, an illustrated manuscript of another Mirror of Princes text, Le gouvernement des rois et des princes , has a frontispiece with a four-quadrilobe structure (Fig. 9). On the upper right, a king and his family are depicted in a fashion similar to that of Figure 7.^[14]

Ties between the tradition of French Mirror of Princes texts and the upper right quadrilobe of Figure 7 are noticeable in Oresme's prologue to the Ethics translation and in Book I. Both the Ethics and Politics define the goals of earthly existence and constitute the "science civile" (civic science).^[15] Oresme characterizes the Ethics as a book of "bonnes meurs, livre de vertus ouquel il enseigne, selon raison naturel, bien faire et estre beneuré en ce monde" (good moral values, a book of virtues that teaches, according to natural reason, to act justly and be

[Full Size]

Figure 9
Above, from left:  A King and Queen Speak with Prelates, A King and His Family;
below, from left:  A King Rendering Justice, A King and Warriors on Horseback.
Le livre du gouvernement des rois et des princes.

blessed in this world).^[16] By commissioning French translations of the Ethics and Politics , Charles V is discharging his duties as ruler and as father. The "livre de bonnes meurs" will benefit the royal family and the common good of the realm. Indeed, the analogy between the father-son relationship and that of a king to his subjects is a theme of a gloss in Book VIII of the Ethiques .^[17]

In Figure 7 Charles V's commanding gesture toward his son illustrates his authority over his family. Yet the queen who receives his instructions also has a role to play. Crowned and seated below her own baldachin, Jeanne de Bourbon turns toward Charles V in a listening pose, indicated by her upraised arms. French queens were traditionally entrusted with the early education of their children. In an ordinance of 1374 dealing with the succession, Charles V made Jeanne de Bourbon chief guardian of the royal children.^[18] Thus, this scene illustrates contemporary historical practice and goes beyond the Aristotelian text and Oresme's translation in which queens do not figure. This extratextual allusion both confirms the origin of this scene in the Mirror of Princes and the personal references of the upper register.

The depiction of the royal family is quite formal, dominated by the gold crowns, gray-green curtain, and twin blue baldachins set against the rose-and-black fleur-de-lis background. Still, the use of gold is restrained, limited to several small areas, such as the crowns, faldstools, and the cloths below the queen's bench and king's chair. Blue is the dominant color, repeated in Charles V's robe and the baldachins, as well as in the underskirt of the queen's dress, with its fur yoke and pale rose folds. Red accents appear at the peripheries in the robes of the princess and her younger brother, whereas the Dauphin's costume, with its two distinctive ermine bands on the right shoulder, echoes the colors worn by his mother. The aggressive folds of the dull gray-green curtain unite the two halves of the composition and establish a planar and spatially ambiguous setting. Frontality is avoided by the turn of the royal couple's bodies and tension is added to the otherwise static scene by their hand gestures. As the upper register moves from translator and patron to the royal family, so an implied narrative suggests temporal movement, from the commission to the practical diffusion of the ideas—based on the Mirror of Princes literature—to be found in the translation.

The Dedication Frontispiece:
The Lower Register

In the lower register, however, personal references give way to a more general, allusive tone. If the top two quadrilobes are related to the Ethics , the bottom pair refers to the Politics . Even more than the upper scenes, the lower ones have a strong narrative content, again related to the important Aristotelian emphasis on education.

On the lower left, a scholar seated on a raised chair is lecturing or commenting on an open book, possibly the present translation. His audience, seated at desks, consists of two full-length figures in the front row, holding open copies of books, and three others, whose heads are visible behind them. A gold crown identifies

the bearded man on the left as a king. The head of the man between the two front figures peers anxiously at the book held by the king's ostensibly younger neighbor. The title of the third chapter of Book I of Oresme's Ethics translation links this miniature to the text: "Ou tiers chapitre du proheme il monstre quelz personnes sont convenables pour oÿr ceste science" (In the third chapter of the prologue he demonstrates what persons are appropriate listeners of this science).^[19] As previously noted, Oresme's prologue emphasizes the value of the science of politics to princes and their counsellors.^[20] Oresme adds to his invocation of classical authorities the passage of Scripture mentioned earlier: "Audiens sapiens sapientior erit"—"le sage sera plus sage de oÿr ceste science."^[21] Thus, the audience that will benefit by knowledge of the texts is precisely the one represented in the lower left miniature: a king and his advisers. This audience is not only reading but listening to an oral explication, perhaps the equivalent of Oresme's commentary on these texts. The miniature also reveals that this is not the usual clerical audience that gathered for school lectures, but lay people, whose intent expressions convey their concentration on understanding the text of the Politics .^[22]

In the remaining quadrilobe on the lower register, within a simple structure that, for pictorial reasons, lacks a front wall, another lecture is being given, this time by a hooded master. This teacher is seated on a raised chair with lectern, similar to that of his counterpart on the left. His audience, however, is smaller: two full-length figures are in the front and the head of another appears behind them. The two, who hold open books, listen attentively to the lecturer, who points to the second of three lines of the text. At the same time, a child is being led through the door away from the lecture. His adult companion looks anxiously at a stern, tonsured master holding in his hand a threatening rod. The expulsion of the youth indicates an educational experience unsatisfactory for the youth and possibly disruptive for the class. The text states: "Et pour ce un joenne homme n'est pas convenable audicteur de politiques, car il n'est pas expert des faiz qui aviennent a vie humainne" (And for this reason a young man is not a suitable audience for politics, for he is not experienced in the things that can happen in life).^[23] Oresme elaborates in a gloss: "Mais le joenne d'aage ne la puet pas plainnement entendre pour ce que il a peu veü d'experiences et si est plus tempté de desirs corporels" (But those young in years cannot give their full attention to it because they have seen few happenings and in any case are more tempted by bodily desires).^[24] According to the text, the adults in the audience profit by the knowledge contained in the text because they are governed by reason. In short, the youth proved to be an inappropriate audience, and his expulsion contrasts an unsuccessful attempt at education with a beneficial adult experience.

This point comes across partly by the repetition in the two lower scenes of the same composition: a single seated figure on the right faced by groups of students on the left. The additional motifs of the school building and the three figures on the left in the right quadrilobe are variations on the theme. Color differentiates the lower two quadrilobes as well: rose fleur-de-lis are on the left, blue ones on the right. Continuing the contrast, scarlet is worn by the king on the left, blue by his companion, whereas blue is worn by the master on the left, and red by his

counterpart. This use of red emphasizes the important figures of the errant child and the lecturer, while paler tones are reserved for the less active ones. The red-and-blue opposition of backgrounds and major figures sets up a structure of verticals and horizontals that relates the quadrilobes of the lower register to those of the upper. The decorative system, particularly the two six-line initials, continues the color harmony.

While the interpretation of left to right and upper to lower sequence seems generally correct, other readings are also possible. For example, the education of Charles V by Oresme on the upper left relates to the ideal audience below. Likewise, the steps taken in the upper right scene to assure the education of Charles V's children show in the scene below the effects of subject and age on a successful learning experience. Indeed, the two scenes of the lower register may present Oresme's attitudes toward education, that is, pictorial comments designed by the commentator and translator of the texts. Such intellectual daring, wit, and irony are characteristic of Oresme and are also a subtle tribute to the presence of these qualities in Charles V—his patron, student, and primary audience.

The Dedication Frontispiece of MS C :
General Features and the Upper Register

Perhaps the subtleties of the nonverbal, visual comments of Figure 7 proved too elusive for the patron and other concerned readers. In any case, the dedication frontispiece of C (Fig. 10 and Pl. 1) underwent substantial revision. Setting the tone for the increased didacticism, substantial inscriptions added to the miniature attempt to clarify the meaning of the scenes, now reduced from four to two. Figure 10 also establishes another precedent followed in the other nine illustrations of the C cycle. Instead of the quadrilobe frames and columnar format of most of the A illustrations, those in C occupy the full width of the text block. Frequently, but not always, they occur at the top of the folio. The C illustrations thus become more prominent, since they function as frontispieces to each book of the text. The less elaborate and expensive character of C resulted in the substitution of grisaille forms for the brilliantly colored figures of A . Yet with added touches of gold and colored washes, these grisaille figures stand out strongly against their colored backgrounds. Highly refined, the elaborate geometric or swirling patterns are executed in peach or blue tones and outlined in gold, black, and other colors. The peach tones of the background of the upper register in Plate 1 contrast sharply with the deep blues of the lower zone. Although the miniatures of C have simple, two-banded frames, they are usually tied to the marginal borders by foliage motifs, which in turn often connect with the large initial below the illustrations. In Figure 10 the dragon drollery of the right margin reinforces the links between the miniature and the decorative structure of the folio.

Whereas the extraordinary inscriptions of the upper register of Figure 10 indicate that the scribe, Raoulet d'Orléans, must have had an important role in executing the miniature, Nicole Oresme undoubtedly chose the texts. Two elaborate and delicately delineated scrolls accompany the scene of the king receiving a

[Full Size]

Figure 10
Above:  Charles V Receives the Book from Nicole Oresme;  below:  Félicité humaine. Les
éthiques d'Aristote, MS  C.

book from the translator. The book, held by each man and containing the present translation, is the focus of the verbal messages. One scroll unfurls at the level of Charles V's chin; the other curves around Oresme's head. The inscriptions are written in heavy black ink, a departure from the usual brown used elsewhere in the manuscript. Also unusual is the extension of the scrolls beyond the frame of the miniature into the right margin; in fact, the inscription around Oresme touches the very edge of the folio. With the exception of the phrases surrounding the personification in the lower register, the use of Latin for these messages is unique in this translation and signals the exceptional weight and authority associated with words in Latin. Not surprisingly, the inscriptions are taken from familiar scriptural passages. The scroll next to Charles V reads: "Dedi cor meum ut scirem disciplinam atque doctrinam," or "I devoted myself to learning discipline and doctrine."^[25] The scroll around Oresme, derived from Proverbs 8:10, advises: "Accipite disciplinam quam pecuniam, et doctrinam magis quam thesaurum eligite," or "Choose learning rather than money and choose instruction more valuable than treasure." Couched in biblical language, the inscriptions invest the secular and pagan texts with religious sanction. Also, the messages on the scrolls make explicit

the theme of education, which in the frontispiece of MS A (Fig. 7) remains more allusive. Furthermore, the elimination of Charles V's family from the dedication scene concentrates attention on the king's motives in educating himself.

As the words spoken by each man separately, the inscriptions also point to the relationship between Charles V and Oresme. The message on the scroll next to the king indicates that by his specific commission of the Aristotle translations he fulfills his obligations as a wise ruler.^[26] In doing so, he heeds Oresme's strong admonition, which confirms the translator's position as moral and intellectual adviser to the king. Indeed, the much shorter inscription and humbler tone of Charles V's declaration contrasts with the lengthy quotation Oresme selected for himself. Also conveying the translator's standing is his choice of a quotation, used here to address the king, that habitually employs the imperative mood of the verb.

The composition likewise emphasizes the prominent role Oresme assumes by the authority of the inscriptions. While the dedication scene is another example of the intimate type, certain aspects of the miniature show a greater formality than the analogous illustrations of A (Figs. 6 and 7). For example, in Figure 10 the king's frail form is enclosed in an intricate thronelike structure.^[27] In addition, the king looks down at the book as much as he regards the translator. Depicted in profile, Charles V does not, as in Figures 6 and 7, directly establish eye contact with Oresme. Also missing are the warm smiles of both parties. Despite his distance from the king, Oresme, whose head is represented in a fuller, three-quarter view, tilts his head upward to glance at the king. Although only the translator's hand advances into Charles V's sphere, his kneeling form dominates the picture space. Just as his portrait is more amply and naturalistically rendered than the conventional, doll-like image of the king, Oresme appears as the more solidly represented figure. And while Charles V is confined within the throne, Oresme's bulky form, placed on a separate stagelike strip, spreads out laterally. The deep blue of his robe overwhelms the gentle grisaille tones of his patron's figure. Oresme's is the only figure in the C cycle whose costume is painted.^[28] Even the additions to the translator's prologue of C of his name and title, "Je Nicole Oresme doyen de l'eglise nostre dame de Rouen" (I, Nicole Oresme, dean of the church [cathedral] of Our Lady of Rouen), suggest the expansion of Oresme's role in the translation enterprise. In A no title is included, and his name, "maistre Nichole Oresme," appears in the opening rubrics but not in the prologue text. The presentation miniature of C , dated 1376, shows the evolution in visual form of Oresme's relationship with the king. From the early, intimate presentation scene accompanying his first French translation for his patron, Ptolemy's Quadripartitum (Fig. 3), to the dedication portrait of C , Oresme assigns himself an increasingly dominant role.

The Dedication Frontispiece:
The Lower Register

A second seated, crowned form who holds a book occupies the lower register of Figure 10. Unlike the parallel figure of Charles V, the representation is not a historical personality but a personification of the opposite sex. Her crown and

scepter mark her as a queen, and her domination of the whole picture signifies her importance in the frontispiece.^[29] The French inscription identifies her as Félicité humaine, or Human Happiness. As a major subject of Book I, the phrase Félicité humaine occurs frequently in the chapter headings that follow the illustration, justifying the reason for her prominence. Figure 10 is placed on folio 5, at the head of the prologue and apologia of the translator. As a rule, chapter headings precede the illustration. In this case, however, the function of the miniature as a frontispiece and the relationship of the upper register to the prologue probably account for the change in order. Furthermore, an introductory sentence of Book I contains these words: "Ou premier livre, il met son proheme et traicte de felicité humainne en general" (In the first book he sets forth his prologue and discusses human happiness in general).^[30] Thus, instead of the two narrative scenes in the lower register of A (Fig. 7) that deal only indirectly with education and the proper audiences for the translations, Figure 10 clearly identifies the principal subject of both Book I and the entire text.

Félicité humaine is further defined by Latin inscriptions that flank the base of her throne. On the left, there appear the words "Stans omnium bonorum" (abode of the highest good); on the right, "agregatione perfectus" (union of all that is good). The mixture of languages in the inscriptions is puzzling. Why was Latin used for the characterization, but not for the identification, of Félicité humaine, which derives from the text of the translation? As with the biblical verses of the upper register, this recourse to extratextual sources confers on the image dignity and authority equal to those associated with the historical personalities of the upper register. Oresme may also have attempted to enrich the spiritual attributes of Félicité humaine verbally since her appearance does not differentiate her from other seated and crowned figures. Unlike the inscriptions of the upper register, those of the lower zone are not harmoniously integrated with the composition. The rectangular band at the top is placed asymmetrically in relation to the throne, and the spacing of the two words is awkwardly interrupted by the scepter.^[31] In other words, the designer of the miniature failed to integrate the prominent inscriptions with the figural element.

The high social standing of Félicité humaine is conveyed by her frontal pose, which is associated with a ruler seated in majesty. The motionless effect thus created suggests an ideal realm, contrasting with the historical and personal space inhabited by Oresme and Charles V, who are depicted in three-quarter and profile views respectively.^[32] The gold of her cushion, book, belt, scepter, and crown further signal her sovereignty. These attributes are appropriate to Human Happiness, who in Aristotle's definition personifies the good toward which all knowledge and human activity aim. In the C illustrations, Félicité humaine is the only personification awarded a crown. The book she holds may relate to the text passage that states, happiness is achieved by "discipline et par estude" (discipline and study).^[33] Her costume recalls Oresme's comparison of Félicité to a well-dressed person ("bien vestue de robes").^[34]

The royal attributes of this figure may also cause the reader to associate her with the king seated almost directly above her. Félicité holds a book that is almost

identical with the one held by Charles V. Félicité's frontal pose and outward-looking gaze emphasize the book's ability to open the way to Human Happiness. Could it not be inferred that the "doctrina et disciplina" revered by the king could bring about Human Happiness? Oresme writes in the prologue of the beneficial effects on the common good brought about by a love of learning, the most desirable pursuit (after religion) of princes and their advisers. The love of knowledge avowed in the upper register by Charles V is further linked to Félicité humaine by two emblems of French royalty: the fleur-de-lis of her crown and her scepter. Human Happiness, then, is a result of Charles V's wisdom in pursuing knowledge that benefits his kingdom. The present translation into French, containing the ethical values and political ideals necessary for good government, is an example of such conduct. Félicité humaine is thus the spiritual consort of Charles V. Several devices link the historical ruler of the upper zone to the ideal sovereign of the lower: parallel placement of the figures, display of the book, and repetition of royal symbols. Even the use of French to identify Human Happiness reinforces the association. The timeless excellence symbolized by Félicité humaine connects queenship with lofty spiritual ideals, a relationship that acknowledges feminine powers in a manner foreign to the text. This first depiction in the sequence of illustrations of positive abstract concepts by female personifications continues, however, an iconographic pictorial tradition inherited from classical antiquity.

Because of the different functions of the manuscripts in the king's library, the dedication frontispieces of A and C reflect different approaches to text-image relationships. The substantial reworking of the program of Figure 10 represents part of an editorial and visual redefinition. Without substantial changes in the text, the alteration from the allusive, nonverbal mode of Figure 7 to the didacticism of Figure 10 suggests a response to a critique of the former, possibly initiated by Charles V himself. Ambiguities in the meaning of both frontispieces, despite the attention lavished upon them by patron, translator, scribe, and miniaturists, hint at the complex processes involved in the visual representation of Oresme's Ethics translation.

6—
Virtue as Queen and Mean (Book II)

Definition and Location of a Basic Concept

Because the frontispieces of A and C emphasize the dedication portraits rather than the specific contents of Book I, the illustrations for Book II (Figs. 11, 11a and 12, 12a) provide the first representative examples of how the miniatures promote the reader's understanding of the text. Both verbal and visual representations of key concepts in Book II are difficult tasks. Oresme had to make clear in French Aristotle's generic definition of virtue, a principal subject of Book II of the Nicomachean Ethics . Such a definition follows from the discussion in Book I that the goal of human life is Human Happiness, characterized as an activity of the soul in accordance with rationality and virtue. What constitutes virtue (Arete ) or excellence of character is a foundation of Aristotle's ethical thought: "Virtue, then, is a state of character concerned with choice lying in a mean, i.e. the mean relative to us, this being determined by a rational principle, and by that principle by which the man of practical wisdom would determine it."^[1] From this generic definition Aristotle proceeds in Books II through V to discuss individual moral virtues. While the familiar four cardinal virtues—Fortitude, Temperance, Justice, and Prudence—figure extensively in Books II through VI, they are not grouped together in any particular order.^[2]

Oresme's definition of virtue closely follows the English translation cited above.^[3] His translation shows his awareness of Aristotle's method of generic definition by including the French words gerre (genus), diffinicion (definition), and difference in chapter headings and glosses of Book II, as well as in the glossary of difficult words at the end of the volume. Although these words are not neologisms, Oresme seeks to establish their precise logical and philosophical connotations. The emphasis on definition thus relates both to Oresme's rhetorical strategies as a translator and to Aristotelian and scholastic methods of argument. Such efforts also belong to his campaign to make the vernacular an effective instrument of abstract thought. Also included in the glossary is habit , a noun included in the definition.^[4]

The importance of the generic definition of virtue in Book II is reflected in the relationship of the illustrations in A and C to the folios on which they appear (Fig. 11, Pl. 2, and Fig. 12). Linked by the Roman numeral II of the running titles to the second book, both miniatures stand at the top of the folio. The miniature in A is the only one in the manuscript linked to the column that has this distinction.^[5]

Furthermore, this image is one of the two largest illustrations of the group that spans a single column in A .^[6] In both A and C the sprays of the leafy border point to the miniatures. In the same way, below Figures 11 and 12 the large foliated initials of the letter C , embellished with brightly colored leaves and gold accents, draw the eye upward to the illustrations. Special directional emphasis is given to Figure 11 on the upper right margin by the vigorous movement of the dragon drollery.

Plate 2 derives added resonance from the brilliant color of the surrounding verbal and visual elements. The alternating red and blue paraphs, present also in Figure 12, are repeated in the rubrics of the key words in the glosses, the line endings, and the renvois , or symbols linking text and gloss. The vivid red, white, and blue of the elongated quadrilobe frames and surrounding gold lozenges of Plate 2 enliven the peripheries of the miniature. Indeed, the three figures of the A illustration, itself placed symmetrically in relation to the first of two units of text and gloss, receive strategic emphasis by their placement at the points of the quadrilobes.^[7] In contrast, the simpler character of C limits the framing and border elements of Figure 12.

In both images, then, the layout of the folios serves as an integrated system of numeric and visual cues that aid the reader's cognitive processes. What other means communicate to the reader the identity and character of the generic definition of virtue? A process of verbal repetition of the key word vertu written on the inscription above the central figure of the A and C miniatures is one important device. This internal text links the words to all but one chapter heading of Book II. Vertu also occurs in the rubrics of Oresme's summary of the book's contents that appear on the preceding folio: "Ci finent les rebriches du secont livre de Ethiques ou il determine de vertu en general" (Here end the rubrics of the second book of the Ethics , where he examines the nature of virtue in general).^[8] Placed between the chapter headings and the first paragraph of the text of Book II, the illustrations of A and C function as subject guides to a major theme.

The location of the word vertu leads the reader to Chapters 7 and 8, where Oresme defines the term. Another inscription unfurling on a scroll next to the figure of Virtue reads: "Le moien est ceste" (this is the mean). The heading for Chapter 8 locates the specific place in the text where the two key words of the inscriptions, vertu and moien , are associated: "Ou .viii.^e chapitre il monstre encore par autre voie que vertu est ou moien et conclut la diffinicion de vertu" (In the eighth chapter he shows again by another way that virtue is at the midpoint [the mean] and concludes the definition of virtue).^[9] In a succinct passage Oresme states the gist of Aristotle's theory of the mean as the moral capacity to respond appropriately in a given situation in respect to action or emotion. Oresme puts it this way:

Donques vertu est habit electif estant ou moien quant a nous par raison determinee ainsi comme le sage la determineroit. Et cest moien est ou milieu de .ii. malices ou vices, desquelles une est selon superhabundance et l'autre selon deffaute. . . . Et vertu fait le moien trouver par raison et eslire par volenté. Et pour ce, selon la diffinicion de vertu, elle est ou milieu ou ou moien.

[Full Size]

Figure 11
Superhabondance, Vertu, Deffaute. Les éthiques d'Aristote,
MS  A.

[Full Size]

Figure 11A
Detail of Fig. 11.

(Thus virtue is a characteristic [habit] involving choosing the mean relative to ourselves determined by a rational principle as the man of wisdom would define it. And this mean is the midpoint between two evils or vices, one of which is conditioned by excess and the other by deficiency. . . . And virtue finds the mean by reason and chooses it by action of the will. And therefore, according to the definition of virtue, it is at the midpoint or mean.)^[10]

This passage also makes clear that an appropriate or "mean" response avoids the extremes (the ".ii. malices ou vices") of reactions that are either too great or too small.

Virtue as Queen and Mean in MS A

Following Aristotle's method of generic verbal definition, Oresme's translation clarifies in French essential concepts associated with the terms. At first glance, Figure 11 seems like a labeled diagram in which inscriptions demonstrate the verbal arguments. Yet further study of the miniature reveals unexpected subtleties. To begin with, the personification of Virtue, at the center, seems in no way exceptional. Wearing a crown and holding a scepter in her right hand and a blooming

[Full Size]

Figure 12
Excès, Bonne volenté, Vertu, Cognoissance, Deffaute. Les éthiques d'Aristote,  MS  C.

[Full Size]

Figure 12A
Detail of Fig. 12

branch in her left, she stands facing the reader. From the inscription stating that the mean is here, it becomes clear that the word moien has a double meaning. Moien refers not only to the moral mean in respect to a proper action or emotional response but also to the center or midpoint of the picture field physically occupied by Vertu.

The scale of her figure is also the mean or norm between the two extremes standing to either side. On the left Excess (Superhabondance) is represented as a youthful, clumsy giant whose gaze is focused ruefully on the tranquil figure of Vertu, an upright vertical accent stabilizing the composition. The rectangular label inscribed Vice identifies him; the scroll next to him characterizes his negative quality as "Superhabondance ou trop" (excess or too much). His abnormally large size visually expresses by means of scale departure from the mean. On the other side of Vertu stands Too Little (Deffaute), personified by the shrunken, aged figure of a hunchback dwarf, whose fault is spelled out on the winding scroll to the left of his head as "deffaute ou peu" (lack or too little). The word vice is absent from the horizontal band above his head. Is this omission an error, or a deliberate attempt to associate the emptiness of the label with moral blankness, the deficiency that the figure embodies? In this case the lack of a sign naming the vice corresponds to the essence of his moral character.^[11] Indeed, Aristotle states that many vices have no names, including the one that renders people deficient in regard to pleasure.^[12] The diagonal line of descent of the rectangular inscriptions from the height of Superhabondance first to the mean position of Vertu and then to the low point of the empty scroll of Deffaute confirms such a reading. Although it is fitting that this vice is nameless, the adjoining scroll identifies him.^[13]

Abstract verbal concepts are vividly expressed not only through scale and position but also through costumes and gestures. Credit for this goes to the Jean de Sy Master, whose lively style imparts a distinctive character to the miniature. The clumsiness of the giant Superhabondance, shown by his outspread right elbow and feet sprawling on the ground plane, suggests a lack of containment that helps define his moral stance. In contrast, the illuminator depicts the pinched, inward movement of the aged, hunched dwarf, emphasized by the feet set closely together. In both instances, posture, age, and gesture indicate moral states: Superhabondance with the excesses of youth, Deffaute with the abstinence of old age. The physical abnormalities of the giant and the dwarf also connote departure from moral norms. Although the vices edge away from the center of the pictorial and—by analogy—the moral field, their gazes are directed to Vertu, embodying the mean. The vivid red of her fashionably cut red robe and the narrow white fur sleeves emphasize her central role. Her gold crown set atop her modishly braided locks as well as the light brown scepter and blooming branch framing her face are distinctive color accents.

Vertu is the only one of the three figures to assume a frontal position. Her placement, reinforced by the vertical points of the quadrilobe, establishes the axial symmetry of the composition and makes visible the notion of holding firm to the moral center. It also signals an ideal status associated with royalty.^[14] Representing Virtue as a ruler conveys the generic nature, leadership, and sovereignty of the concept. The association of these positive values suggests the high social status enjoyed by medieval French queens.^[15] The prominent, dark red fleur-de-lis background alludes not only to Charles V but also to his consort, Queen Jeanne de Bourbon. In the dedication frontispiece of A , Figure 7, the upper right quadrilobe depicts this queen with a similar fashionable dress and hairstyle.^[16]

Vertu's standing as a queen has other social implications. Her embodiment of high moral values is associated with noble and royal status. In contrast, the vices or extremes of Superhabondance and Deffaute are personified by lower-class male figures, identified by their short tunics. This is the first of many instances in the illustrations of the Ethiques and Politiques in which costumes signal to the reader distinctions between socially positive or negative values. Perhaps it is significant, too, that the vices are active male presences whose movements and three-quarter poses stand out sharply from the motionless frontality of the female personification. Ironically, the grotesque vices are endowed by the illuminator with a vitality and individuality completely lacking in the morally ideal figure of Vertu.

The program of this illustration ingeniously clarifies Aristotle's generic verbal definition of Virtue as a mean. In a personification allegory, Oresme's program opposes abstract concepts, a traditional medieval theme and rhetorical device.^[17] Employing visual metaphors that effectively juxtapose and distinguish morally positive from morally negative values, Oresme imposes on the personifications an order based on scale and division of the picture field. The visual structure creates analogies between the proportions of the personifications and their deviations

from the moral norm. Superhabondance, a term used in Oresme's text, stands for the generic extreme of Too Much. The vice's position on the left reflects prior sequence in the text definition of this concept. On the right, the smallest figure, Deffaute, is equated with the opposite fault of deficiency. Both Superhabondance and Deffaute are respectively too large or too small in proportion to the mean, personified by Vertu, who stands in the middle of the picture field. While Figure 11 exemplifies a simple demonstration of proportional relationships, Oresme employs it effectively in ordering the visual metaphor. An expert in mathematical theories of ratios and proportions, Oresme provides a more concrete example of his thinking on such topics in the illustration of Book V (Fig. 24). Finally, another ordering principle relates the "off-center" positions of the vices to their moral characters.

With its logical process and ordering of the visual definition, the subtle personification allegory establishes a close relationship between text and image. The discussion thus far establishes conclusively that as master of the text only Oresme could have devised such an ingenious and witty program. Moreover, the translator shows a considerable imagination in clothing the abstract notions of Excess and Deficiency in the compelling guises of a giant and a dwarf respectively. For these actors appear in neither Aristotle's text nor Oresme's. In their creation Oresme may well have intended the image to fix in the reader's mind moral teachings that "are set out in order" by means of "corporeal similitudes."^[18] Familiar with Aquinas's thinking on artificial memory, which reflects Aristotle's theories on the subject, Oresme may have consciously sought to have the reader recollect the teachings of the Philosopher by associating them with distinctive visual forms, "imagines agentes —remarkably beautiful, crowned, richly dressed, or remarkably hideous and grotesque."^[19] Such a description suits the figures of Vertu and the two vices. Moreover, such "corporeal similitudes" also had the function in scholastic memory treatises of inspiring the beholder to virtuous action. For Charles V, Oresme's primary reader, both the images of Figure 11 and its background would have encouraged his participation in and assimilation of its meanings. The activation of the ground with its large red fleur-de-lis outlined in black allowed the king to "put himself in the picture" by identifying first with the royal symbol and then with the central personification of Virtue.

Oresme's achievement in devising the program of Figure 11 is even more impressive in view of the lack of known precedents. Erwin Panofsky points out that the representation of virtue as a generic concept, totally secular in context, is a landmark in medieval art.^[20] Although a miniature in the Morgan Avis au roys representing Vertuz parfaite (Fig. 13) can in some respects claim priority to Figure 11 as a depiction of generic virtue, the opposing vices and the notion of a mean are missing.^[21] In any case, the ordering and images of Oresme's ingenious visual definition command admiration for their lively and deceptively simple character successfully realized in the illuminator's inimitable representations of the giant and the dwarf.

[Full Size]

Figure 13
Perfect Virtue and Cardinal Virtues. Avis au roys.

Vertu and Her Companions in MS C

The success of the personification allegory in A is shown by the limited revisions made in the equivalent miniature of C . Despite these continuities, both subtle and obvious differences exist between Figure 12 and its model. For one thing, the vertical orientation of Figure 11 in A , dependent on the dimension of the column of text and gloss, gives way in Figure 12 to a horizontally oriented image as wide as the entire text block. Furthermore, the elimination of the interior quadrilobe of the A miniatures permits a freer disposition of the pictorial space. The frontispiece character of this and other miniatures of the C cycle is unique among fourteenth-century illustrated manuscripts of the Ethiques .^[22] Perhaps the influential precedents of certain miniatures in B brought about the decision to adopt the frontispiece format for the illustrations of C and D . Whatever the reason, the frontispiece emphasizes the importance of the miniatures. The uniform placement of the miniature serves as a stable, repeated visual cue that associates the summary functions of the image with the beginning of each book. Recognition that the frontispiece offers a more regular and unimpeded field appropriate to the didactic aims of the C cycle may have come from any or all of the people entrusted with the production of the manuscript: the scribe, the translator, the illuminator, or the patron.

The rectangular shape of Figure 12 accommodates two more figures standing on each side of Vertu.^[23] The first is identified as Bonne volenté (Desire to Do Good) and the second as Cognoissance (Knowledge). Both are represented as young girls dressed in a simplified type of contemporary costume. They wear gold fillets in their blond hair.^[24] Their identical physical appearance suggests that they are twin sisters, matched by analogy in the possession of similar moral qualities. Such metaphors of kinship to express relationships among a "society of concepts" are widely used in the Ethiques programs.^[25] The twins' support of Vertu's arms implies that they are her companions, handmaidens, or daughters. Verbal sources accounting for the presence of the twins come from a passage in Oresme's text stating that knowledge of one's actions and the desire to achieve good are essential states of mind for attaining virtuous conduct.^[26] The text does not, however, pair these concepts or in any way identify them as twins. Oresme may have invented the kinship metaphor to make more concrete and memorable the psychological states required for excellent or virtuous action.

In accordance with the increased didacticism of the cycles, other changes may reflect Oresme's concern for completeness and consistency of detail. Unlike the case of Figure 11, where the word vice is missing for Deffaute, all the inscriptions in Figure 12 are filled in, placed horizontally, and shortened. Perhaps the change in the Deffaute label suggests that the allusion to deficiency as a moral shortcoming or nameless vice was too subtle. The decision to omit the descriptive scrolls used for the vices in Figure 11 means that the reader must depend solely on visual devices, such as the scale relationships, to grasp the essential character of the personifications. Even Vertu has lost her scroll establishing the association between her and the concept of the mean. Yet after the figure was in place, the scribe,

Raoulet d'Orléans, wrote the word moien on her mantle. The location of the word and the lack of the usual rectangular box framing the inscription suggest an unplanned addition. Oresme may have judged the verbal reinforcement necessary because the increased height of Vertu (relative to Excès) and the presence of the twins may have obscured visual understanding of the concept of the mean.

Figure 12 inaugurates another important change in the C cycle: Vertu is no longer pictured as a queen but is clad in loose, flowing garments and a head covering that combine features of the garb worn by widows and members of female religious communities. Immediate precedents for such costume are found in the representation of certain personifications of the A cycle (Figs. 15, 20, 33, and 35). The dress of Vertu in Figure 12 reflects a long tradition in medieval depictions of both virtues and vices traceable to a tenth-century Psychomachia manuscript. A classical type of female draped figure is the ancestor for such costume.^[27] Although the garments of Vertu in Figure 12 do not replicate those of any specific order of nuns or of widows, the costume effectively neutralizes female sexuality. The garb of Vertu also suggests a timeless character, shorn of explicit secular, contemporary, and royal associations created by the costume and attributes of the same personification in Figure 11. In A , two other personifications, Justice and Félicité (Figs. 24 and 42) are also represented as queens, while in C only Félicité humaine (Fig. 10) is depicted as a crowned ruler. Perhaps in the process of revising the program of A , Oresme realized that queenship is not even figuratively a divisible concept. Whatever the reasoning, except for the personifications of Happiness (Figs. 10 and 43) in C , representations of virtues and female vices consistently wear the nunlike garb.

One consequence of this change in costume is the loss of clear social and class distinctions between Vertu and the vices. Yet Figure 12 retains other essential characteristics of the personification allegory established in the A illustration, such as the proportional relationships and ordering of the picture field. Moreover, several nuances of meaning unique to Figure 12 are indeed notable. For example, the inclusion of Bonne volenté and Cognoissance expands the notion of a strong, ethically positive center. The two vices, separated from Vertu and the mean by the twins, are relegated to the sides, or extremes, of the picture space. This distance symbolically embodies the departure from the normative mean demonstrated by the placement of Excès and Deffaute. This effect of physical and moral alienation is enhanced by the way that the vices dramatically turn their heads not toward Vertu (as in Fig. 11) but away from her toward the limits of the picture field, again symbolic of moral extremes. The turning of the heads may relate to the concept that the two extremes are more opposed to each other than they are to the mean.^[28] This dynamic movement contrasts with the frontality and stability of Vertu. The gold spirals that animate the warm apricot color of the background emphasize the lively turnings of the vices' heads.

The personifications of Figure 12 stand out effectively against the agitated background, much like actors taking a bow on a narrow stage after the curtain has fallen. The style of the Master of the Coronation of Charles VI (or a member of his shop) lacks the tension and excitement of that of the Jean de Sy Master, who

[Full Size]

Figure 14
Vice of Excess, Desire to Do Good, Virtue, Knowledge, and Vice
of Too Little.  Les éthiques d'Aristote,  Chantilly, Musée Condé.

executed Figure 11. Yet as noted previously, despite the changes in the program, the essential meaning of the personification allegory established in Figure 11 remains intact. Although Vertu is no longer a queen, by scale and position she remains the mean. In comparison, a later fourteenth-century illustration of Book II, based on Figure 12, reverts to the older principle of hieratic scale (Fig. 14), thereby destroying the essence of Oresme's strategy.

Although the integration of the fleur-de-lis background with the lively forms of Figure 11 seems consistent with the royal character of the manuscript, the tranquil and meditative rendering of Figure 12 is also suitable to the more private function of the manuscript as Charles V's reading copy. In short, Figures 11 and 12 are auspicious examples of Oresme's collaboration with miniaturists and scribe to produce images that ingeniously convey complex verbal notions in a lucid and deceptively simple manner.

If Oresme delivered an oral explication, private or public, of the main points of Book II, the illustration of Figure 11 could have served as vital talking points. The visual metaphors of the Giant, Dwarf, and Queen would have made discussion of key points of Aristotle's verbal definitions concrete and vivid, whether or not the illustrations were available or familiar to the audience.

7—
Courage, Moderation, and Their Opposites (Book III)

The Function and Status of the Images

The illustrations for Book III of the Ethiques present subjects more familiar to the reader than those of Aristotle's generic definition of virtue and the theory of the mean. Figures 15, 15a and 16, 16a depict personifications of Fortitude (Courage) and Temperance (Self-Control). Since both Fortitude and Temperance (Actrempance in A , Attrempance in C ) belong to the quartet of cardinal virtues long associated in medieval art with the ideal ruler, the reader probably did not require extensive verbal or visual explication of these concepts.^[1] Unlike Plato in the Republic , Aristotle does not discuss the cardinal virtues in the Ethics as unified or related ideas.^[2] Instead, he considers them as individual moral virtues to which he applies his generic definition of virtue and the theory of the mean. Moreover, in Book II, among other individual virtues and vices, Aristotle had already introduced Fortitude and Temperance and their opposites.^[3] These two virtues are illustrated in the order of Aristotle's discussion: Fortitude is first, Temperance second.^[4]

While the personification allegories illustrating Book II serve as subject guides, they also provide a profound interpretation of linked concepts. Figures 15 and 16, by contrast, depict separate personifications. Their function is indexical and limited to that of a visual table of contents.^[5] To aid the reader in locating textual explanations that correspond to the inscriptions in the miniatures, the illustrations are placed on the same folios as the list of chapter headings. Yet unlike the illustrations of Book II, which take up an important position at the head of a column (Fig. 11) or of a folio (Fig. 12), both Figures 15 and 16 occupy less prominent places that tie them more closely to the chapter headings and their subject guide function. Figure 15 stands at the bottom of the second column of folio 39 in A immediately following the chapter headings and the rubrics for the first chapter of Book III. Figure 16 occupies the second of three divisions of the folio immediately above the introductory paragraph and chapter headings for Book III. Compared to the illustration of Book II in A (Fig. 11), the reduced size of Figure 15 indicates its lesser importance within the cycle.^[6] Yet Figure 15 was considered important enough that the usual quaternion structure was disrupted and a new gathering of ten leaves was begun with the chapter headings and illustration of Book III. So although Figures 15 and 16 no longer occupy the top place of their respective folios, their functions as visual tables of contents receive recognition by their relationship to the text and the decorative elements of the folio layouts.

Visual Definitions

The familiar concept of Fortitude or Courage is Fortitudo in Latin; in medieval French the equivalent noun was force . Oresme changed the Latin ending to introduce Fortitude as a neologism.^[7] If the reader is unfamiliar with the term included in the inscription of Figure 15, the meaning can be found in the glossary of difficult words supplied by Oresme: "C'est la vertu moral par laquelle l'en se contient et porte deüement et convenablement vers choses terribles en fais de guerre, si comme il appert ou tiers livre; et par especial ou .xvi.^e chapitre en glose" (It is the moral strength by which one controls and bears oneself appropriately and fittingly in the face of the terrible events of war, as is revealed in the third book, in particular a gloss of the sixteenth chapter).^[8] The titles for Chapters 14 through 21 include the word Fortitude and provide another system for the reader to find locations in the text itself where the inscription of Figure 15 is repeated.

The visual definitions of Fortitude in these two images represent the virtue as male. Such a choice, an acceptable and traditional alternative to the depiction of Fortitude as female, has obvious advantages. First, a masculine Fortitude more naturally associates the sphere of activity of this virtue with conduct on the battlefield, an exclusively male domain. Second, the representation of Fortitude as an armed knight signifies the warrior class, one of the three estates of medieval society. In Figure 15 the addition of a crown to the representation, as well as the conspicuous fleur-de-lis background, specifically associates Fortitude with a virtue possessed by the king of France. A direct precedent for such an identification occurs in an illustration from the Morgan Avis au roys (Fig. 17). In this miniature, the king not only carries a sword but holds a measuring stick, symbolizing reason. The representation is connected with the rubric emphasizing that "bon princes doit avoir force par mesure" (a good prince must possess courage with moderation).^[9] Moreover, a subsequent passage identifies Courage (called Force) with "li bon roy de France" (the good king of France).^[10] Although Charles V was not an active military leader, Christine de Pizan continues to associate him with the warrior role of French kings.^[11]

The forward-moving figure of Fortitude (Fig. 15) is seated on his blue-draped mount and clad in armor. As he advances into battle, his frown and tight grip on his horse's reins, as well as his upright posture, express consciousness of danger. The horse's bent leg and open mouth echo his rider's alert response to approaching danger. A sense of compelling motion is conveyed by the horse's fluttering drapery, which overlaps the quadrilobe frame.

The right half of Figure 15 is occupied by a second cardinal virtue, Actrempance, or Temperance. Oresme defines the nature of Actrempance in Chapter 22: "Or avon nous dit devant que actrempance est moienneresse vers delectacions et les modere" (Now we have said earlier that temperance is the mean [midpoint] in the direction of pleasure and serves to moderate the latter).^[12] He elaborates in a sentence from the first gloss in this chapter, which compares Fortitude with

[Full Size]

Figure 15
Fortitude, Actrempance. Les éthiques d'Aristote,  MS  A.

[Full Size]

Figure 15A
Detail of Fig. 15

Temperance: "Item, fortitude resgarde les choses qui sont corrumpables de vie humaine. Et actrempance resgarde celles qui la conservent ou en singulier comme boire ou mengier, ou en son espece comme fait ou culpe charnel" (Item, Fortitude concerns things that are capable of corrupting human life. And Temperance concerns those which preserve it either individually, like drinking or eating, or in its species, as in the sin of the flesh).^[13] Thus, the pairing of the two virtues not only follows the textual sequence but also presents a contrast for explication by Oresme.

The program for Figure 15 effectively juxtaposes the two virtues. Fortitude looks to the right, Actrempance to the left. The first wears blue garments set against a background of red fleur-de-lis; the second is clad in red and rose set against a dark blue field of the same motif. The traditional female gender of Actrempance, whose wary glance and upraised hand express an appropriate spiritual alertness and restraint, contrasts with the masculine activity and movement of Fortitude. The latter is active and engaged; the former, detached and contemplative. The widowlike wimple worn by Actrempance further accentuates her spiritual character of moderation in respect to bodily pleasures. The miniaturist has imbued the two virtues with expressive qualities consistent with their verbal definitions.

The likeness and difference between Fortitude and Actrempance explained in the gloss cited above also emerge from other aspects of the pictorial design. The two virtues are united in one quadrilobe, but within the common space they inhabit separate rooms,^[14] divided by a central column supporting two pointed

[Full Size]

Figure 16
Above, from left : Oultrecuidance, Fortitude, Couardie;  below, from left : Désattrempance,
Attrempance, Insensibilité. Les éthiques d'Aristote,  MS  C.

[Full Size]

Figure 16A
Detail of Fig. 16

[Full Size]

Figure 17
A French King as an Exemplar of Courage. Avis au roys.

arches. These arches are in turn topped by a rectangular wall segment with a large central spandrel and two smaller ones terminating in a row of seven crenellations. The gray color suggests a stone structure, although its practical function is difficult to determine. Initially this wall, or gateway motif, appears in two miniatures of A beginning with Books III and IV (Figs. 15 and 20) as a means of separating two representations. But in the remaining illustrations of the cycle, except for that of Book VII, the wall is undivided, embracing a single representation. While it is possible to explain the prevalence of the crenellated wall motif as a decorative device, its repetition in the miniatures of A may also have symbolic connotations. In various literary and visual images, personifications of the virtues are often placed within a tower, castle, or city wall setting. The crenellated wall motif here generally connotes a stronghold: a safe or fortified place in which the virtues exist. This tradition is a feature of the medieval iconography of the virtues.^[15]

The crenellated wall motif could also function as a memory gateway. As noted earlier, medieval memory treatises stress the usefulness of visual images in fixing in the mind general concepts by associating them with distinctive corporeal forms located within architectural places.^[16] The brightly lit crenellated wall and arches of Figure 15 correspond in a general way to the tower or castle gateway inhabited by Lady Memory in Richard de Fournivall's Li bestiaires d'amour (Fig. 18).^[17] Set within the gateway under identical pointed arches silhouetted against contrasting backgrounds, stand strikingly opposed figures (Fig. 15). Connected by the inscriptions with verbal concepts, the individualized personifications of Fortitude and Temperance lend themselves to association with the appropriate left or right location within the gateway. The symmetrical division of the crenellated wall by the central column in Figure 15 encourages visual identification of each half of the picture field with the specific personification. Like two painted sculptures, Fortitude presses forward on the left like an equestrian statue, countered on the right by the still, columnar form of Actrempance. Coordinated also with the central vertical division of the quadrilobe, the separate spaces of the two virtues within the memory gateway are identified with distinctive but juxtaposed verbal concepts and visual images. Simple as it appears, the structure of Figure 15 mirrors not only the order of the text but also its spiritual dimensions. The juxtaposition of opposing concepts, reinforced by gender and color contrasts, corresponds also to rhetorical theory.^[18]

The Expanded Subject Guide of the C Miniature

The expansion of both visual imagery and verbal identification in Figure 16 offers a subtle critique of the program of Figure 15. No longer confined by the width of the text column, quadrilobe frame, or gateway setting of Figure 15, the miniature for Book III in C (Fig. 16) returns to a horizontally oriented two-register format first employed in the frontispiece of this manuscript. Like Figure 15, the upper zone of Figure 16 depicts Fortitude in the central position. Here, however, the vices opposed to Fortitude are represented in off-center places: Rashness (Oul-

[Full Size]

Figure 18
Lady Memory and the Doors of Sight and Hearing.  Richard de
Fournivall , Li bestiaires d'amour.

trecuidance) on the left and Cowardice (Couardie) on the right. The same scheme is followed on the lower register. Temperance (Attrempance) occupies the center between the vices of Self-Indulgence (Désattrempance) on the left and Insensibility (Insensibilité) on the right. In addition to the nouns identifying the personifications written on the shallow ground plane below the figures, adjectives further characterizing them are inscribed on rectangular bands above their heads. Thus, "trop hardi" above Oultrecuidance applies to one who "excede et superhabunde en oser ou en emprendre vers les choses terribles" (is foolhardy and rash in daring and in undertaking terrible things).^[19] The other extreme, the "couart," lacks daring and experiences too great fear. Oresme explains in a gloss: "Et en tant comme il deffaut en oser il est appelé couart en françois" (And inasmuch as he lacks daring, he is called a coward in French).^[20]Preuz is translated as "valiant" and reinforces the definition of Fortitude previously cited.

The adjectival reinforcements of the upper register help differentiate the remarkably similar figures of Oultrecuidance, Fortitude, and Couardie. The striking resemblance between the first two may well reflect Aristotle's idea that "rashness is thought liker and nearer to courage and cowardice more unlike."^[21] This concept, expressed in terms of visual identity, could, without the descriptive adjectives,

obscure the more important distinction between the vice and the virtue. Since Fortitude is not distinguished from Oultrecuidance or Couardie by scale, the device used in the Book II miniatures (Figs. 11 and 12), the positions and directions of the figures are the decisive visual means of communicating their moral qualities. The notion of virtue as a mean, established by the scheme of Figures 11 and 12, is again associated with the midpoint of the picture field here occupied by Fortitude. Likewise, the vices of excess and deficiency occupy the same places on left and right as their generic predecessors, the giant and dwarf of the Book II illustrations. The scheme of a central norm and its moral opposites on each side appears to repeat the preference for a triadic organization allied to Aristotle's mnemonic theory.^[22] In Oresme's discussion of Oultrecuidance and Couardie in Chapter 16 of Book III, the former is discussed first.^[23] Thus the position of an image on the left of the picture field once again relates to order in the text. An extratextual device, however, reinforces the notion of Couardie's moral stance established by his pose. By moving in the opposite direction taken by Oultrecuidance and Fortitude and by raising his helmet, Couardie shows that the lack of daring makes him flee the battlefield. This witty and ingenious notion shows another instance of Oresme's inventiveness as author of the program of illustrations.

In the lower register the virtue of Attrempance occupies the central position held above by Fortitude. Unlike the latter and his opposing vices, Attrempance and the extremes on either side of her are identified by nouns but not characterized by adjectives. Perhaps the actions of the figures on the lower level were deemed to be sufficiently distinguished one from another to make their points without verbal reinforcements. For Attrempance is no longer a still, standing form, detached from any specific activity, as she is pictured in Figure 15. Instead, her moral position in respect to bodily pleasures and pains is exemplified by the vignette in which she is the central actress. In Figure 16 Attrempance is seated behind a table furnished with food and implements for eating and drinking. The picture of sobriety in her nunlike robe, the virtue sits alone sipping from a cup. Her upright posture and frontal pose also convey a detached and abstemious attitude. Without any reference to scale, the notion of the mean is, as in the upper register, expressed by the virtue's central position. The repetition of the scheme devised in the upper register helps, however, to reinforce the notion of the central mean surrounded by the two extremes. An illustration in the Morgan Avis au roys (Fig. 19) exemplifies Attrempance by representing a king seated at a table laden with food and drink and furnished with four gold vessels. He holds his finger to his lips in a gesture that conveys restraint and self-control based on reason.^[24] Although Figure 16 relies on similar exemplification of the concept personified in Figure 15, the pictorial notion of the mean developed in this illustration and in the Book II miniatures of A and C appear to be original features of Oresme's programs.

The vice of Self-Indulgence, or Désattrempance, is personified and exemplified in Figure 16 by a man and a woman seated before a bountiful table. Fashionably dressed, the man reaches out with his left hand to touch the woman's arm, while

[Full Size]

Figure 19
A French King as an Exemplar of Temperance. Avis au roys.

he prepares to attack a large portion of food he holds to his mouth. About to drink from a big bowl, his partner is shown with a smart contemporary hairdo of braided tresses. Her dress features a low-cut bodice and tight sleeves that differentiate her costume from the modest garments of Attrempance and Insensibilité. The inclusion of a male figure in the scene makes clear that "delectation charnel" includes sexual as well as gastronomic excess.^[25]

The opposite vice, on the right, is associated with deficiency rather than excess. Insensibilité is a rare human defect, applying to persons deficient with regard to pleasures.^[26] Indeed, Insensibility is not natural since even animals enjoy eating. Oresme terms this vice "inhuman."^[27] In Figure 16 a woman in widow's garb, also seated at a table, personifies Insensibilité. Yet although she reaches for an object on the table, she neither eats nor drinks. Her headdress gives some further clue to her identity. Of a more worldly nature than the nunlike veil of Attrempance, the head covering of Insensibilité sports a central point, or horn. This unusual feature characterizes the personification in Book IV (Fig. 21) of the vice of Avarice. Also a vice of deficiency, Avarice is in medieval thought associated with usury, a practice often connected with money lending by the Jews. As a mark of their inferior status in Christian society, Jews of western Europe were forced to wear pointed hats or hoods.^[28] In 1326, following the council of Avignon, a papal bull decreed that Jewish women wear a veil with horns, called a cornalia .^[29] Why Insensibilité is

identified with a Jewish woman is more puzzling than the similar association of Avarice. The vices share, however, a lack of common human feeling, a failing often attributed to Jews in anti-Semitic literature. Furthermore, the Jewish dietary laws forbid the eating of certain foods favored by Christians. Such deviance from common standards of enjoyment may have further contributed to the identification of Jews with Insensibilité. Since such allusions are extratextual, the negative associations were presumably understood by readers on the basis of the horned headdress. Thus, a rare moral deficiency is associated with a small minority of contemporary society regarded as inhuman and aberrant.

In short, the illustrations for Book III in A and C are not as prominent as those for Book II, and their imagery is less innovative. Nevertheless, within the overall programs of illustration they are significant. Figure 15 introduces the motif of the crenellated wall, which stands for the stronghold of the virtues and a memory gateway. The juxtaposition of associated but sharply differentiated ethical concepts also follows Aristotelian theories of memory and rhetoric taken up in medieval sources.^[30] On two levels Figure 16 carries out the mean and extremes scheme in a concise and witty manner. Thus both miniatures fulfill their functions as visual definitions and subject guides in styles appropriate to the manuscripts they illustrate.

8—
Generosity, Magnanimity, Profligacy, and Avarice (Book IV)

Liberalité and Le Magnanime in A

The illustrations for Book IV in A and C (Figs. 20, 20a and 21, 21a) fit the same pattern as those of the preceding book. The subjects chosen for illustration and definition fall into the categories of familiar moral virtues of particular relevance to the conduct of rulers. Like the arrangement of Figure 15, the two subjects of Figure 20 are separated by a central column carrying two arches surmounted by a crenellated wall segment. On the left is depicted Liberalité (eleutheriotes ), best translated in English as Generosity. Her male counterpart on the right is identified as Le Magnanime, a term called megalopsychia in Greek and translated into English as Magnanimity or High-Mindedness. Although the personifications again contrast a simply clad female in widowlike garb with a royal male figure, their postures and attitudes are reversed from those of Figure 15. Liberalité is found on the left, because discussion in the text of this subject occurs in the first three chapters. In fact, rubrics directly above and below the miniature in both Figures 20 and 21 tie illustration and text closely together. But the words Le Magnanime do not occur until the headings for Chapters 15 to 17 of Book IV. Once again, left-to-right order of representation reflects sequence in the text. Such an arrangement orients the reader first to the location and then to the association of these concepts. Thus, by relating text to images in the proper sequence, the reader will begin the process of recollection described by Aristotle.^[1]

The contrasting red and blue fleur-de-lis grounds and costumes of the main figures in Figure 20 contribute to the color harmony of the pictorial, calligraphic, and decorative elements of the folio. The extensive use of gold in the right half of the miniature gives special weight to that part of the representation, yet gold is also present on the left side. Liberalité, who stands next to a pink table containing gold coins and vessels, is dispensing part of her hoard to figures placed at the left edge of the picture. The nature of Liberalité's action makes clear that her sphere encompasses money or riches. Oresme must have been aware that the question of expenditure involved a change in the type of ethical problem discussed in Book III, as his introductory words make plain: "Ci aprés commence le quart livre ouquel il tracte des vertus morales qui ne resgardent pas si principalment vie humainne comme font fortitude et actrempance" (Here begins the fourth book in which he discusses the moral virtues, which are not so fundamentally concerned with human life as are Fortitude and Temperance).^[2]

[Full Size]

Figure 20
Liberalité, Le Magnanime. Les éthiques d'Aristote,  MS  A.

[Full Size]

Figure 20A
Detail of Fig. 20

The first paragraph of Book IV of the Ethics , and Oresme's translation of it, define Liberalité as the mean regarding the getting and spending of money. While this subject does not deal with such basic human qualities as fear and self-control, the right attitude toward expenditure of money and riches is a topic of great concern to rulers.^[3] Aristotle concerns himself with the political and social issues relating to the expenditure of funds in Book V of the Ethics and in several places in the Politics . But not surprisingly, the Morgan Avis au roys makes an immediate connection between Liberalité and the ideal ruler. An illustration from this manuscript (Fig. 22) represents a king who wears a fleur-de-lis crown holding out coins to groups on his left and right. This ruler thus carries out the injunction that appears in the rubrics: "Comment bons princes doit avoir la plesent vertu de liberalité" (How a good prince must have the pleasing virtue of liberality).^[4] Of course, the ruler must avoid the vices associated with expenditure, Prodigalité or Fole largesce (Too Much) or Illiberalité (Too Little). These vices are discussed extensively in the opening and subsequent sections of Book IV of the Ethics , but they are not represented in Figure 20.

The personification of Liberalité in Figure 20 guards her treasure trove. Standing on the ample ground plane at some distance from those requesting largesse, Liberalité does not look directly at them. Her outward gaze and turn of the head

[Full Size]

Figure 21
Above, from left : Prodigalité, Liberalité, Avarice;  below : Convoitise, Les éthiques
d'Aristote, MS  C.

[Full Size]

Figure 21A
Detail of Fig. 21

[Full Size]

Figure 22
A French King as an Exemplar of Generosity. Avis au roys.

express restraint of attitude and action. Although the gesture of her right arm symbolizes generosity, that of her left one protects the riches spread out on the table. The total impression of her upright stance, costume, and body language emphasizes that Liberalité is a mean. The gifts that she bestows must have a good purpose and must be directed "to the right people," in "the right amounts, and at the right time, with all other qualifications that accompany right giving."^[5]

Perhaps another explanation of Liberalité's detachment lies in an attempt to distinguish her as a spiritual force inhabiting an ideal realm, an attempt that is difficult to realize for several reasons. Unlike Attrempance in Figure 15, who does not act, Liberalité appears as an agent involved in the everyday world. The male actors and the treasure-laden table emphasize the earthly sphere and recipients of Liberalité's domain. This technique of exemplifying in everyday terms the workings of the virtues, noted in Figure 16, goes back more than a century.^[6] Moreover, the naturalistic style and contemporary costume of the representation counter any perception of her as a purely spiritual force.^[7] Thus, several elements of the visual definition lend an ambiguity to Liberalité's ontological status that is absent in the text.

A depiction of a different sort of virtue occupies the right half of Figure 20. Like Liberalité, the main figure, Le Magnanime, receives recognition from a group of kneeling people. This regal, crowned figure is seated on a low faldstool in front of a gold curtain. These insignia of high rank are symbols of Le Magnanime's ethical and social status. Le Magnanime possesses "great-souledness," or self-respect, while his merits deserve honor. Such a person already has other virtues, and this one augments them as "a sort of crown of virtues."^[8] Obviously, Le Magnanime is a person of great standing in the community. The values he embodies and his inward and outward deportment are important elements of Aristotle's definition of High-Mindedness. Indeed, Aristotle seems to have composed a psychological portrait that Oresme takes up in the chapters devoted to Le Magnanime. In a typically thorough manner, Oresme enumerates thirty-three characteristics of Le Magnanime.^[9] Oresme makes the point that it does not matter whether one speaks of the virtue of Magnanimity, or of the person who "oeuvre selon ceste vertu" (acts according to this virtue).^[10] Later Oresme reiterates that the condition of Magnanimity concerns not only accepting honors but also possessing "richesces et puissances, grans offices ou estas" (riches and powers, great offices, or stations).^[11] Without any mention of specific political office, Oresme's discussion puts the virtue in the orbit of those associated with actual or ideal rulers. Indeed, an illustration of the Morgan Avis au roys depicts a seated king who holds a red heart, emblem of generosity of spirit and feeling (and other qualities) encompassed by the virtue of Magnanimity (Fig. 23).

The representation of Le Magnanime in Figure 20 shows a ruler of exalted status receiving recognition from others of high estate. The unusually oriented vertical scroll emphasizes his position. The seated monarch is identified as the Holy Roman Emperor by virtue of his distinctive hoop crown. The foremost kneeling figure is himself a king, who, with a deferential gesture, lifts a gold crown from his head. A second man, clad in red, gapes in awe at Le Magnanime. In

[Full Size]

Figure 23
A French King as an Exemplar of Magnanimity. Avis au roys.

contrast, the seated ruler, separated from his adorers by a side of the curtain, glances warily in their direction. The gesture of his right hand suggests decorum and deliberation. Le Magnanime accepts the honors due him owing to his rank and moral excellence, but he is not overly impressed by such recognition.^[12] All in all, the visual portrait of Le Magnanime authoritatively records the grand manner described in Aristotle's text and Oresme's translation.

Within the simply ordered subject guide of Figure 20, the two figures depicted point to two virtues associated with the ideal ruler. Placed within separate spaces, the active female and contemplative male personifications are united by the memory gateway, brilliantly lit and emphasized by the contrasting grounds against which they act their appropriate roles. Again, as advocated in rhetorical and mnemonic theory, juxtaposition and opposition, underscored by gender and color contrasts, promote the association of the verbal concepts named in the inscriptions with the appropriate images. Furthermore, the arcade motif is a classic technique in mnemonic theory; it uses "space-between-columns" to locate the things to be remembered.^[13] Here, the combined allusions of the architecture and fleur-de-lis to the kingdom of France as the seat of the depicted virtues may have aroused an unexpected negative reaction from Charles V.

Visual and Verbal Embellishments in MS C

As noted earlier, the revisions of Figure 20 in the C miniature (Figs. 21 and 21a) present certain departures from the precedent set up between Figures 15 and 16. In Figure 21 the single-level treatment of the two subjects of the model (Fig. 20) is modified to a two-register format, in which the virtues retain the mean, central position and the vices are relegated to the sides. Thus, in Figure 21 the reader might expect on the upper level depictions of Liberalité in the center and the vice of Too Much on the left and Too Little on the right. A similar pattern for Le Magnanime would logically follow below. Although such expectations are fulfilled in the upper register of Figure 21, in the lower zone they are not. Two possible explanations may underlie the abandonment of Le Magnanime. The first concerns the difficulty of representing the two associated vices. Oresme discusses the concept of excess, Vanity or Vainglory, called "chaymes , fumeus et presumptueus," and the vice of deficiency, Small-Mindedness, or pusillanime .^[14] The problems of finding intelligible visual equivalents for these vices are substantial, but not impossible, for someone of Oresme's ingenuity.

Perhaps a political motivation inspired the rejection of the representation of Le Magnanime. In Figure 20 the personification wears the crown of the Holy Roman Empire. In tribute, a second ruler removes his crown. It is possible that Charles V opposed this visual homage to the emperor. During the visit in 1377 and 1378 to France of his uncle, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, Charles V asserted in various rituals that he was not subordinate to his relative. Furthermore, it was a commonplace of the political propaganda of Charles V's reign that the king of France was emperor in his own kingdom.^[15] Thus, Charles V may have objected to the treatment of Le Magnanime as the Holy Roman Emperor in Figure 20 and may have suggested that this depiction of the subject be changed in the revised program of C .

In fact, the negative reception of the first version may have inspired the tremendous visual and verbal embellishment of the second. The increased didacticism of the program results in a proliferation of information that threatens the intelligibility of the illustration. Lengthy inscriptions are one source of the overall clutter, such as those that not only name but characterize Liberalité and three associated vices. Furthermore, individual scenes depicting additional figures and objects augment the particular virtue and vices. This tendency to show these moral or immoral forces in scenes from everyday life continues the examples of Figures 15 and 16.

In the center of the upper register stands Liberalité wearing appropriate nunlike garb, signs of her spiritual and sexually neutral status (Fig. 21). Her ability to strike the mean in the giving and spending of money or material goods is described by two phrases on either side of her: "donner par raison" (give as directed by reason) and "prendre selon raison" (take according to reason). Her gift of a gold vessel to the man kneeling on her right signifies her generosity and reinforces the verbal message. But she also is willing to accept the gift of a stag's head offered to her by

the identically clad figure kneeling on her left. This spectacular tribute probably alludes to the climactic stage in the medieval hunt ceremony: the presentation of the stag's head to the highest-ranking person.^[16] In contrast to the nunlike garments of Liberalité, her mundane male companions wear fashionable costume: short, close-fitting tunics with hoods, low belts, hose, and long, pointed shoes.

The vice of excess in expenditures, on the upper left, is called Prodigalité or Fole Largesce. Like Fortitude, Prodigalité is a male personification. His sphere of operation is visually described as masculine: acquiring money and spending it on hunting. Prodigalité's weaknesses are characterized as "donner sanz raison" (giving without reason) and "despendre oultre mise" (spending without measure). The vice is surrounded by three figures. On the far left, a figure sounds a horn. Next to him, another man seems to take away Prodigalité's cloak. On the other side, a third figure presents Prodigalité with two small hinds. The latter figure, along with the man with the horn—who probably sounds a call to join in the sport—suggests a further allusion to hunting and an example of "spending without reason." The gift of the two small animals contrasts with the large stag's head offered to Liberalité. The first is an inappropriate gift typical of Prodigalité, who "exceeds in giving and not taking, and falls short in taking."^[17] Indeed, Oresme is so concerned with the failings of this vice that he includes prodigalité and prodige in the glossary of difficult words.^[18] The visual references to hunting in the scenes of Prodigalité and Liberalité are consistent with a medieval tradition of opposing the sport as a wasteful pursuit.^[19]

The third scene of the upper register represents Avarice, the vice of deficiency opposed to Prodigalité. To be more precise, Avarice is one of two vices that Oresme terms Illiberalité, or lack of generosity.^[20] Oresme explains in a gloss that Illiberalité is a word rarely used in French or Latin; for this reason he probably decided to avoid it in the visual definitions of Figure 21.^[21] Instead, he uses two more familiar terms, Avarice and Convoitise. The former is defined and depicted above; the latter, below. Avarice represents a more serious defect than Prodigalité, which can be remedied by age, experience, and lack of funds. Avarice's faults consist of taking too much ("prendre oultre raison") and giving too little ("retenir oultre raison"). Personified as a female figure, she stands behind a table on which rest three piles of gold coins. Her gesture of grasping in her right hand the coins received from a kneeling man exemplifies her first fault, while her upraised left palm indicates that she rejects the request of the boy on her right to part with her holdings. His plight is also conveyed by the pleading gestures of his hands.

Like Insensibilité, her counterpart in Book III (Fig. 16), Avarice wears a widow's headdress. Here it is germane to recall Oresme's remark in a gloss that women are generally stingier than men and the aged are more so than the young.^[22] Avarice's head covering also sports a horn even more clearly than that of Insensibilité. As noted above, in the Middle Ages Jews were engaged in usury.^[23] Moreover, in western Europe Jewish women took part in financial transactions. Since the text cites usurers among people in "operacions illiberales" (occupations incompatible with generosity), the association of Avarice with the Jews is a natural one.^[24] The extratextual visual allusion shows not only the extent of anti-Semitic attitudes and

psychological stereotypes but also techniques of providing visual cues that update and enliven familiar concepts.

The other aspect of Illiberalité is represented as a male in the lower register of Figure 21. Convoitise (Covetousness) is almost a twin of Prodigalité, below whom he stands. The inscription on both sides of Convoitise describes one aspect of his character: taking beyond what is reasonable ("prendre oultre raison"). Like Avarice, his grasping quality is indicated by his hands, which stretch out to grasp the coins offered by two elegantly clad men. An even longer inscription, somewhat confusingly placed between the figures and the table, defines another side of his failings: giving and spending without reason and for a bad purpose ("donner et despendre sanz raison et a mauvais fin"). The richly laden table on the right probably refers to a wasteful form of expenditure, the counterpart of the greed depicted on the left. The love of bodily pleasures, or "délectacions corporelles," exemplified by the food heaped on the table recalls the vice of Désattrempance in Figure 16. It is not surprising, then, that the self-indulgence of Convoitise is linked with extravagant expenditure in both Aristotle's text and Oresme's translation.^[25] Oresme's choice of Convoitise as the sole subject of the lower register of Figure 21 leads to various difficulties in interpreting the illustration. It is not easy to connect the three scenes of the upper register with the single scene on the left and the table on the right of the lower. While it is possible that the empty center alludes to the absence of virtue in Convoitise, there is no verbal or visual reinforcement of such a notion. It is true, however, that the placement of Convoitise on the left, his frontal position, and his contemporary dress align him morally and visually with Prodigalité. Indeed, the similar appearance of the two personifications may allude to the presence of these qualities in one person. Yet the absence of a second figure on the right and the separation from Convoitise of the inscription are confusing. The relation between Avarice and Convoitise as parts of a single vice does not come across either. The departure from the triadic scheme in the lower register thus leads to puzzling gaps in the illustration. Neither Figure 20 nor 21 is among the most exciting images in their cycles. If the first seems cryptic and somewhat conventional, the second errs on the side of discursiveness. In the parlance of the Ethics , one attempts "too little," the other, "too much." Charles V's negative reaction to Figure 20 may have inspired Oresme to expand the subject guides in Figure 21 and to abandon alternative schemes of visual order that so effectively link text and image. Perhaps Oresme intended to rely on these lengthy inscriptions as talking points for an oral explication regarding norms of expenditure: this was a subject he deemed particularly relevant to the appropriate conduct of his primary audience.

9—
The Centrality of Justice (Book V)

The Theoretical and Historical Concept

The center of the Nicomachean Ethics is the discussion in Book V of Justice. Justice is central, too, as a fundamental moral virtue that extends beyond the individual to regulate proper conduct within a political community. Thus Justice occupies a central place both within the Ethics and the Politics .^[1] Although Aristotle does not completely depart from Plato's concept of Justice as an "immutable, eternally valid, and universal idea," he considers it as a virtue operating within a political and social context.^[2] For Aristotle, Justice is based on a system of law: the ultimate sovereign that governs, for the good of its members, the ethical relationships within a political community among men of free and equal status. Compared to a narrower, legal sense of the term in English, Justice in Greek (Dikaiosyne ) connotes righteousness or honesty. Aristotle distinguishes between a general or universal type of Justice, "the whole of goodness . . . being the exercise of goodness as a whole . . . towards one's neighbour," and Particular Justice.^[3] Justice represents, and is identical with, perfect virtue, not only as an individual moral state but as a quality that governs relationships to other people. Although part of universal or general Justice, Particular Justice is concerned with behaving fairly or, as Aristotle terms it, "equally" to other men.^[4] In turn, Particular Justice is itself divided into two types. The first of these is Distributive Justice, "which is the justice shown by the whole state in distributing offices, honours, and other benefits among its members."^[5] The second kind of Particular Justice is Corrective or Remedial Justice, which adjusts or awards on a fair basis damages or punishments among individual parties.

As king of France, Charles V had a particular interest in Aristotle's definition of Justice. Since antiquity, Western thought emphasized that Justice (along with Temperance, Fortitude, and Prudence) is one of the four cardinal virtues, or essential moral qualities, required by the ideal ruler.^[6] In various conceptual and historical contexts, Justice is connected with the ruler or state, an embodiment of the supreme, ethical force guiding the regime and articulated in a system of laws enacted and enframed by the sovereign power of government. The influential genre of the Mirror of Princes literature, subject to changing concepts of Christian kingship, reiterates the identification of Justice with the ideal ruler. To take one important example, John of Salisbury's Policraticus of 1159 views the king as an image

of equity and the mediator between divine and human law.^[7] The same text conceives of the state as a natural organism, "a kind of body of which the king is the head; and in turn the king must rule according to the higher reason which participates in justice and equity."^[8] The integration of Aristotle's Ethics and Politics within Christian political and social thought, and specifically in the Mirror of Princes literature, promotes a more secular and naturalistic frame of reference. Giles of Rome's influential De regimine principum (ca. 1282) associates the ruler's most important function with his moral character and ability to act and judge wisely for the good of the whole community.^[9]

Preceded by Thomas Aquinas's treatise of the same title, Giles of Rome's work was written for the heir to the French throne, Philip the Fair. As was mentioned in Chapters 1 and 4 above, Philip commissioned a French version of Giles's text from Henri de Gauchi, Li livres du gouvernement des rois . The closely related mid-fourteenth-century text, the Morgan Avis au roys , shows the reduction of complex Aristotelian texts to simple pedagogical maxims. Following a long tradition, this work associates Justice with the ideal prince. But Aristotelian definitions of Distributive and Remedial Justice now appear. The Avis au roys also states the ruler's obligation to maintain the rights, liberties, and freedom of his subjects.^[10] The function of the king as dispenser of Justice had concrete application during the expansion of the French monarchy in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The king's power to legislate and administer laws grew considerably, while the supremacy of royal justice over the courts of princes and the church played an important role in Capetian claims of sovereignty. Using precepts taken from Roman law, legal theorists articulated the supremacy of the king's courts in judicial matters. On grounds of the common welfare and defense of the realm, a climax in the monarchy's claim to sovereignty came at the turn of the fourteenth century during Philip the Fair's confrontation with the papacy.^[11]

During the same period, mystical language and visual symbols forcefully articulated claims that God had chosen the rulers and people of France over those of other nations.^[12] The myth of sacral kingship also asserted that God had bestowed on French rulers Wisdom, Piety, and Justice.^[13] Indeed, Philip the Fair himself stated that the kingdom of France surpassed all others as the seat of Justice.^[14] The example of Louis IX, canonized as St. Louis in 1297 and known as a holy and wise dispenser of Justice to his people, buttressed these claims.^[15]

In response to internal and foreign threats to the Valois dynasty, Charles V and his publicists restated the identification of royal sovereignty with law and justice. Treatises and ordinances used mystical formulas associated with sacral kingship, as well as language derived from natural and Roman law theories.^[16] Commissioned by Charles V around 1376 and finished in 1378, Le songe du vergier is a prime example of a tract designed to bolster the monarchy's claims of sovereignty. A fictional dialogue between a cleric and a knight, the Songe rehearses the perennial conflicts between church and state and comes down firmly on the secular side.^[17] Such concepts as that the territory is inalienable from the crown and that the king is emperor in his own kingdom assert his sovereignty.^[18] Inserted in the Songe is a

detailed list of the king's specific rights and powers.^[19] In a very different tone, the lengthy preamble to the Songe , tinged with mystical allusions, celebrates the name of Charles V as the signifier of the clear light of peace, truth, and justice.^[20]

The iconography of Charles V features a symbol rooted in the king's identification with Justice. Several images in his Coronation Book show him holding one of the distinctive emblems of the French monarchy. The main de justice , a rod surmounted by an ivory hand, not only signifies the monarch's duty to rule and to embody the principles of Justice but also sets the French king apart from other rulers.^[21] Charles V's keen awareness of the value of ritual in confirming his prerogatives as the supreme source of Justice may well have prompted Oresme to take special pains in formulating Aristotle's authoritative definition of this fundamental moral and political virtue.

The Design of the Justice Folio in MS A

The arrangement of folio 89 signals the beginning of Book V, the midpoint of the ten books of the Ethics (Fig. 24 and Pl. 3). The lavish enframement marks its importance and sets it apart from the three previous text illustrations, which were tied to the column (Figs. 11, 15, and 20). The Justice miniature on folio 89 shares the rich decoration, two-register format, and frontispiece status only with the dedication scene of A , the introduction of Book I (Fig. 7). But Figure 24 surpasses this folio in its vertical dimension.^[22] Also, the single figural group in the undivided picture space of the upper register of Figure 24 is unique in the entire cycle.

Folio 89 begins a new gathering that separates the leaf from Book IV. As another indication of the illustration's unusual importance, Figure 24 reverses the usual order by preceding rather than following the chapter headings. The miniature becomes the central element of the design, bracketed between the arching leaves of the upper border (see Pl. 3) and the large, six-line foliate initial below it. In turn, Justice légale (Legal Justice), the main figure of the upper register, occupies a central position. She stands directly below the Roman numeral identifying the book and on axis with a line that symmetrically divides the text columns and the two miniatures of the lower register.

The Visual Definition of Justice:
The Upper Register

The focus of the design is the splendid miniature, divided into two registers. The order corresponds to the textual sequence of the two main aspects of Justice defined by Aristotle. First, in the upper zone a visual definition of Justice in its universal or legal sense employs a complex personification allegory (Fig. 24a). The lower register (Fig. 24b) depicts Particular Justice, concerned with fairness in individual cases, divided into two subtypes: Justice distributive (Distributive Justice) on the left; Justice commutative (Remedial Justice) on the right. The struc-

[Full Size]

Figure 24
Above, from left:  Justice légale with Fortitude, Justice particulière ,  Mansuétude,
Entrepesie; below : Justice distributive, Justice commutative.  Les éthiques
d'Aristote, MS  A.

[Full Size]

Figure 24A
Upper register of Fig. 24

[Full Size]

Figure 24B
Lower register of Fig. 24

ture of the miniature's upper and lower registers corresponds to the generic and specific definitions of Justice respectively.

As noted above, the undivided space of the upper register offers an important clue to its privileged status. The inscription above the central figure, Justice légale, identifies the subject. Since the adjective légale is a neologism introduced by Oresme, the contemporary reader might have been puzzled by the meaning of the inscription. To overcome the problem, Oresme gives a definition of this term in the glossary of difficult words. Justice légale, Oresme states, is Universal Justice

that contains every virtue. He then directs the reader to Chapter 2 for further information.^[23] On folio 89 itself, the title for Chapter 2 directly below the miniature affords another access point to the definition of Justice légale. The inscription thus has lexical and indexical functions that link text and image.

The choice of the term Justice légale , instead of the synonymous Justice universele , stresses that in Oresme's text Justice is identified with obedience to positive or man-made law.^[24] Yet a certain tension exists between the secular and political emphasis in Oresme's definition and several formal and iconographic aspects of its visual analogue. The system for ordering the image of the upper register employs devices that communicate simultaneously worldly and transcendent associations. For example, the central position of the main figure has a twofold significance. In one sense, her placement alludes to her embodiment of the mean, as in the scheme fashioned by Oresme for the depiction of Virtue in Book II (Fig. 11). In the context of Book V, Justice légale fixes the mean in regard to personal and social relationships and in reaching fair and just judgment. Her verticality conveys notions of uprightness and standing fast. But her preponderant size abandons the association established in Figure 11 of the ethical mean with physical scale. Instead, a reversion to a non-naturalistic canon signals that large scale stands for spiritual or political supremacy. In this case, the reference symbolizes the primacy of Justice légale in the hierarchy of moral virtues, as well as a supernatural status.

The sheltering mantle of Justice légale also has multiple associations. This important motif expresses the virtue's characteristics of benevolence, protectiveness, and inclusiveness. The six smaller forms she harbors are subordinate to her and contained within her. In a visual and conceptual sense, they are "daughter" virtues. Of the six depicted, four are named: Fortitude, Justice particulière (Particular Justice), Mansuétude (Gentleness) and Entrepesie (Conciliation). Of these, Fortitude and Mansuétude are the first and third of the virtues in Oresme's text that form part of Justice légale.^[25] Justice particulière is a daughter too, as she is a special type of Justice, different from, but also part of, Justice légale. The meaning of the neologism Entrepesie is more problematic. The late Professor Menut suggested in a letter that the word, probably derived from entre and peser (to weigh between) means mediation or conciliation.

Although the metaphor of Justice and her daughters exists in medieval legal and ethical sources, the four named in the miniature of folio 89 do not match up with any fixed group.^[26] Also ambiguous are the associations of the attributes held by the daughters. The palm held by Fortitude, the sword proferred by Justice particulière, the ring extended by Mansuétude, and the dog cuddled by Entrepesie can apply to them or to their mother. For example, as a cardinal virtue, Fortitude can appropriately carry a palm, which can also signify the victory of a secular or heavenly ruler.^[27] Of course, the sword is traditionally associated with Justice, while the ring can allude to the eternal nature and sovereignty of this trustworthy virtue.^[28] This grouping may reflect Oresme's personal selection of significant concepts.

The maternal aspect of Justice légale creates a powerful visual metaphor of nurturant qualities, whose clear order and structure relate many aspects of the

virtue's moral qualities to each other. From the relationship between mother and daughter another range of allusions emerges that further illuminates the character of Justice légale. The protection she offers her daughters refers to her mercy, compassion, and responsibility. The mantle she extends is emblematic of these qualities. To both contemporaries and the modern viewer, the outspread cloak calls to mind the iconographic type known as the Madonna of Misericordia, or Mercy. A recent study by Christa Belting-Ihm clarifies the subtly interwoven roots of this archetypal image. Old Testament, Roman imperial, legal, Christian, and other sources account for the shifting content in which the protective mantle theme appears.^[29] As testimony of the expansion of the Madonna of Misericordia theme in the thirteenth century, an image in a manuscript of Averroes's commentary on Aristotle's Metaphysics shows the fluid boundaries between the secular and religious realms. A historiated initial of an English manuscript^[30] depicts Philosophy sheltering her daughters, the seven liberal arts.^[31]

A legal source connected with the conceptual roots of the protective-mantle motif relates to the adoption ceremony followed in medieval courts. An important part of the ritual was the adoptive father's spreading a cloak over the child.^[32] A similar gesture made by high-ranking people—particularly queens—shielded defenseless persons (especially women) from criminal acts.^[33] Within a purely secular context, the mid-fourteenth-century Morgan Avis au roys manuscript shows both feminine and masculine exemplars of protectiveness. Perfect Virtue shelters the smaller cardinal virtues beneath her cloak (Fig. 13).^[34] On a more earthly level, two miniatures from the same manuscript represent French kings as shields of their people (Figs. 25 and 26). Thus, by the fourteenth century the mantle motif appears in both secular and religious contexts and is not limited to female exemplars.

Figures 25 and 26 clearly raise the connection between political sovereignty and Justice. In Figure 24 Justice légale is represented as a queen as well as a mother. What general and specific significance does queenship have in this miniature? According to Aristotle, Universal or Legal Justice is virtue in its fullest sense and holds a sovereign position among civic virtues. Oresme describes Justice légale as "la plus tres noble de toutes les vertus" (the most noble of all the virtues).^[35] In regard to the Madonna of Misericordia type, a spiritual affinity exists between Justice légale and Mary the Queen of Heaven, who embodies mercy and serves as advocate and mediator for humanity. The gold crown of Justice légale is similar to that worn by French queens, who similarly enjoy the highest social status. Moreover, French queens vow in their coronation oaths to be "merciful and generous to the poor and to widows and orphans." This phrase appears in the order of 1364 followed in the coronation of Jeanne de Bourbon.^[36] Indeed, the rod that the queen receives is associated in the liturgy with virtue and justice. As noted above, medieval queens traditionally exercise a legal prerogative of harboring defenseless people, particularly women, from attack or wrongdoing. It is, therefore, not unexpected to find in a drawing of Charles V and his family visual confirmation of the links between a French queen and legal tutelage. Illustrating a charter dated 1374, the right part of the drawing depicts Queen Jeanne de Bourbon sheltering her daughters (Fig. 27). The date of the document coincides with the year

[Full Size]

Figure 25
A French King Protects His Subjects. Avis au roys.

[Full Size]

Figure 26
A French King Shields His Subjects from an Enemy. Avis au roys.

[Full Size]

Figure 27
Charter with Charles V, Jeanne de Bourbon, Their Children, and the Monks of
Royaumont Abbey.

in which Charles V made the queen legal guardian of the royal children, if he died while they were still minors.^[37] Within MS A allusions to Jeanne de Bourbon occur in the image on the upper right of the frontispiece (Fig. 7) and in the crowned, fashionably clad figure of Vertu introducing Book II (Fig. 11).

The star on the figure's bodice could also have reminded Oresme's primary audience of another secular context for this emblem connected with French royalty. The chivalric Order of the Star was founded by King John the Good in 1351. The representation of an important meeting of the order later became a full-page illustration in Charles V's copy of the Grandes chroniques de France (Fig. 28). Anne Hedeman relates this prominent miniature to two main themes in this manuscript: French superiority over the English and the continuity of the Valois succession. Another element of particular interest in the context of Figure 24a is the order's ties to the cult of the Virgin.^[38]

[Full Size]

Figure 28
Order of the Star. Grandes chroniques de France.

The crown is not the only attribute of Justice légale with a dual frame of reference. For example, the flowing locks and youthful appearance of the virtue link her again with the Virgin Mary. The contemporary queen, Jeanne de Bourbon, also appears with unbound tresses during her coronation.^[39] The gold star adorning the breast of Justice légale recalls the attribute of Mary as Star of the Sea. Yet a perfectly secular context for Justice's star is the explicit passage in the Ethiques that "neither evening or morning star" is as wonderful as she.^[40] Moreover, the vivid "royal" blue mantle of Justice légale is appropriate not only for Mary but also for the queen of France. In short, like motherhood, queenship has secular and religious dimensions.

Despite the multivalent character of Justice légale, the setting and background of the representation emphasize her secular roots. Repeating the motif of the rinceaux above, her form is a human analogue of the architectural feature that dominates the upper register. A large central opening in the shape of a flattened arch surmounted by crenellations is flanked by two smaller turreted, round arches. This construction can be interpreted as an expansion of the crenellated-wall motif noted in earlier and subsequent miniatures of the A cycle. It is consistent with the previous interpretation of this motif as a stronghold or citadel of the virtues in the miniatures of Books III and IV (Figs. 15 and 20) to consider its extension in Figure 24a as connoting a city gateway. Such a reading accords with the key concept in Book V that Legal Justice operates in and orders the social relationships of a political community, Aristotle's city-state. In other words, the reader could associate Legal Justice with its place of operation: the city represented in medieval form. Figure 24a thus provides another example of Frances Yates's and Mary Carruthers's observations on scholastic memory systems. Here, an ideally beautiful personification of a moral concept, identified by an inscription, is associated with an architectural setting. Furthermore, the placement of Justice légale at the middle and largest opening of a triple archway reinforces her centrality. In a similar vein, the setting becomes a memory gateway in which the central place corresponds both to sequence in the text and to the importance of the concept. Here the triadic scheme sets off smaller, lateral, dark openings with brightly lit sills as ordering devices with which the reader can locate and separate mentally the particular definitions and lesser forms of Justice distributive and Justice commutative depicted in the lower register from the generic formulations of the upper zone.^[41]

The memory gateway setting suggests another set of associations. The extended central portion resembles a shrine inhabited by Justice.^[42] Justice légale acts, then, as a tutelary guardian, both securing and ruling the political community. Of course, the concept of Justice as a virgin goddess has a long tradition that encompasses the classical Astraea, the mysterious figure of Virgil's Fourth Eclogue, and the Virgin Mary.^[43]

If the figure of Justice légale suggests a supramundane ideal, the prominent setting anchors her in a worldly foundation represented by the city wall. The large rose fleur-de-lis pattern of the background invites the informed reader, aware of the claims that France was the chosen seat of Justice on earth, to link visually the

city gate with the fleur-de-lis. This process connects Justice légale with a person and a place: the ruler and kingdom of France.

The upper register of Figure 24 confirms the centrality and complexity of the ideas traditionally associated with Legal Justice. Although the extent of religious meaning retained by this image of Justice légale is impossible to determine, the virtue reigns as a heavenly queen over an ideal and static realm. The text states that Universal Justice functions through man-made law to assure the happiness of the public welfare realized in a political community.

Justice Particulière:
The Lower Register

In contrast to the universal and ideal sphere depicted in the upper register, the lower half represents Justice particulière, who operates in concrete and mundane situations. The lower register depicts two aspects of Particular Justice. Although the term does not figure in the inscriptions (Fig. 24b), it is defined in Chapters 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of Oresme's text. In addition, the glossary states that Justice particulière is synonymous with Justice équale; in modern French, Justice égale. In this context égal is best translated as "fair." Justice particulière thus connotes the principle of fair dealing by establishing a mean in regard to two types of actions. On the basis of merit, the first distributes goods or honors held by the political community. The second assesses penalties or awards damages as they concern the actions of individuals. Aristotle's division of Particular Justice into two parts finds visual reflection in the lower register occupied by Justice distributive on the left and Justice commutative on the right. The placement of Justice distributive reflects prior sequence in the text. The domain of Justice distributive includes three main concepts: fairness, the notion of the mean, and relativity. The latter also implies a system of proportions, since "just distribution" is concerned with relationships among four terms: two people and two things.^[44]

In Figure 24b, the image of Justice distributive offers an ingenious visual definition of these complex ideas corresponding to Oresme's clear explanation of them. The tricolor quadrilobe isolates and frames the field of action. In contrast to the city gateway motif of the upper register, a table furnishes an interior setting. The center of attention is Justice distributive, who once again holds down the center, the visual and verbal analogue of the ethical ideal. Identified by the inscription unfurling above her head, she wears the familiar widowlike headdress and simple robe characteristic of Attrempance and Liberalité. Her actions also recall the representation in Book IV of Liberalité (Fig. 20). In Figure 24b Justice distributive is meting out rewards to four figures. Of these, two—seen only partially—may be bystanders or witnesses. The one closer to Justice distributive holds a pile of coins in one hand, and in the other, a document bearing a red seal. The second full-length figure holds a gold chalice. All four glance anxiously at Justice distributive, who presides over a table covered with stacks of gold coins and vessels and documents. These items symbolize the material rewards, honors, or offices given

to deserving individuals by the political community. In this context, charters bestowing land or office are intelligible medieval signs of such awards.

With one hand on the coins in front of her and the other upraised in a reflective gesture, Justice distributive seeks guidance in meting out fair shares from a set of rectangular measuring rods. Written like the inscriptions with brown ink on white ground, the rods' sizes are proportionate to the numbers marked on the short projecting sides: ".vi.," ".iii.," ".iiii.," and ".ii." The reader is prepared for the introduction of the key notion of finding the mean by a system of proportions in the first two chapter headings of the right text column. From the titles for Chapters 6 and 7 comes the information linking the mean and proportion with Justice distributive. If the reader is puzzled by the word proporcionalité , a neologism according to Menut, Oresme defines the term and its application in the first gloss of Chapter 7. In the next sentence, Oresme arrives at the set of figures written on the measuring rods above the head of Justice distributive: "Ces deux porporcions doubles sont equales et ce est appellé proporcionalité; si come nous diron en la proporcion de .vi. a .iii. est equale a la porporcion de .iiii. a .ii." (These two double proportions are equal and this is what is called proportionality, as we say the proportion of six to three is equal to the proportion of four to two).^[45]

To clarify the relationships among the four terms of this proportional system, in Chapter 7 Oresme substitutes numbers for letters in the text and several glosses.^[46] The measuring rods of Figure 24b give an example of a double proportional relationship, identical with that established by Oresme in the first gloss of Chapter 7 cited above. If the merit of the first person (A) has a value of six, double that of the second man (B), fixed at three, the reward of A, fixed at four (C), will be twice that given to B, fixed at two (D), or 6:3 = 4:2.

In the left half of the scene, a visual demonstration of the proportions indicated on the measuring rods is enacted. The coins and document held by the foremost figure, whose feet overlap the frame and who stands closest to Justice distributive, represent an instance of the two-to-one ratio of the awards, since the figure next to him holds only a single object, a chalice. Figure 24b is the unique example of Justice distributive to feature the numbered measuring rods in all the illustrated copies of Oresme's translation of the Ethics .^[47] The inclusion here of the proportionally sized rods constitutes another important argument that Oresme designed the program of this illustration. The particular set of numbers on the rods appears only in a gloss composed by Oresme, and his substitution of numbers for the usual letters that define the proportional relationships is consistent with his scientific and mathematical training. As previously noted, he wrote a treatise on the subject of proportions.^[48] Although the system of proportions illustrated on the measuring rods is not elaborate, its prominence within the larger visual definition reflects Oresme's subtle turn of mind and his fondness for visual conceits.

The lower right quadrilobe of Figure 24 represents the second subdivision of Particular Justice invented by Aristotle: Remedial Justice, or Justice commutative.^[49] In another metaphor of kinship, consistent with the mother-daughter one of the upper register, the identical appearance of Justice distributive and Justice commu-

tative shows that they are twin sisters. Yet their fields of operation as judges are different. Justice commutative acts to "rectify a wrong that has been done by awarding damages."^[50] Whether an act involves breach of contract or a civil or criminal wrong, "in both cases the injury is regarded as done to an individual, and in both the judge's object is not to punish but to give redress."^[51]

Which verbal and visual devices convey the distinctive functions of Justice commutative? In the second column directly below the miniature, the titles for Chapters 8 and 9 contain key words. The terms Justice commutative and commutacions respectively locate for the reader the places where this concept is defined. The inscription Justice commutative above the personification provides the link between text and image. The visual ordering of the lower right quadrilobe clarifies the judgment between two parties by placing one on each side of Justice commutative. Certain attributes associated with this type of justice further emphasize her sphere of operations. Suspended on her right is the balance, a traditional symbol of fair judgment. On her left, at the same level, a scourge and a stock are depicted, while an axe rests on the floor. Although the text outlines a system of proportions for arriving at the mean in the disputes mediated by Justice commutative, the device of measuring rods is not repeated here. Deployed like the instruments of Christ's Passion, the less complex but familiar symbols of judgment and punishment create positive and negative areas of the picture field.^[52]

Justice commutative stands in the center, the judge who is a living embodiment of the law. She occupies the middle ground in her search for the mean. By definition, judges serve as "moienneurs, comme ceulz qui actaingnent au moien quant ilz viennent et actaingnent a justice. Et donques chose juste est moienne et le juge est moien en tant comme il fait equalité" (mediators, as those who achieve the mean when they come [to judge] and [in fact] achieve justice. And thus the just thing is the mean and the judge is the mean inasmuch as he acts fairly).^[53] The gesture of Justice commutative conveys another essential aspect of the good judge: evenhandedness or impartiality. Her crossed hands express her function of taking away from one and giving to the other party the fair share of damages or penalties.

The direction of Justice commutative's glance toward the person on her left indicates the probable nature of her judgment. She looks sadly toward the tonsured cleric, whose costume contrasts with the fashionably clad secular figure on her right. Moreover, the closeness of the scourge and the axe to the cleric's figure are further clues that his case is lost. The contemporary reader was familiar with the perennial disputes between the relative legal powers of ecclesiastic and civil courts when clerics were involved. The claims of the secular power triumph decisively in the Songe du vergier and its Latin predecessor. Although Oresme's text does not address this issue, the illustration makes a point favorable to royal justice sure to please his patron.

The Sister Justices

The separate visual definitions of each register now lead to consideration of the formal and expressive character of the miniature as a whole. The personal partici-

pation of the Jean de Sy Master in its execution is another clue to its prominence. The liveliness of his painterly touch is as crucial in creating meanings as Oresme's extensive formulation of the program or the calligraphic and decorative framework produced by the scribe and other members of the atelier. Characteristic of this collaborative enterprise is the use of color as an element unifying borders, text, and miniature (see Pl. 3). As noted above, the "royal" blue mantle of Justice légale associates her with both Mary and the French monarchy, as do her gold crown and star. Two of the four daughter and sister virtues, Fortitude and Mansuétude, stand out in their red robes as essential parts of Justice légale, while the other two, clad in pale pink, serve as foils to the more assertive tones. In the lower register, the color used to represent the central figures reverses from blue to red. More subdued hues prevail in the lower scenes for depiction of minor figures: pale pink verging on white for the parties at law and olive green for bystanders or witnesses. For the two Justices below, the repeated color in their identical costumes reinforces the metaphor of double kinship.

The brilliant red of the twin Justices attract attention to them as symbolic and physical centers of the composition.^[54] The mean position here does not contrast with extremes placed on left and right (as it does in Fig. 11). Instead, the two Justices embody separate means or measures of arriving at just or fair actions. The conjunction of their vertical poses with the central triangular breaks of the framing quadrilobes accentuates their symbolic central positions. While Oresme makes the point that the Justices of the lower register act as living embodiments of the law, it is the illuminator who endows them with convincing gestures that make them the psychological centers of the compositions. The inner awareness of Justice distributive is conveyed by her upraised hand and the pronounced turn of her head. Compassion and impartiality are qualities imparted to Justice commutative by her facial expression and hand movements. In contrast to the static and literally supernatural form of Justice légale, these twin Justices are more human in scale and animation.

The sister Justices below also command the dramatic centers of their compositions. Although identified as subtypes of Justice particulière, they also act as judges, whose decisions affect those anxiously awaiting them. The fact that the witnesses and parties "at law" are all masculine apparently repeats traditional gender role segregation: women exert power as spiritual forces but only male protagonists inhabit the public realm. Yet several elements in this miniature, and others of the A cycle, tend to blur this basic distinction. The shared psychological tension of the actors and judges and their physical proximity pictorially fuse the spiritual and worldly realms. Nevertheless, the Justices are slightly elevated above the figures surrounding them, and Justice distributive is separated from the others by the table. But in the lower right scene Justice commutative's hands touch those of the disputants. Most important in negating a distinction between ideal and earthly spheres of action is the highly naturalistic and expressive figure style. Always more comfortable in representing the everyday world (Fig. 33), the Jean de Sy Master creates animated and authoritative female judges. Although the text specifies masculine judges, the iconographic tradition of female personifications of Justice pre-

vails here. Drawing his inspiration from the world around him, the illuminator envisions women who act in a similarly authoritative manner. Although the widowlike dress of the sister Justices does not reveal social class, the no-nonsense robes and deportment of these figures can connect them with women the Jean de Sy Master may have encountered in business, welfare, or craft transactions. In these and other fields, decision making and distribution of funds were important parts of women's work. Certainly the authoritative visual role of these female Justices represents a significant departure from the male-centered text. If the social and ontological status of the twin Justices remains ambiguous, no doubts arise about their aesthetic and psychological domination of these two scenes. Not for the first time in medieval art does the human and transitory realm appear more compelling both to artist and audience than the conventional and remote world of supramundane existence.

The Visual Redefinition in C

In comparison to Figure 24, the illustration for Book V in MS C does not receive the same emphasis. Figure 29 (and Fig. 29a) is the same size as other miniatures in the first half of the book and conforms to the normal structure of the manuscript in its relationship to the text. Placed after the chapter headings, the miniature in C does, however, occupy the top of the page. It shares this elevated frontispiece status only with the illustration of Book II and the dedication page. The rinceau of the upper left border points toward the inscription identifying the main figure and the Roman numeral indicating the number of the book. The rubrics of the first chapter immediately below the miniature set off the sober coloration of the small grisaille figures and the pale brown ink of the inscriptions. In contrast, the jewellike background of the upper register and the wild floral motif in bright blue tones of the lower zone sound an exotic note.

With minor changes, the general iconographic scheme established in Figure 24 continues in Figure 29. In the top zone Justice légale shelters her daughters. Below, the picture field is divided between representations of Justice distributive on the left and Justice commutative on the right. Although the revisions from A to C eliminate the quadrilobes, the concept of two separate scenes remains, but without any demarcation. Consistent with the pattern adopted in C , all three Justices are depicted as nunlike figures.^[55] One consequence of this change is that Justice légale is no longer a queen, even though her gold star and large scale indicate her supernatural status. The two Justices below have lost their vitality, as well as the prominence conferred by the bright red robes they wore in Figure 24. Indeed, the two lower scenes of Figure 29 lack the distinctive psychological and physical tensions among the witnesses and parties at law. The frontality adopted for all three types of Justice here conveys an undifferentiated majesty. The sameness of the type brings about a static, lifeless quality reflected in the boneless, unarticulated forms of the tiny figures.

Certain editorial revisions in Figure 29 sharpen or blur essential relationships present in Figure 24. For example, the inscriptions no longer unfurl dramatically but are placed neatly in a uniform, rectangular format above the heads of the three main figures, and the caption identifying Justice légale is placed above the frame. Her daughters have lost their individual attributes and labels and instead share a collective identity. The inscription "les vertuz," inserted on the underside of Justice légale's cloak, suggests that this identification was an afterthought. The addition of a seventh daughter permits a division into a familiar sequence suggesting four cardinal and three theological virtues. Although inappropriate in the Aristotelian context, such a series is more uniform than the six daughters in Figure 24, of whom two are nameless. Furthermore, the somewhat ungainly city gateway of Figure 24 gives way to a more elegant stone tabernacle with two small side turrets and a central fleur-de-lis boss. As a whole, the structure suggests a temple or shrine of Justice, a feature of a twelfth-century legal treatise.^[56] This reworking of the city gate motif of Figure 24 reinforces the argument in favor of the image's secular orientation. The location of the shrine of Justice in France is conveyed by the motif of the fleur-de-lis common to the central boss and to the pattern of the background.

The crowded lower register contrasts greatly with the compression and isolation of the representation of Justice légale above. Set against a strong branching pattern, twelve figures (five on the left, seven on the right) are crowded into a very small space. The dramatic approach to these scenes in Figure 24 yields in Figure 29 to a more didactic method. Additional inscriptions are necessary as a consequence of the sameness of the sisters' actions. This strategy further overburdens the picture field. In the left scene, Justice distributive no longer disburses gold, precious objects, or offices, as is the case in Figure 24b. Using the conventional symbol of the scale, she literally weighs the claims of a pair of clerics on the left against those of two secular people on the other side. On the table in front of her lie a gold miter and a sword, symbols of the two competing sources of authority. Not surprisingly, the larger pan of her scale comes down on the secular side. The inscription at the bottom, "departir a chascun selon les merites" (distribute to each one according to his merits), reinforces the visual action. This revision of the analogous scene in A makes explicit the more allusive reference there to the struggle between the secular and ecclesiastic courts.

Even lengthier inscriptions crowd the scene featuring Justice commutative. Unlike the compassionate and impartial judge of Figure 24, this one sits in a full-length, frozen, frontal position. She holds a balance in her right hand, a sword in her left. The second attribute alludes to the penalties Justice commutative can impose. The evenly poised pans of her scale indicate her impartiality, as she fulfills her function to "rendre a chascun le sien" (to render each one his due). Below the groups of figures on each side of her are identical inscriptions. "Advocas et tesmoins" (lawyer and witness) designate two of the three men. The last set of inscriptions, "discussion" and "execucion urgens," identifies twin aspects of a court case. The figure on the left of the scene, a court official who holds a baton or rod, affirms the legal nature of the proceedings. A feature of Figure 24b is the

[Full Size]

Figure 29
Above : Justice légale and the Virtues;  below : Justice distributive,  Justice commutative.
Les éthiques d'Aristote, MS  C.

[Full Size]

Figure 29A
Detail of Fig. 29

judgment of Justice commutative between civil and clerical litigants. In Figure 29, however, such a contest shifts to the opposite scene featuring Justice distributive, while the case presided over by her sister concerns a more general category of legal action.

Depersonalization of the sister judges in MS C reflects their loss of activity. Physical distance and spiritual separation from the parties at law are accentuated by their rigid postures and frontal stares. Perhaps the very liveliness of the female judges of Figure 24 prompted a negative critique by the king, the translator, or both. In any case, their counterparts in Figure 29 revert to a more passive and traditional representational mode.

Parallel Directions

Despite their unusual character, the illustrations in A and C are not the first examples of visual allusions to Aristotle's concepts of Justice. Earlier trecento fresco programs have been associated with the influence in Italy of native thinkers trained in France to apply Aristotelian ethical and political concepts to the structures of the Italian city-state.^[57] For example, recent scholarship has postulated various Aristotelian contexts for Giotto's famous figures of Justice and Injustice in the Arena Chapel in Padua. Consecrated in 1305, the structure reflects an elaborate drama of Christian salvation. References to the foundation of the state on principles of law and justice are expressed in the central position of Justice on the lowest zone of the wall (Fig. 30). More specifically Aristotelian are the subtypes of Distributive and Remedial Justice. Although not identified verbally, they are depicted by groups of classically inspired figures placed on the pans of the scales held by Justice.

[Full Size]

Figure 30
Giotto , Justice.  Padua, Arena Chapel .

[Full Size]

Figure 31
Ambrogio Lorenzetti,  Justice.

On the left, a small winged form acting as Distributive Justice bestows a reward on a (now headless) figure seated at a desk.^[58] An implicit reference to Remedial Justice occurs on the right, in the pan held by the virtue's left hand. There, a Jupiter-like figure cuts off the head of a man placed on the arm of Justice's throne.

The major theme of Ambrogio Lorenzetti's fresco cycle of Good and Bad Government, decorating the Sala dei Nove of the Palazzo Pubblico, Siena (dating from 1337 to 1340), is the association of Peace and Justice with Good Government (Fig. 31). Until recently art historians generally accepted the assertions in Nicolai Rubenstein's classic article of the connection of the Sala dei Nove program with Aristotelian and Thomistic concepts.^[59] Quentin Skinner opposes these Aristotelian links by stressing the ideological connections of Lorenzetti's frescoes with thirteenth-century Italian prehumanist rhetorical writers on city and republican government.^[60] After a lengthy analysis of the iconography, including the choice and distribution of the virtues and vices, Skinner singles out as the most important source of Lorenzetti's program Brunetto Latini's encyclopedia of 1263, Li livres dou trésor . Although Latini's work was based on the paraphrase of the Nicomachean Ethics by Hermannus Alemannus and not on the Grosseteste translation, Skinner emphasizes the differences between Aristotelian concepts of the virtues and vices, and

Latini's.^[61] Instead, Skinner stresses the Ciceronian and Latin character of Latini's moral thought and its direct reflection in Lorenzettian iconography.^[62] Although more reluctant to limit the texts chosen by the artist or a learned adviser, Randolph Starn also favors Latini's work as an analogue to the frescoes in their use of the vernacular, encyclopedic structure and extended discussion of the virtues and vices.^[63] Chiara Frugoni, who underscores the importance of biblical and other religious writings, also hesitates to limit the textual sources of the Lorenzetti frescoes. Like Starn, she emphasizes the importance of the vernacular inscriptions.^[64]

Although scholars disagree on the iconographic sources of the Palazzo Pubblico program, they stress the fundamental importance of Justice in the elaborate central allegory and its extensive inscriptions. Justice is a young, crowned, and richly clad figure who is seated frontally (Fig. 31). The figure of Sapientia (Wisdom), issuing from a divine realm, floats above her head. Directly below Justice, linked by a cord, Concordia relates her to the central figure variously identified as Good Government, the ideal public authority of Siena, or the Common Good (Fig. 53). Inscriptions identify smaller winged figures on either side of Justice. Hovering on the left of the throne, Distributive Justice crowns a kneeling figure, while she prepares to behead another person with arms bound behind him. On the right, level with the main figure's left hand, Remedial Justice gives weapons to one man and reaches into a box, probably to reward another.^[65] In Lorenzetti's program, the large female figure corresponds to Legal or Universal Justice. In turn, the central and biggest figure, the masculine ruling authority, is flanked by an expanded series of cardinal virtues, including another depiction of Justice.^[66] This one holds a sword in her right hand and a crown in her left. A severed head resting on her lap implies that she has the power to reward the just and to punish the unjust ruler.^[67]

Thus, in trecento Italy the Giotto and Lorenzetti allegories establish a political context for the representation of Justice with Italian/Latin prehumanist and/or Aristotelian roots. In a broad sense, certain similarities link Figures 24 and 29 to those of the Paduan and Sienese cycles. Also, the ordering of the four images shares common features. All conform to practices suggested in scholastic memory treatises. Embodied in human, idealized forms, clothed in striking dress, and identified by inscriptions, the ethical concepts associated with the virtues are placed in a specific architectural context located within a larger scheme. Their size reflects their importance in regard to subtypes of related personifications.^[68] Particularly relevant is the concept of Legal Justice, a supernaturally large form embracing in a similar sequence the subtypes of Distributive and Remedial Justice.

Despite these general resemblances, the images in A and C have a distinctive French character. The political context and place of operation of Figures 24 and 29 are associated with the kingdom of France, identified by the prominent fleur-de-lis motif. Also different from the Giotto and Lorenzetti allegories are the specific ordering principles adopted in the images of A and C . The concept of Justice légale as a universal or embracing principle is more fully developed by means of the mantle motif and the inclusion of the daughter virtues. Moreover, in the miniatures of A and C , Justice légale is a sovereign ruler herself, dominant in the highest sphere. Unlike the Giotto figure in the Arena Chapel program, she is

[Full Size]

Figure 32
A King Acting as Distributive and Remedial Justice. Avis au roys.

not the foundation of a divine scheme unfolding above her in the main pictorial space. Nor, as in the Lorenzetti program, is Justice légale subordinate in scale to a ruler, or dependent on a superior force, Divine Wisdom. Instead, Justice légale is literally the uppermost ruler: in her own right she embodies a spiritual power independent of any overt Christian agent.

The ordering of the lower register of Figures 24 and 29 shows even greater differences from the Giotto and Lorenzetti images. Although subordinate to and subtypes of Justice légale, Justice distributive and Justice commutative enjoy greater status than their Italian counterparts. The sister Justices form centers of activity independent of the figure above. Unlike the Giotto pair, the twin Justices are both female. Whereas the Lorenzetti duo also expresses the notion of twinship, gender is less important than divine origin. In contrast, the sister Justices of A and C are clearly rooted in the earthly sphere, and those of A further assume an expressive, fully human identity. As concrete examples of the workings of Distributive and Remedial Justice, the miniatures of A and C more accurately define the Aristotelian concepts than the Italian works.

Most important, the Morgan Avis au roys (Figs. 25 and 26) provides abundant models for the iconography of Justice légale. This manuscript also introduces the concepts and adjectives describing the distinctive functions that characterize the twin Justices of the lower register.^[69] An image from the Avis au roys embodies the operations of Justice distributive and Justice commutative. Figure 32 depicts a

king giving coins to a group at the left, while on the right he instructs an executioner to behead a subject. Here the workings of the Aristotelian subtypes of Justice are identified with the actions of a ruler represented in other miniatures of the cycle as a king of France. Indeed, the prominent representations of Justice in the program of MS A may ultimately derive from the mythic association of this virtue with the people and rulers of France.

10—
Guides to the Intellectual Virtues (Book VI)

In contrast to the all-embracing concept of Justice in Book V, defined in terms of its generic and particular qualities, individual virtues, characterized by intellectual rather than moral associations, are discussed in Book VI. This book also begins the second half of the Nicomachean Ethics . Following the exceptional size and configuration of the representation of Justice (Fig. 24), the illustration for Book VI in A (Figs. 33, 33a, and Pl. 4) returns to the format and dimensions of the column series. In C , however, the miniature for Book VI (Figs. 34 and 34a) starts a greatly enlarged and revised series of illustrations that reflects a critique of the first half of the cycle. Most probably, the patron, translator—or both—requested the changes. The scribe, Raoulet d'Orléans, and Oresme worked with the illuminators to make the revisions.

Although Figure 33 is less striking than its predecessor, within the structure of the book the miniature receives some emphasis. If the dimensions of Figure 33 are not exceptional, the illustration gains importance by its position at the head of the second column of text. The summary paragraph opposite the illustration informs the reader that the sixth book deals with the "vertus intellectueles" (intellectual virtues).^[1] The introduction to Chapter 1 (in rubrics) directly below the miniature states that at this point Aristotle sets forth his intention and a definition necessary to his proposition.^[2]

Chapters 1 and 2 of Oresme's translation of Book VI explain how knowledge of the intellectual virtues relates to moral virtue as defined in Book II.^[3] Book VI discusses the rational principle or right rule as a guide to moral choice, an intellectual operation that includes the nature of practical wisdom. Furthermore, since human happiness or well-being depends on an activity of soul in accordance with virtue, it is important to know what is the best type of virtue.^[4]

Oresme states that after Aristotle's treatment of the moral virtues, which belong to the irrational part of the soul, the Philosopher turns to the intellectual virtues. These are associated with the rational part of the soul, which in turn is divided in two. The first of these subdivisions is the scientific faculty, by which the mind contemplates things of unchanging principles, such as mathematical science. The other part of the soul is calculative and contemplates things that are variable.^[5] Oresme uses the terms scientifique ou speculative (scientific or speculative) for the

[Full Size]

Figure 33
Art, Sapience. Les éthiques d'Aristote,  MS  A.

[Full Size]

Figure 33A
Detail of Fig. 33

first part of the rational division of the soul; raciocinative ou pratique (calculative or practical) for the second.^[6]

Oresme follows Aristotle in naming and defining five intellectual virtues: art, science or knowledge, prudence or practical wisdom, philosophical or theoretical wisdom, and comprehension or intelligence. Translation of these concepts into French may have presented difficulties, as the terms Oresme used had connotations in French different from their Aristotelian definitions. The translator was scrupulous in his efforts to supply the proper linguistic context for the intellectual virtues: art, science, prudence, sapience , and entendement . The contemporary reader may also have known Prudence as one of the four cardinal virtues, but here it is one of Aristotle's set of five intellectual virtues. Indeed, the new secular readership may have had problems in understanding the abstract concepts and philosophical vocabulary introduced in Oresme's discussion. It is, therefore, not surprising that Oresme includes selected terms in the glossary of difficult words, such as accion, active, contingent, faccion , and factive (action, active, contingent, doing, making).^[7]

The visual definitions of two intellectual virtues, Art and Sapience, in A (Fig. 33a) are selective subject guides, inasmuch as Oresme chooses them over Science, Entendement, and Prudence. Prudence is the only one of the group particularly associated with the qualifications and conduct of the ideal ruler. Since Charles V was known for sagesse , his identification with a representation of Prudence might have been expected.^[8] Perhaps Oresme wishes instead to allude to Charles V's personal search for and conscious identification with Sapience, the highest type of knowledge.

Although the omission of Prudence is puzzling, Oresme's choices of Art and Sapience are explicable on several grounds. On a conceptual level, the two are associated with different parts of the soul: Art with the calculative faculty; Sapience with the scientific or speculative faculty. For mnemonic and aesthetic purposes, the representation of Art as an active scene depicting a contemporary activity is clearly contrasted with a quiet, contemplative one. Here a male personification is associated with action in human affairs, and a female with passive reaction to a spiritual force. This pattern of masculine/feminine and active/passive contrasts is first established in the illustrations in A of Books III and IV (Figs. 15 and 20), which are also divided into two adjacent compartments. The same opposition of blue and red continues in Figure 33 (see Pl. 4), as do the assertive quadrilobe tricolor inner frame, the crenellated memory gateway, and the central supporting column. Once again color and gender contrasts reinforce the mnemonic functions of the images. Absent in Figure 33 and the subsequent miniatures of A is the fleur-de-lis motif, so prominent in the first half of the cycle. As before, the link between the visual and verbal definitions originates in the inscriptions. The reader can glance across at the headings in the first column of text (A , fol. 115) to find the chapters in which Art and Sapience are discussed. The first is found in Chapter 4; the second, in Chapters 7, 8, 13, and 14. The inscription "Art" is highlighted by the angle of the hammer head held by the male personification, while the chapter heading relating to Art is located almost directly opposite the lower left side of the miniature. Whereas the proximity of the chapter heading and the visual definition of Art are fortuitous consequences of the layout, the position of Art and Sapience on the left and right respectively again reflects the order in which they are discussed in the text.

Art

To the modern reader the choice of a blacksmith to personify Art may come as a surprise. But in Aristotle the term Art is defined as "a state concerned with making, involving a true course of reasoning."^[9] Oresme makes the same point: art "est habit factif avecques vraie raison."^[10] As Paul Oskar Kristeller makes clear, "the Greek term for Art (techne ) and its Latin equivalent (ars ) do not specifically denote the 'fine arts' in the modern sense, but were applied to all kinds of human activities which we would call crafts or sciences."^[11] Aristotle's definition of Art "as a kind of activity based on knowledge" had a lasting influence.^[12] Oresme follows Aristotle in giving building (architecture) as an example of Art.^[13]

Yet the choice of a personification of Art in Figure 33 is a blacksmith, a craft mentioned neither in Aristotle's text nor in Oresme's translation. The clues for the selection of a blacksmith derive from a gloss by Oresme on the definition of Art:

C'est ou .vi.^e livre de Methaphisique ou il appert la difference entre accion et faccion. Car accion est operacion qui demeure en celui qui la fait, si comme veoir ou entendre. Et faccion est celle qui passe en aucune matiere dehors, si comme edifier, forgier, etc.

(It is in the sixth book of the Metaphysics that the difference between doing and making is revealed. For doing is an operation that remains within the one who does it, as in seeing or hearing. And making is one that passes into some external material, as in building or forging.)^[14]

The word forgier appears in the glossary of difficult words in the entry for faccion : "Faccion est operacion qui passe en matiere dehors, si comme est edifier, forgier et teles choses" (Making is an action that passes into external matter as in building, forging, or such things).^[15] Oresme's addition of the word forgier to the standard definition emphasizes the meaning of the term art to connote the skill or know-how needed to make things by transforming raw materials into finished products. It is characteristic of his efforts to provide the reader with familiar, specific examples of abstract ideas. Furthermore, Oresme may have also judged that the single figure of a blacksmith was visually more compelling in personifying Art than a mason or other craftsman associated with construction of a building.

Yet Oresme may have chosen a blacksmith for other reasons. In primitive cultures, smiths enjoyed high status and, because of their association with fire and the power to make useful objects by chemical processes, were considered magical, heroic, and in some instances, royal or divine beings.^[16] Familiar examples from Greek and Roman mythology respectively are the gods Hephaestus and Vulcan. In medieval society, blacksmiths were valued members of the community who made all manner of iron and steel implements necessary for carrying on pursuits of peace and war. On the negative side, blacksmithing was looked down on as a dirty and menial kind of work. Because Oresme had a scientific mind, the blacksmith who had technological knowledge of chemical processes may have had special appeal. Certainly to the contemporary reader the blacksmith vividly translates the Aristotelian notion of Art. The smith's techniques based on practical knowledge enabled him to produce useful objects from raw materials.^[17]

The Jean de Sy Master's depiction of the vigorous blacksmith is one of the liveliest scenes of the entire cycle. Dressed in a short violet tunic and whitish apron, the bearded blacksmith concentrates as he fashions a red-hot implement that rests on the anvil. The bellows and hot coals on the forge identify his pursuit, while tools of the trade set on a rack above his head further specify the nature of his activity. The smith's clenched hand and upraised arm gripping a hammer convey his inner absorption with his craft. Except for the bright red accents of the coals and the implement being forged, the colors are muted against the dark blue background to convey the sense of an enclosed interior space. All in all, the illuminator has produced an expressive personification of Art entirely consistent with the meaning of the term.

Sapience

The right half of Figure 33 is devoted to the personification of Sapience, Theoretical or Philosophical Wisdom. As noted above, Sapience represents a different type of knowledge from that of Art or Prudence, better termed Practical Wisdom. For

Aristotle, Philosophical Wisdom, "the union of intuition and science," is "directed to the loftiest objects," such as "the heavenly bodies." Theoretical Wisdom encompasses not only philosophy but also mathematics and natural science. "Contemplation of these subjects," as discussed in Book X of the Ethics , is "in Aristotle's view the ideal life for man."^[18]

Oresme follows Aristotle's definition of wisdom and identifies the highest of the intellectual virtues with metaphysics "qui considere les principes generals de toutes sciences et les causes principalx de toutes choses et les meilleurs et plus dignes choses qui puissent estre, comme sont Dieu et les Intelligences" (which considers the general principles of all sciences and the causes of all things, and the best and most worthy things that can ever be, such as God and the Intelligences).^[19] In neither text nor gloss does Oresme allude to the traditional medieval identification, established by St. Augustine, of Wisdom and Christ, the second person of the Trinity.^[20] Oresme is, however, not original in recognizing the classical Aristotelian definition of wisdom as knowledge "of first causes and principles" and in acknowledging metaphysics "as an autonomous human wisdom, independent of theology and naturally acquired by man without the aid of grace."^[21] Thomas Aquinas had made these vital distinctions in the Summa theologica and other writings.^[22] Aquinas, however, distinguishes between two types of wisdom. The metaphysical kind is close to Aristotle's definition. But the theological type is superior to the metaphysical, inasmuch as the former embodies a type of knowledge revealed by and known by God himself, a gift of the Holy Spirit. Theology "is a revealed knowledge of divine things, a human participation in the Word, which is Wisdom itself and an intellectual participation in the illumination and stability of the Ideas of God."^[23]

The representation of Sapience in Figure 33 probably reflects this definition of theological wisdom advanced by Aquinas and other Christian thinkers. Chapters 7 and 8 of Book VI of Oresme's translation discuss the virtue of Sapience without any Christian reference. The personification of Sapience is clad in a blue mantle and a white, widowlike headdress (see Pl. 4). Facing right, she sits before a lectern holding an open book with her right hand. She gazes upward toward a bust-length cross-nimbed Christ and a group of angels in blue clouds. Her pose suggests that her knowledge of God and the first principles, equated with Christ and the angels, results in direct, visual communication with them. Christ looks down at Sapience, revealing that he is both the source and the subject of wisdom.^[24]

The theological character of Sapience thus seems to lack a textual source. Moreover, the iconography adds to the ambiguity of the content. Sapience's reading of a book may indicate that the source of her knowledge is the present or a related text by Aristotle, such as the Metaphysics , that studies God and the first principles. More likely, her vision comes from reading the Christian doctrine inscribed in her book. Her pose, rooted in antique author-muse portraits, is common to various medieval types of personifications: the reading Evangelist and vita contemplativa are just two among many possibilities.^[25] The context of the miniature, in which the left half is devoted to an active scene of physical work, indicates that the vita contemplativa figure is a more direct source. Since the contemplative life

had a Christian interpretation during the Middle Ages, it is likely that this tradition influenced the miniaturist.^[26] In short, the extratextual associations of Sapience with Christian interpretations of wisdom suggest that a secular characterization of the virtue may have simply been judged unintelligible or unorthodox.

The illuminator emphasized essential aspects of the scene by use of color. In contrast to the more subdued tones of the left scene, the right half stands out. The vivid red of the background and Christ's mantle, as well as the gold of the angels' forms and the bright blue of the clouds, signify the heavenly realms. The quiet scene of contemplation of the divine shines forth in splendid hues, while the earthly labors of Art reflect the muted character of mundane toil. The psychological contrasts between Art and Sapience are well served, too, by their spatial separation and opposing orientations. As Kolve puts it: "The enterprises of art and wisdom are quite properly shown side by side, but they are also distinct from each other: two people are engaged in them, as it were in different rooms."^[27]

The Intellectual Virtues in C

The illustration in C of Book VI (Figs. 34 and 34a) dramatically reveals the first major revision of the second half of the program. Most obvious is the increase by two thirds of the height of the illumination from that of Book V.^[28] The large size is undoubtedly a response to the crowding of figures and inscriptions noted in the miniatures of Books IV and V. The ample space now available accommodates the expanded subject-guide function of this illustration, which now occupies about half the folio. The two-register format also permits an orderly sequence for presenting not just two of the intellectual virtues (as in Fig. 33) but all five. The enhanced frontispiece status of Figure 34 is emphasized by its placement between the rinceau of the upper left border and the large initial P containing a ferocious dragon below. The exquisitely refined, softly modeled grisaille figures stand out against the apricot and blue backgrounds of the upper and lower registers. The Master of the Coronation of Charles VI himself appears to have executed the first miniature of the revised part of the program. Yet the process of revision brought new challenges and problems for Oresme, Raoulet d'Orléans, the illuminator, and the reader.

As usual, the sequence of personifications begins on the upper left of the top register and proceeds to the right. The same order is observed in the lower zone. The system of presenting the five intellectual virtues in a sequence follows the order of the chapters in Oresme's translation. When Oresme and Aristotle name them in Chapter 2 of Book VI, however, Art comes first, followed by Science, Prudence, Sapience, and Entendement. In Figure 34, Science, Art, and Prudence (Practical Wisdom) occupy the upper zone, and Entendement (Intuitive Reason) and Sapience, the lower one. It thus appears that chapter order has priority over other principles of grouping, since in Aristotle's discussion of the intellectual virtues Science belongs with Entendement and Sapience as parts of the scientific faculty of the soul concerned with theoretical wisdom.^[29] Figure size and placement

[Full Size]

Figure 34
Above, from left:  Science, Art, Prudence;  below, from left:
Entendement, Sapience. Les éthiques d'Aristote,  MS  C.

[Full Size]

Figure 34A
Detail of Fig. 34

in the pictorial field emphasize the importance of Entendement and Sapience. Indeed, the disparities in scale, not only between the figures of the upper and lower zones but also between those of Entendement and Sapience, create a somewhat unharmonious effect. Still, the contrast between the relatively busy upper zone and the spacious quality of the lower one suggests a more tranquil environment for the loftier concerns of Entendement and Sapience.

Science (Episteme ), the first virtue represented in the upper register of Figure 34, is seated on a low bench, arms upraised, gazing at an open book supported on a lectern. Her iconographic type is extremely similar to that of Sapience in Figure 33. Like all the other female personifications in C , she wears a nunlike costume. Her small scale, gesture of wonder, and slight features give her a somewhat childish appearance, quite at variance with the formidable values she personifies. Science, as defined by Aristotle and translated by Oresme, stands for pure knowledge, which can be taught, involves a rational principle, and is concerned with what is necessary, eternal, and invariable. Science proceeds by the syllogistic process,

beginning with induction, "which supplies the first principles."^[30] Obviously, the visual characterization of Science is a difficult task. Oresme and the illuminator limit the representation to suggest that Science involves an authoritative knowledge based on book learning.

The next personification, Art, is exceptional in several ways. The experimental nature of the representation is first revealed by the unusual position of the identifying inscription above the frame. In comparison to the blacksmith in Figure 33, the representation of Art in C shows a radical transformation. Most obvious is the sex change. The reversed gender is part of the attempt in the program of C to make all the personifications, except for Fortitude, uniformly feminine. Although there was a complex tradition of personifying the liberal arts in the Middle Ages by both masculine and feminine figures, there also existed textual and visual sources for cycles of mechanical, or nonliberal, arts.^[31] An early fourteenth-century manuscript of Brunetto Latini's Li livres dou trésor contains a full-page frontispiece in which the seven liberal arts are depicted in a central column flanked on left and right by the same number of representations of practical and mechanical arts respectively.^[32] All but the personification of Weaving are represented as men.^[33] Despite such cycles of mechanical arts, the representation of Art as a generic concept seems quite rare.

Also unusual is the manner in which Art is portrayed. Lined up with the running title of the folio and the space between the two text columns, she is the central figure of the upper register. Moreover, she stands full-length and almost totally frontal in a majesty pose. Despite these signs of her importance, her tucked-up apron reveals that, unlike her sister virtues, she belongs to the working class.^[34] This unusual tribute to Art continues in the extensive surface area devoted to the depiction of the various tools grouped under her aegis that symbolize the useful arts and crafts. In addition to the mallet and harp that Art holds in her right and left hands, the other implements are a hammer, carpenter's square, scissors, plumb line, saw, pruning hook, axe, spindle, comb, and a pronged implement.^[35] Figures working on either side of Art personify the cultivation of sheep and agriculture. Such a tribute to the arts is consistent with the high status they enjoyed in the encyclopedic tradition represented by Vincent of Beauvais or Hugh of St. Victor.

The productive activities of medieval society in which tools are also symbols of the human ability to make useful objects from raw materials give the definition of Art a wider compass than the representation in Figure 33 of the solitary and engaging blacksmith. The comprehensive nature of this visual definition accords with the didactic aims of the cycle of illustration in C . Finally, the importance of Art among the intellectual virtues is conveyed by the mode of representing her and her attributes. Together with her frontality, the vertical deployment of the tools and implements calls to mind such popular devotional images as the Man of Sorrows, in which Christ is surrounded by instruments of the Passion.^[36] This example of the migration of an image from the religious to the secular sphere raises the question of the degree of spiritual value assimilated by the secular representation. Even without such an association, the image of Art is a compelling creation.^[37]

Another dimension of the depiction of Art is its ingenuity. It is characteristic of Oresme's inventive spirit that he found so apt an iconographic formula to suit the needs of his concept of Art. The mode of depiction not only informs the reader but invites participation in identifying the crafts symbolized by the tools. Such a process of naming these pursuits is a form of visual riddle that also serves as a learning device. In effect, the reader is re-creating the visual definition as a way of understanding the verbal concept. The radiating presentation of Art's domains is also consistent with the mnemonic function of the image.

A further example of Oresme's visual imagination and wit is the next and last figure of the upper register of Figures 34 and 34a, Prudence, or Practical Wisdom (Phronesis ). In Aristotle's ethical system, Prudence has a key role, as it embodies "the power of good deliberation" in human affairs.^[38] Practical Wisdom guides activity in both individual and political affairs through reason "with regard to things good and bad for men."^[39] As noted earlier, this type of wisdom, one of the four cardinal virtues, had for obvious reasons long been associated with the ideal ruler. Book VI of Oresme's translation of the Ethics discusses Prudence in ten of the seventeen chapters. Moreover, Oresme's commentary in the last chapter speaks of Prudence as a cardinal virtue and voices pragmatic considerations about various levels of interaction with the other virtues.^[40] In addition, Chapter 9 explores the connections between practical and political wisdom.^[41] Oresme then goes on to explain the parts of Prudence, some of which directly involve the political process itself.^[42] The glossary of difficult words provides six (of a total of fifty-two) definitions relating to the parts and qualities of Prudence.^[43] Thus, Oresme's verbal definition is consistent with the central importance of Practical Wisdom in individual and political conduct.

The image of Prudence is compressed and cryptic, as spare and contained as Art is expansive. But both virtues stand in a dignified, frontal position. Prudence's hands are crossed on the hips of her draped mantle and lend an illusory repose to her figure, for below her nunlike head covering a strange apparition appears. A grotesque, mummified set of features, highlighted by sunken eyes and gaping teeth, stares out at the reader. Further study of the masklike head with a triangular protuberance on each cheek turns out to reveal three faces—two in profile on left and right and a central frontal one.^[44] This is the vultus trifrons , an iconographic type with antique roots.^[45] The three faces are identical and refer both to past, present, and future aspects of time and to Prudence's three psychological faculties associated with them: memory, intelligence, and foresight. The appearance of Prudence as a death's-head or skull also is a characteristic of this iconographic tradition.^[46]

Whether this startling image was intelligible to the contemporary reader is a legitimate question. Oresme, however, was not convinced that the visual definition alone was sufficient to convey the trifrons symbolism. An inscription was added to explain the threefold orientation and faculties of Prudence: "Mémoire des choses passées, ordenance des présentes, provisions pour celles à venir" (Memory of things past, ordering of things present, provision for those to come).

Oresme's instructions were apparently misunderstood, so that the words were placed not above Prudence's head but over that of Sapience, below. Surprisingly enough, the source of the inscription does not occur in Oresme's translation. This literary formulation goes back at least to Cicero, whereas its medieval history can be traced to a sixth-century bishop, Martin of Braga. Martin's formula, thought to be an authentic writing of Seneca, found its way into medieval encyclopedias. Martin's words on Prudence are almost identical to those of the inscription in Figure 34: "set in order the present, foresee the future, recall the past."^[47] Among the popular late-medieval encyclopedias mentioned by Erwin Panofsky as a source of the tripartite definition of Prudence is the Repertorium morale of Pierre Bersuire,^[48] whose influential French translation of Livy was discussed in Chapter 1.

The Ciceronian tripartite division of Prudence and her intellectual capacities is also found in Mirror of Princes texts. In the French translation of Giles of Rome's De regimine principum executed for Philip the Fair, the three capacities of Prudence are considered necessary qualities for the ideal ruler.^[49] The Morgan Avis du roys (fols. 27v–28v) also stresses the necessity for the king to have memory of the past to ordain the future and to provide for the present. In the Summa theologica (2a 2ae 49) Thomas Aquinas follows an eight-part division of Prudence in which the three capacities are included.^[50] In short, many medieval sources made the inscription originally intended for Prudence in Figure 34 an obvious choice for explication of the trifrons aspect of the image.

In contrast, direct visual sources for Prudence are difficult to find, particularly in northern art. Relevant as an analogous type of knowledge is the tripartite crown worn by Philosophy. This personification figured in a miniature of the Hortus deliciarum (now destroyed), the famous twelfth-century encyclopedia compiled by Herrad of Landsberg.^[51] In Christian iconography the tricephalic head also symbolizes opposing concepts of good and evil: the Holy Trinity and Beelzebub.^[52] More immediate precedents for the iconography of Prudence come from trecento Italy. In addition to a fresco representing a trifrons in Pistoia cathedral dated 1347, an illuminated frontispiece of a Bible shows a two-headed Prudence among the virtues surrounding King Robert of Anjou.^[53] The motif of the death's-head in Figure 34 may also have been suggested by the skeleton featured in the story of the Three Living and the Three Dead. A famous example of this type is the bifolio in the Psalter of Bonne of Luxembourg, mother of Charles V.^[54]

Once again, Oresme's choice of an image reflects his predilection for a visual riddle. In the case of Prudence, the need for an explanatory inscription, which was then misplaced, shows that sometimes his imagination and learning may have led to overambitious experiments. To put it another way, the didactic goals of the cycle in C gave rise to complex, as well as complete, visual definitions. On some occasions the scribe and miniaturists capably translated Oresme's instructions into an intelligible, aesthetically pleasing sequence of images. For various reasons, not easy to explain, other attempts were less successful. While certainly arresting, the personification of Prudence belongs to the category of daring and memorable illustrations. Perhaps these representations served as talking points for Oresme's oral explication requested by his patron.

Entendement and Sapience:
The Lower Register

The two intellectual virtues of the lower register stand out against the checkerboard pattern of the dark blue and gold background. Entendement and Sapience are more isolated from one another than are Science, Art, and Prudence, above. The empty space between them leaves the center of the composition open, thus emphasizing the importance of Art in the upper register. Although Entendement, like the parallel figure of Science directly above her, sits on a thronelike bench and faces to the right, she is far larger than her sister virtue. As noted earlier, one reason for such a disparity in scale is that the lower zone houses two instead of three figures. Furthermore, Entendement is not equipped with any identifying attributes, such as Science's book and lectern. Entendement (Intelligence) also dwarfs the figure of Sapience or Theoretical Wisdom (Sophia ) with whom she shares the lower register. Sapience is also seated on another familiar throne-bench. Yet the reduced size of her figure results from the inclusion of the accompanying celestial vision and the misplaced inscription. The net effect of the disparity in scale is to diminish Sapience in favor of Entendement. This emphasis may be unintentional, since in Oresme's translation and Aristotle's text, Sapience holds the highest place.

The unusual emphasis on Entendement is surprising, given the succinct definition of the virtue in Chapter 6 of Aristotle's text and Oresme's translation. Entendement (the equivalent of the Greek term Nous ) is translated variously as comprehension, intuitive reason, or intelligence. As Oresme puts it, Entendement is the way "nous cognoisson les premiers principes; et la vertu intellective par quoy nous les cognoisson, c'est entendement" (we recognize the first principles; and the intellective power by which we recognize them is understanding).^[55] In this same gloss, Oresme cautions that the word entendement is used in a different sense from that in Chapter 2, where it means a division or faculty of the soul.

These specific philosophical and Aristotelian meanings of entendement may have presented problems of visual definition, compounded by the multiple meanings of the word in contemporary language. Thus, representation of Entendement called for a visual formula free of verbal reinforcement or elaborate attributes. The image in Figure 34 depends solely on body language. Entendement's slightly bent head conveys a state of alertness. Her raised right shoulder and left hand with fingers held upright and spread apart suggest a tense, almost listening attitude. Her outstretched and bent right hand, crossed over the left at shoulder level, further contributes to a sense of inner awareness and of internal recognition. Together, the pose and gesture express the idea of straining to grasp a concept or principle. Pictured as a mature, solid form contained within her generously draped mantle, Entendement appears to listen to an inner voice. Although the intensity of Entendement's awareness recalls similar qualities among the seated Sibyls of Giovanni Pisano's Pistoia and Pisa pulpits, the virtue is entirely self-sufficient and free of explicit religious context.^[56] Among the representations of the intellectual virtues of Figure 34, Entendement is preeminent both in size and expression.

In contrast to Entendement, Sapience is a slightly formed, almost wraithlike figure. Unlike her counterpart in Figure 33, Sapience no longer needs a book to reveal the subjects of her contemplation. With hands in an attitude of prayer, she sharply turns her upraised head to gaze at the figures of God and the angels. Separated from Sapience by a cloud and outlined in gold, the heavenly apparition changes from its earlier formulation in Figure 33. The blessing figure of Christ is still cross-nimbed but now is bearded. His bust is frontal and occupies the center, not the corner, of the heavenly space. On each side, three angels in praying attitudes turn toward him and create a symmetrical composition. The increased equilibrium of the heavenly component makes an impression of greater order than the analogous group of Figure 33. Yet Christ (or possibly God the Father) no longer returns the gaze of Sapience, as he did in Figure 33. Here, Sapience has become more active than her counterpart in A . The precedent for her sharply turned head and heaven-directed glance lies in another type of Evangelist portrait in which the saint turns his head toward the symbol of his inspiration.^[57]

As discussed above, the placement of the inscription intended for Prudence above the head of the Sapience scene diminishes its importance not only by reducing the size of the main figure but also by introducing an extraneous and misleading verbal element. The inscription sits oddly on the heads of the heavenly hosts. It ignores the enframement and extends awkwardly into the right margin. The position in the middle of the cloud formation of Sapience's identifying inscription also indicates alterations in the original design.^[58] Misplacement of the inscription flaws the representations of, and distinctions between, the two types of Wisdom, the most important of Aristotle's five intellectual virtues.

The origins of Sapience reveal that a variety of personifications relied on relatively few iconographic types for representational formulas. Among these, the reading or inspired Evangelist appears as the most versatile. The models for secular images such as the blacksmith are much rarer, although several cycles of the mechanical arts existed.^[59] The image of Art in Figure 34, however, shows how religious types migrated to the secular sphere. Both the frontality and the deployment of the symbols of the arts and crafts lend the unusual working-class female depiction of Art a solemnity and dignity normally associated with religious or royal iconography.

The compelling qualities of Art, Prudence, and Entendement are further evidence that Oresme held with Thomist artificial memory theories in selecting visually distinctive images to express moral concepts.^[60] He also enjoyed composing visual riddles or encouraged the reader to participate in naming or identifying essential aspects of a concept encoded in the visual image. Oresme's role in setting ambitious goals for the revised program may have resulted from a challenge presented by and for his primary reader and patron, Charles V.

11—
Reason and Desire:
Moral Decisions (Book VII)

The Decision Allegory

The illustrations accompanying Book VII in A and C offer the first examples within the cycles of the representational mode of the decision allegory (Figs. 35, 35a and 36, 36a). Panofsky, who coins the term in his essay "Hercules Prodicius," defines the situation as the response of a central protagonist faced with a moral conflict. As was noted in Chapter 4, Panofsky emphasizes the unique character in medieval art of the representations in A and C as decision allegories based not on divine intervention but solely on an individual's voluntary action.^[1]

The decision allegory, which occurs for a second time in the illustration of Book IX in C (Fig. 41), overlaps other representational modes in the A and C cycles. Personifications, as abstractions of good and evil forces or of psychological states, interact in ways similar to the personification allegories of Books II and V (Figs. 11, 12, 24, and 29). In these earlier examples the initiator of an action represents a transcendental spiritual force. In contrast, the protagonists in the illustrations of Book VII are distinctly mundane. Figures 35 and 36 also serve their customary function as subject guides to the contents of the book.

Why do the principal subjects of Book VII call for such a distinctive mode of illustration? In one sense, Aristotle continues his discussion from the preceding book of how a variety of intellectual virtues brings about morally positive or negative actions in human life. But Aristotle's focus in Book VII is not so much the rare, ideally virtuous man (or his entirely "vicious" opposite) but the more common human plight of exhibiting moral strength or weakness as reactions to the essential conflict between intellect and desire. The Greek terms for these concepts, Enkrateia and Akrasia , have a complex history in Greek and subsequent philosophy. Because of present-day medical usage, the customary translation of these terms as "continence" (Enkrateia ) and "incontinence" (Akrasia ) both in English and French is unfortunate.^[2] In the Middle Ages, however, "continence" and "incontinence" referred to sexual chastity or the lack of it.^[3] Moreover, Aristotle does not consider continence and incontinence virtues in themselves. Unlike a person who possesses the virtue of temperance or moderation without conflicts regarding sensory pleasures, the continent or morally strong person has a passionate nature, which he controls only after experiencing a struggle through which the voice of reason guides him.

[Full Size]

Figure 35
From left:  Raison, Le Continent, Concupiscence; Raison, L'Incontinent,
Concupiscence. Les éthiques d'Aristote,  MS  A.

[Full Size]

Figure 35A
Detail of Fig. 35

Le Continent and L'Incontinent in A

Because of the complex meanings of the terms, Oresme defines both continent and incontinent in his glossary of difficult words. The translator takes great pains to emphasize the Aristotelian meaning of the words and to distinguish them from contemporary Christian usage:

CONTINENT. Celui est continent qui a mauvaises affeccions et temptacions par concupiscence a gloutonnie ou a luxure. Et avecques ce, il a bon jugement de raison, lequel il ensuit, et par ce il refraint ses mauvais desirriers. Et ce fu dit ou .xxi.^e chapitre du premier en glose et appert plus a plain ou procés du .vii.^e livre. Et si comme il fu dit en l'onzieme chapitre du .ix.^e , il est dit continent pour ce que il se tient avecques raison et entendement. Car par ce il se tient avecques soy meïsmes; car chascun est principalment son ame intellective ou son entendement, si comme il fu dit ou quint et en le .xi.^e chapitre du .ix.^e et ou .xiiii.^e chapitre du .x.^e .

(CONTINENT. The continent man is one who through concupiscence is subject to bad desires for and temptations to gluttony or lechery. And at the same time he has good rational judgment, which he follows and by which he restrains his bad desires. And this was stated in the twenty-first chapter of the first book in a gloss and

is more fully discussed in the course of the seventh book. And as it was stated in the eleventh chapter of the ninth book, he is called continent because he conducts himself with reason and understanding. For by these means he restrains himself, for the intellective soul or understanding is the basic element of each of us, as was stated in the fifth and eleventh chapters of the ninth book and in the fourteenth chapter of the fifth book.)^[4]

Oresme remains faithful to the text in including gluttony with sexual passions as temptations that the continent person can avoid by using good judgment founded on reason. In contrast, the incontinent man, subject to the same desires as his opposite number and holding "vrais principes morals" (true moral principles) and "bon jugement et raison" (good judgment and reason), is unable to resist these temptations. Instead, L'Incontinent is "vaincu et seürmonté par concupiscence, et delaisse raison et ensuit ses desiriers" (vanquished and overcome by concupiscence and abandons reason and follows his desires).^[5]

Oresme's efforts to make clear the Aristotelian meanings of Continence and Incontinence in the glossary continue in other locations within the text and glosses. The summary title for Book VII introduces the words and offers a brief explanation of them: "Et aprés commence le .vii.^e qui determine de continence, laquelle est une disposicion a vertu; et de incontinence, sa contraire; et de delectacion" (And here begins the seventh book, which examines Continence, which is a disposition toward virtue; and Incontinence, its opposite, and of pleasure).^[6] The titles repeat the terms in thirteen of the twenty chapters that follow. Moreover, Oresme's commentary explaining not only the difference between the continent and incontinent persons but also two other states of virtues and vices appears on the same folio as the illustration. Thus, Oresme incorporates a variety of verbal definitions of Continence and Incontinence to which the reader can refer. The inscriptions provide clues for the translator's selection of the main concepts. The term Le Continent identifies the central figure in the left half of the illustration; L'Incontinent occupies the same position on the right. Once again, the inscriptions combine lexical and indexical functions.

Figure 35 is embedded in the first text column following the chapter headings and is placed above the introductory paragraph signaled by the six-line dentellated and foliated initial A . Although the position and dimensions of Figure 35 do not indicate importance within the cycle, the illustration has a unique feature. The miniature is divided into two vertical halves based on the contrast of the opposing characters of Le Continent and L'Incontinent. Previously, lateral division of the picture space in the illustrations of Books III, IV, and VI (Figs. 15, 20, and 33) correspond to identification and explanation of two separate subjects. This new ordering of the picture space by Oresme thus corresponds to the verbal definitions and contrasts he established in the glossary and commentary. Furthermore, the opposition between Continence and Incontinence is immediately set up in the first two paragraphs of the text, directly below and next to the miniature. As noted above, in his commentary Oresme further explains the essential distinctions

between Continence and Incontinence. There the reader also finds the relationships of these states to virtues and vices of different degrees. Even the contrasts of colors in the backgrounds and costumes of the figures carry out the theme of opposition and internal conflict set forth so emphatically in the text and commentary. To bring out these differences, the memory gateway places the opposing characters in separate but adjoining spaces divided by the central column.

The compositions, costumes, and gestures further clarify the contrasting choices made by Le Continent and L'Incontinent. Another way of putting the reader in the picture is Oresme's transformation of the adjectives Continent and Incontinent into nouns.^[7] Le Continent and L'Incontinent become masculine equivalents, or concrete exemplars, of types of behavior analyzed by Aristotle. These physical doubles and opposites are identified by inscriptions unfurling vertically over their heads. Their short, tightly fitting jackets, low-slung belts, pointed shoes (poulains ), and colored hoods with trailing ends (liripipes ) distinguish them as fashionable, secular types. Both occupy the center of the shallow picture stage that avoids a strict axial or symmetrical organization. Instead, a more fluid composition pairs Le Continent with the figure on the left. The inscription identifies this personification: "Raison est ce" (this is Reason). Her widowlike headdress and ample blue robe resemble those of virtues like Actrempance and Liberalité (Figs. 15 and 20). Raison also occupies the same position in the right half of the miniature. The third figure, common to both scenes, stands on the right. Her inscription identifies her as Concupiscence (Sexual Desire). Her worldly status as a young woman of fashion is established by her braided tresses and fur-trimmed low-cut gown. In both scenes she proffers a chaplet of flowers, emblem of sensual pleasures.

The decision taken by Le Continent and L'Incontinent toward or away from the two types of conduct is expressed by the movement of their figures. Le Continent has literally turned his back on Concupiscence. His proximity to Raison, reinforced by his glance, the touch of his arm, and the position of his right foot emphasizes that he listens to her counsel. Yet, Le Continent indicates a struggle with his passions by pointing toward the eager and expectant figure of Concupiscence. A sense of uncertainty or anxiety about the outcome derives also from the expression of Raison's face and the tense gestures of her upraised and rigid hands. But the void between Le Continent and Concupiscence confirms the nature of his decision. The opposite conclusion takes place in the right half of the miniature, where L'Incontinent turns his back on Raison and moves in the direction of Concupiscence. Not only do his feet advance toward her, but he touches her shoulder with his outstretched left arm and with his other reaches for the wreath of flowers. Raison's resigned expression and upraised hand acknowledge that L'Incontinent has taken a step in the wrong direction. The vivid body language, expressed in visual metaphors such as "turning his back" or "taking a step in the right direction," reinforces the verbal language of the inscriptions.

The decision allegory in A is marked by a concrete and specific action taken by a contemporary secular figure. The visual evidence of moral struggle based on the protagonist's conflict between Reason and Desire is effectively conveyed. Whereas Aristotle did not single out sexual pleasure as the only area of moral

[Full Size]

Figure 36
Above, from left : Raison, Le Continent, Concupiscence; Raison, L'Incontinent,
Concupiscence; below, from left : Raison, Le Vertueus, Concupiscence; Raison,
Le Vicieus, Concupiscence. Les éthiques d'Aristote,  MS  C.

[Full Size]

Figure 36A
Detail of Fig. 36

conflict, Oresme may have chosen to do so because of the traditional medieval associations of the term Continence . Nevertheless, thanks to the fluent style of the Jean de Sy Master, the illustration makes clear the essence of the verbal definition. Oresme's instructions probably specified details of costume, gesture, and identity of the opposing protagonists. Such a program is an ingenious solution to the visual and verbal translations of subtle philosophical concepts clearly conveyed to Oresme's secular audience. Rooted in rhetorical strategies, complex visual devices such as repetition, opposition, and single versus double identities are designed to engage and enhance the cognitive and mnemonic responses of these readers.

The Expanded Decision Allegory of C

The decision allegory illustrating Book VII in C (Figs. 36 and 36a) keeps the basic scheme established in A but adds a second register that expands and shifts the scope of meaning. Consistent with Oresme's editorial revision of the program in C and the physical changes noted in the second half of the book, the illustration

has grown larger. Figure 36 is almost twice the height of the miniature introducing Book V (Fig. 29). Moreover, in the decision allegory of C , the figures dominate the image. Except for the rectangular inscriptions placed at the top of each scene, there is no setting analogous to the crenellated wall or tricolor inner frame of Figure 35. Indeed, the lack of any internal division (such as a line) makes it difficult at first to understand the contrasts between what constitute two separate scenes on the left and right of each register. The situation is slightly clearer in the lower register, since a double vertical line belonging to the background motif serves to separate the two halves of the scene. This lack of demarcation may have resulted from the miniaturist's misunderstanding of Oresme's new or revised instructions. Placed at the top of the folio following the chapter headings on the previous leaf, Figure 36 seems very much more a frontispiece illustration than Figure 35, which is located nine lines below the top of the first column. The grisaille figures of Figure 36 stand out sharply against the deep blue geometric background of the top register and the contrasting apricot and gold tones of the lower one.

Certain minor but significant changes are noticeable in the top zone of Figure 36. For one thing, instead of the inscription "Raison est ce" on the left of Figure 35, the phrase in Figure 36 reads "premièrement est raison" (first comes reason). The word premièrement suggests that Le Continent has as his first resource deliberation and use of reason. Omitted from the top register is the wreath of flowers held by Concupiscence in Figure 35. Such a decision is consonant with a rejection in the C cycle of visual emblems. Instead, an increased reliance on hand gestures signifies tension or conflict among the figures. Indeed, the awkwardly shaped hands, as well as the outsized feet and elongated proportions of both women and men, are hallmarks of the workshop of the Master of the Coronation of Charles VI. Also different in the top left scene of Figure 36 is the compositional relationship among the figures. Le Continent stands almost equidistant from the two females, while with outstretched hands he touches both of them. Although, as in Figure 35, Le Continent again turns his back on Concupiscence and looks at Raison, the play of hands suggests a continuing struggle to choose between the female forces. A similar indecision of the male protagonist is apparent in the upper right scene. Here ambivalence is conveyed by the manner in which L'Incontinent glances toward Raison while still turning his back on her. He seems to be listening to Raison's exhortations, suggested by the forward tilt of her head and the pleading gestures of her hands. An important change from Figure 35 noted by Panofsky is the difference in dress between Le Continent and L'Incontinent.^[8] In Figure 36 the former wears a plain, full-length mantle associated with a cleric or scholar, while the latter retains the contemporary, fashionable dress worn in Figure 35 by both figures. In other words, instead of the more subtle concept of likeness between the two types of conduct established in Figure 35, the analogous scenes of C introduce a social and moral dichotomy.

The left and right scenes of the lower zone repeat the same contrast between the behavior and status of the male figures. Le Vertueus (the virtuous man), personalized in a similar way to his analogue Le Continent, contrasts with Le Vicieus (the man given to vice), the counterpart of L'Incontinent. The two female figures,

however, remain the same as on the upper register. What is the rationale for this second level of the decision allegory? First, the explicit, didactic character of the entire program of C surely figures in the expansion. Second, Oresme may have responded to questions about the relationships among Continence and Vertu and their opposites as points of philosophical debate. Addition of a second level also permits clarification of Aristotle's distinctions between degrees or states of moral behavior. A textual basis for such clarification is provided by Oresme in his lengthy commentary in C (fol. 132) cited above as the basis for his definitions of Continence and L'Incontinence. A relevant passage reads:

Et entre ces .ii. estas sont .iiii. autres; c'est a savoir, incontinenz et vicieus et continenz et vertueus. Donques .vi. estas sont de quoy les .iii. sont mauvais et different ainsi. Car a bien ouvrer sont requises .iii. choses; c'est a savoir, deliberacion et vray jugement et droit appetit. Le incontinent a deliberacion et vrai jugement universel, mais il fault an appetit. Le vicieus a deliberacion et fault en jugement et en appetit.

(And between these two states are four others, to wit, incontinent and given to vice and continent and given to virtue. So there are six states, of which three are bad and differ as follows. For to act well three things are required: to wit, deliberation, true judgment, and right appetite. The incontinent man has deliberation and true judgment overall, but he fails with regard to appetite. The man given to vice has deliberation and fails with regard to judgment and appetite.)^[9]

Both verbal and visual links help the reader to associate on two levels similar and contrasting moral types. Visually, parallel placement and repetition of costume help the reader to forge the connections between the figures in the left halves of Figure 36, Le Continent above and Le Vertueus below, and on the right, L'Incontinent and Le Vicieus. Of course, on two levels, the opposition also continues between the morally strong and weak types depicted on the left and right. The reader's reference to the first sentence of Oresme's commentary, cited above, explains the basis of such pairing. For example, the figure of Le Vertueus meets the three requirements listed: deliberation, true judgment, and right desire. He has turned his whole body and stepped toward Raison, who welcomes him with outstretched hands. His back is turned away from Concupiscence, who vainly tugs at his mantle. Two further passages from the same commentary elucidate the contrast. A gentle expression and contained stance confirm that "Le vertueus n'a point de tele rebellion ou peu" (The virtuous man possesses little or no such rebellion within him). Such resoluteness contrasts with Le Continent, who "a en soy grant rebellion de l'appetit sensitif" (who is capable of resisting his appetite for sensual pleasures). Following the opposite track, Le Vicieus, who lacks judgment and desire to do right, opts for Concupiscence by stepping toward her with arms outstretched and turning his back on Raison. Le Vicieus no longer even listens to Raison, as does L'Incontinent in the zone above him. In short, the scenes of the upper register convey the sense of moral struggle and temporary, tentative choices, while those below depict decisive and habitual modes of conduct.^[10] Moreover, the

repeated difference in costume between the two types of character in the lower register suggests that the continent and virtuous modes of life are practiced by scholars or clerics, whereas those who exemplify moral weakness and wicked indulgence in bodily pleasures inhabit a fashionable, secular world.

The Embodiment of Moral Dilemmas

At first glance, the miniature for Book VII in A (Figs. 35 and 35a) is modest, unremarkable for either size or position on the folio. But the illustration has considerable importance as a decision allegory. The illuminator successfully employs body language as visual metaphors for actions and choices made by an individual. In this first instance of the decision allegory, position in the center of the picture field expresses another aspect of the Aristotelian concept of the mean in which man occupies a moral position between the angelic and the bestial. The central position also embodies the dilemma faced by the man in the middle, pressed by conflicting moral choices. The preference for a triadic ordering scheme is consistent with Aristotle's advice that it is easier to recollect a central idea by relating it to concepts on either side of it.

Consistent with the pattern established in the cycle, the spiritual forces are represented as feminine, while the main protagonists are male. In Figure 35, Concupiscence is the sole depiction in the cycle of A of a negative feminine force, although in C , similar representations of vices appear in the illustrations of Books III and IV (Figs. 16 and 21). In both Figures 35 and 36, however, as in Figure 24b, the distance between the spiritual and "real" worlds is obscured by naturalistic scale, contemporary costumes, and shared gestures and expressions. Such a veristic approach, only partially related to style, gives particularly to the male figures the character of concrete, human exemplars rather than the more general personifications of abstract ideas.^[11] Fashionable contemporary dress especially emphasizes the exemplary nature of Le Continent, L'Incontinent, and Concupiscence and distinguishes them from the sexually neutral Raison.

The illustration in C (Fig. 36) differs from that of Figure 35 because of the wider contrasts of moral states established in the lower register of C . It is also possible that the illustration in A offered too subtle a contrast between Le Continent and L'Incontinent, whose similarity of appearance suggests too great an identity of character. Again, Oresme may have responded to his own or the king's criticism, when in Figure 36 he differentiates by their costume the morally strong Le Continent and Le Vertueus from the weak-willed L'Incontinent and Le Vicieus. Oresme may also have intended that the social identification of the ethically strong with the intellectual and scholarly university élite serve as a warning to Charles V's worldly courtiers. Oresme may also have enjoyed the opportunity to explicate these ideas orally to Charles V and his circle. Such an occasion would have allowed him to expand on previous warnings about prodigality and unwise expenditure, particularly those expressed in the illustration of Book IV in C (Fig. 21). Oresme may have welcomed the opportunity to voice the views of a clerical moralist addressing his secular court audience.

12—
Friendship:
Personal and Social Relationships (Book VIII)

Friendship as a Concept

A dramatic instance of the revision in the cycles' illustrations occurs in the respective miniatures of A and C introducing Book VIII (Figs. 37, 37a and 38, 38a). Within the program of A , Figure 37 offers a generic visual definition in the form of an unusually cryptic but elegant personification allegory. Figure 38 provides a detailed subject guide composed of six scenes that exemplify specific definitions of the main subject. The miniatures in A and C thus approach from two distinct vantage points Aristotle's classic discussion of Friendship (Philia ), a theme that encompasses both Books VIII and IX of the Ethics .

Aristotle, and Oresme in his translation, anticipates the reader's initial surprise that Friendship should occupy so prominent a place in an ethical treatise. The first sentence of Book VIII states: "After what we have said, a discussion of friendship would naturally follow, since it is a virtue or implies virtue, and is besides most necessary with a view to living."^[1] Aristotle's generic definition of Friendship is based on a reciprocal and acknowledged affection, liking, or sympathy (independent of sexual attraction) between two people who have common interests.^[2] Aristotle also applies the concept of Philia , better translated in some contexts as "relationship" or "association," to the bonds created by goodwill and acting well toward others in the family and in social and political communities, including the state. Thus, Aristotle's lengthy analysis of Friendship, like his discussion of Justice in Book V, involves not only moral states and actions of the individual but relationships with other people. Of Aristotle's three main types of Philia among persons of equal status—relationships for profit or utility, pleasure, and goodness—the last is the most noble, enduring, and disinterested. The third type of Friendship involves the habits of wishing and acting well to another that closely resembles the behavior of a virtuous person.^[3]

Aristotle's discussion of Friendship and that of Cicero in the De amicitia were not rejected by Christian thinkers and theologians.^[4] Although Thomas Aquinas thinks of Friendship in terms of man's relationship with God, he conceives of "love of friendship" on a human level as "the highest form of love."^[5] Oresme, however, carefully differentiates God's love of man and man's love of God from the Aristotelian definitions of Friendship.^[6]

[Full Size]

Figure 37
Amistié. Les éthiques d'Aristote,  MS  A.

[Full Size]

Figure 37A
Detail of Fig. 37

Because of the assimilation of classical ideas of Friendship to medieval thought, it is difficult to determine if the Aristotelian definitions of the term retained a separate identity. Amistié is included in a treatise on the virtues or vices known as the Somme le roi compiled in 1279 for King Philip III by the Dominican Frère Laurent. Amistié (translated alternatively as "Love" or "Friendship") is in this text one of a set of Christian virtues related to gifts of the Holy Ghost and the Beatitudes.^[7] In this scheme, Amistié is opposed to Hate (Envie). In one series of Somme le roi illustrations (Fig. 39), Amistié is depicted on the upper left of four scenes as a standing, crowned figure who crushes a dragon and holds a disk containing an image of a bird (probably a dove). The bird is a symbol of love; the dragon, of evil associated with the mouth of Envie.^[8] Below Amistié, a depiction of David and Jonathan embracing offers a biblical exemplar of the virtue.

The Amistié illustration in Somme le roi manuscripts, including a copy of 1294 in Charles V's library, apparently constitutes the main medieval figural tradition of depicting Friendship.^[9] Written in Paris and dated 1373, a manuscript of a related text known as Le miroir du monde continues this pictorial tradition.^[10] The new treatment of Amistié in Figures 37 and 38 suggests that Oresme seeks to define the virtue in specifically Aristotelian terms.

[Full Size]

Figure 38
Above, from left : Amistié pour proffit, Amistié pour delectacion ,  Amistié selonvertu;
below, from left : Amistié entre prince et subiez,  Amistié entre parens, Amistié entre
mariez. Les éthiques d'Aristote,  MS  C.

[Full Size]

Figure 38A
(left)  Detail of Fig. 38

[Full Size]

Figure 39
Above, from left : Amistié, Envie;  below, from left : David and
Jonathan, Saul and David. Frère Laurent, Somme le roi.

The Personification Allegory in MS A

By way of a subject guide, the illustration introducing Book VIII in A (Figs. 37 and 37a) offers a charming personification allegory. The miniature occurs five lines from the top of the second column of text and gloss on folio 157. Bracketed between the upper right foliate border pointing to the running title and the initial A , Figure 37 follows the chapter headings. The miniature is composed of three symmetrically disposed standing figures placed within a tricolored quadrilobe spanned by an unbroken crenellated wall segment. Figure 37 does not have the frontispiece status of Figure 24, the illustration of Book V. One of four undivided column illustrations in A , Figure 37 and the illustration of Book II (Fig. 11) are the largest and therefore the most important of the column illustrations.^[11] Another feature of Figure 37 is a departure from the usual red-white-blue color scheme in favor of a distinctive gray-blue-rose palette. Since these more subdued colors are repeated in the next miniature, which introduces Book IX (Fig. 40), this color harmony may signify the continuity of subject matter between Books VIII and IX.^[12]

The configuration of three figures in Figure 37 is unusual as well. The central and largest person is a fashionably coiffed young woman wearing a simple graygreen gown. Her figure lines up with the vertical points of the quadrilobe, the geometric background, and the center of the second column. Although her body is depicted frontally, her head is turned to look at one of two bearded men, who are identically dressed in long rose mantles. Each one turns his head and gestures toward his double. With the other hand, each supports a pink heart. In turn, the female figure extends her disproportionately long arms to embrace the shoulders of the two men. The only inscription in the miniature identifies the woman as Amistié, or Friendship. The position of the inscription at chest level of the personification instead of above her head is unusual. Such a placement may allude to the heart directly below it as the source of the emotions associated with Friendship.

Although Amistié is the sole verbal clue within the miniature, the layout of folio 157 assures the repetition of this key word to guide the reader. In the first column opposite the miniature, the word Amistié occurs in seventeen of the nineteen chapter titles. Chapter 3 is especially important, as the title designates it as the place where the term is defined. Indeed, in the closing gloss of that chapter Oresme explains: "Amistié est benivolence non latente ou manifeste entre pluseurs personnes de l'un a l'autre ou entrechangeable pour aucun bien" (And Friendship is goodwill, which is manifested among people toward one another or given and taken for [mutual] benefit).^[13] When the reader moves to the second column of the folio, rubrics above the miniature make the important point that in Chapter 1 Aristotle demonstrates that Friendship belongs to a discussion of "science morale" (moral science). Directly below the illustration, the first paragraph states the necessity of Friendship to human life. With particular relevance for Oresme's primary reader is the declaration that Friendship is essential for the rich and politically powerful.^[14] Finally, in the second of three glosses on this folio Oresme makes clear

how Aristotle relates Friendship to virtue.^[15] Thus, a variety of introductory verbal information linked to the inscription and miniature on the same folio associates essential concepts with the image.

How does the personification allegory visually express essential aspects of Aristotle's generic definition of Friendship as translated by Oresme? As in the illustrations of Book VII (Figs. 35 and 36), body language is essential in communicating certain points about Amistié. To begin with, the figure's embrace conveys the notion that Friendship depends on reaching beyond the self to someone else. The mutual awareness of Amistié and the two men, conveyed by their turned heads and gazes, indicates their recognition of the bond united by and characteristic of Friendship. Another important element is that the two men support the single rose heart. If in this context the heart symbolizes the soul, the concept expressed may be that the highest type of Friendship symbolizes putting "one soul in two bodies."^[16]

Costume again plays an important role in elucidating significant aspects of the concept. For example, the same rose-colored robes worn by the two men, as well as the resemblance of their facial features, hairstyles, and beards, establish that they are identical twins. This kinship metaphor picks out an essential point in Aristotle's definition of Friendship: the similarities between two individuals and the bonds that bind them are summed up in the saying, "A friend is another self." Since the mantles worn by the friends resemble those worn by Le Continent and Le Vertueus in the illustrations for Book VII (Figs. 35 and 36), the allusion here is to Aristotle's highest type of Friendship. Based on virtue, this kind of Friendship has "qualities [which] are alike in both friends," and men are described as "alike in virtue; for these wish well alike to each other qua good, and they are good in themselves."^[17] Oresme puts it this way: "Et pour ce dient il un proverbe, que chose semblable aime son semblable et que .i. oysel va a son semblable si comme un estourneau va a un estourneau; et ainsi de quelzconques teles choses" (And for this reason there is a proverb that "like cleaves to like" and that "a bird flocks to its own kind" just as a starling flocks to another starling; and other such things).^[18]

The costume and hairdo of Amistié in Figure 37 are those of a contemporary and fashionable young woman, although her mantle lacks the fur trim of the dress worn by Concupiscence in Figure 35. Thus, Amistié does not share the sexual neutrality of Raison or virtues like Attrempance or Sapience conveyed by their widowlike headdresses (Figs. 16, 33, and 34). Nor does she wear the crown that distinguishes the fashionably clad Vertu in Figure 11. The only sign that Amistié represents an elevated spiritual ideal is her height, a mark of her superiority to the twins. Perhaps the lack of a crown or other mark of Amistié's high status was unintentional. Or Oresme may have wished to distinguish Amistié, who is personified by a feminine, transcendent ideal, from the unnamed masculine "Friends," who operate in a different sphere. Although a triadic ordering scheme appears again, as in Figures 11, 16, and 35, the figures surrounding the woman in the middle here are identical, not antithetical.

The prominent emblem of the heart is an apparently extratextual allusion to the ancient notion that the heart is the seat of the soul, the emotions, or of love.

During the Middle Ages, the heart had both secular and religious connotations.^[19] In trecento art, a flaming heart is the symbol of Caritas in the figure by Giotto in the Arena Chapel and Ambrogio Lorenzetti's altarpiece in Massa Marittima and his Good Government fresco in the Palazzo Pubblico, Siena.^[20] Furthermore, the secular context of heart symbolism in fourteenth-century French art occurs in a group of ivories, probably made in Paris.^[21] For example, two mirror cases depict the offering of the heart to a lover.^[22] In an illustrated manuscript of the Roman de la rose , the god of love locks up the beloved's heart.^[23]

The heart in Figure 37 operates in a secular context, as the hairstyles and costumes of the three figures imply. Although the illustration of Amistié ingeniously conveys many key notions of Aristotle's concept of Friendship, the reading of the image may have presented difficulties to the contemporary reader. An area of possible confusion is the link between the heart, symbol of heterosexual love, and the two males, who are embraced by the female Amistié. Another complication is the double connotation in French of the word ami , as both sexual partner and friend. Thus, ambiguous gender roles may have occasioned a request for a more explicit visual definition than that of the elegant but cryptic personification allegory of Figure 37.

A Detailed Subject Guide of MS C :
The Upper Register

The total revision of the program of Figure 37 in the analogous miniature of C (Figs. 38 and 38a) departs from the adaptation noted in the illustrations of the previous book (Figs. 35, 35a and 36, 36a). There, the addition of a second register in Figure 36 intensifies and deepens the original meaning established in Figure 35. Here, Figure 38 abandons the single visual definition of Amistié in Figure 37 in favor of specific definitions of the word. Without any internal separation by frame or line, Figure 38 accommodates six separate scenes divided equally between the two registers. The expansive setting of the first two scenes gives the upper zone a crowded appearance. The top-heavy effect also results from the disproportionate space reserved for the extensive inscriptions. Because the third scene of the top register is squeezed into a small area, the lack of harmony is even more obvious. As a possible response to these aesthetic defects, the inscriptions in the lower register are shorter, the settings eliminated, and the figures diminished in scale. These changes show the experimental nature of the revised program of C . The challenge of depicting so many different scenes apparently caused difficulty for the illuminator, a less-gifted member of the workshop of the Master of the Coronation of Charles VI than the miniaturist responsible for the illustrations in Books VI and VII (Figs. 34 and 36).

Such uneven aesthetic effects thus result from an expanded and more overtly didactic program. Figure 38 claims a frontispiece status emphasized by its ample dimensions.^[24] The carefully written inscription above the border of the upper register identifies the categories to which the subjects depicted below belong: "les especes d'amistié entre personnes equales" (types of relationships among people

of equal rank).^[25] The inscription refers to Aristotle's three main types of friendships or associations among people of equal rank discussed in Chapters 4 through 8 of Oresme's translation. The phrase ".iii. especes de amistié" that begins the title for Chapter 4 introduces the reader to the explanation of two of the three types of relationships, those based on usefulness and on pleasure. In Chapter 5 is found the definition of the third, most perfect and lasting, type: Friendship based on virtue and excellence. Once again, left-to-right placement of the three scenes accords with sequence in the text.

The first scene on the upper register is labeled "Amistié pour proffit." The relationship represented depends not so much on affection as on the utility or material gain that such an association brings. Oresme puts it this way: "Et en ceste maniere, ceuls qui aiment pour bien utile, il ne aimment pas les personnes pour elles, mais pour le proffit que ilz en ont ou actendent avoir" (And in this way, those who love in order to gain something of practical value do not love people for themselves, but for the benefit that they get from them or expect to get).^[26] The two merchants exchanging goods behind a table exemplify this type of relationship. A piece of cloth unfurled by the figure on the left brings the offer of a gold coin from the other man, who reaches out to feel the merchandise. Oresme explains that love of gain is the bond that holds this association together. The translator cites as an example of such an association "amistié de pelerins" (relationship of pilgrims), which he explains in a gloss: "Il entent de ceulz qui de lointain paÿs vont et communiquent ou conversent ensemble pour marcheandise et pour gaaing" (He means those who from distant countries go and communicate or associate for merchandise and profit).^[27]

The second scene depicts "Amistié pour delectacion." The relationship of two young men for the sake of companionship and pleasure is illustrated by the food and drink displayed on a table and the playing and singing of music. The figure on the left plucks a stringed instrument, while his companion holds an unfolded scroll with words and notes written on it. About friendship for pleasure, Oresme says in the text: "Mais l'amistié des joenes gens semble estre plus pour delectacion, car il vivent selon les passions des concupiscences et quierent et poursivent mesmement ce qui leur est delitable selon le temps present" (But the friendship of young people seems to be more for pleasure, for they live according to the passions of concupiscence and they seek out and pursue especially that which gives them immediate pleasure). Food and drink may stand for both the short duration of pleasure and the intense relationships characteristic of young people, whose friendship "ne dure que un seul jour ou moins" (lasts but for one day or less).^[28]

The most worthwhile and lasting type of friendship among equals is "Amistié selon vertu." Ironically, the most excellent category of Amistié has been squeezed into the remaining space of the upper register. The compression into a small corner of the third scene, composed of two men who stand facing each other, could indicate that for some reason the illuminator (or the instructions) did not divide the picture space proportionately. The text states that in this type of friendship the affection derives from the good and virtuous character of the parties, as well as from the good or pleasure they derive from the relationship. Because their charac-

ters are good, the friends wish each other well beyond any benefit that accrues from the association. As a result, this kind of relationship is not casual or ephemeral but will endure. Following Aristotle, Oresme notes that such friendship is rare, as few people are good and virtuous.^[29] Perhaps this observation—rather than an error of the illuminator—accounts for the small space allotted in Figure 38 to "amistié selon vertu." Such a division of the picture field would reflect not only sequence in the text but also the idea of the prevalence of the first and second types of friendship and the rarity of the third. In any case, the depiction of the good and virtuous friends as tonsured clerics is a deliberate choice. Holding open books that they discuss, the friends exemplify the life of the mind as the lasting source of pleasure and virtue. In the Middle Ages, the intellectual life in monastic or university settings is associated with the clergy.^[30] While Oresme may be simply updating and concretizing the ideal of the contemplative life, his choice of clerical figures may reveal his own personal and social identification with such pursuits.

Friendship in MS C :
The Lower Register

Despite an aesthetic ungainliness, the upper register of Figure 38 provides clear visual exemplification of "les especes d'amistié entre personnes equales." But the lower zone contains no equivalent inscription to indicate the different relationships among the three types of associations. Chapters 15 through 17 and other locations explore the topics of "amistiés entre personnes non equales" (types of relationships among persons of unequal rank). As in the upper zone, left-to-right placement of the scenes follows sequence in the text.

The first scene devoted to relationships among persons of unequal rank depicts "Amistié entre prince et subiez" (relationship between prince and subject). This theme would, of course, have especially interested Charles V. The background pattern of tiny fleur-de-lis of the lower register may have signaled the importance of the topics taken up there.^[31] Particularly relevant is the depiction of a standing king wearing a gold fleur-de-lis crown. He receives the homage of a kneeling subject, who places his hand within the prince's.^[32] In the tenth chapter of Book VIII Oresme mentions and distinguishes among the three types of relationships in which the parties have different roles or obligations "selon superhabondance ou inequalité des personnes" (according to superiority or inequality of the parties).^[33] In all of them, one party has greater power or authority than the other. Because of his moral excellence and political authority, the ruler can do more for his subjects than they for him.^[34] The scene of the king receiving homage clearly conveys the superior authority of the prince. Similar to the depiction of the virtuous clerics of the upper register, the representation of a medieval ceremony translates Aristotle's concepts to familiar, contemporary contexts. Especially telling are the upright position of the king, identified by his crown, the kneeling posture of the fashionably clad subject, and the hand gestures.

The second type of relationship, represented in the central scene of the lower zone, is "Amistié entre parens" (relationship among kindred). Two standing male figures give orders to two tiny children. The disparity in scale accentuates the

dependence of the latter, while their upturned heads and outstretched arms convey their acquiescence to authority. If the iconographic formula repeats the scheme of the first scene, such a resemblance is appropriate. Following Aristotle, Oresme states that the authority parents exercise over their children is similar to that a king wields over his subjects. Although the text acknowledges the differences between the two types of relationships, the resemblances are great. For example, both the father and the king love their dependents more than their respective dependents love them, since the more powerful are superior to the weaker in virtue and the ability to do good. Oresme's detailed analysis of these relationships in several glosses of Chapter 15 permits a rationalization of the benevolence and superiority of kingly authority based on the model of paternal rule.^[35]

Although the language and imagery of the first two scenes of the lower register in Figure 38 stress masculine representations, the third includes a prominent female figure. She is the bride in "Amistié entre mariez." Wearing a gold circlet in her hair and a large brooch on her bodice, she stands frontally with crossed hands. A large, dangling purse may stand for the dowry she brings to the marriage. To her right stands the groom clad in a short doublet and hose. Oresme discusses the association of marriage in Chapter 17, as well as in other locations, such as Chapters 14 and 15. In the former, the marriage relationship is compared to one of the six forms of political association outlined by Aristotle in Chapter 37 and developed more fully in the Politics . If the relationship between a father and son resembles a monarchy in its absolute rule, Friendship between husband and wife is compared to aristocracy. In this regime, the man's preponderant authority rests on the principle of superior virtue and command of affairs appropriate to him, whereas the female has control over certain restricted domestic areas.^[36] In Chapter 17 Oresme discusses the relationship between husband and wife as a natural one, and a primary unit in the association of families that makes up the political community. Marriage is also described as a relationship that brings profit and pleasure to both parties. If the characters of husband and wife are both good and just, marriage can also be described as a relationship for the sake of virtue. Of course, Oresme explains in a gloss, the virtues and actions of the husband are different from those of the wife.^[37]

The depiction of "Amistié entre mariez" in Figure 38 does not reflect the inequality of status expressed so clearly in the other two scenes of the lower register. Both husband and wife are the same size and stand frontally with hands and feet in identical positions. The failure of the scene to demonstrate superior male status may lie in Oresme's instruction to depict a bride and groom. Limited by constraints of space, such a representation does not permit overt expression of the power relationships between husband and wife or differentiation of their work roles. These distinctions appear in the illustrations to Book I of Oresme's translation of the pseudo-Aristotelian Economics (Figs. 80 and 81).^[38] It may also be the case that the disparate roles of man and wife were understood by the contemporary reader and required no visual demonstration.

Thus, the apparently simple scenes of "les especes d'amistié qui sont entre personnes non equales" in the lower register have complex interrelationships to polit-

ical ideas of fundamental importance to Charles V. Compared to the more expansive and detailed scenes of the upper register, the three below are reduced in scale and format. While the fleur-de-lis background and king's crown signal their importance, it is hard to say if the different treatment of the two zones results from pictorial experiment or Oresme's desire to rely in the lower register on his reader's familiarity with the institutions identified. Such a hypothesis may seem paradoxical, but by 1376, when C was completed, Charles V and other influential readers had had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with Oresme's translation of the Politics . Dating from about two years earlier, Charles V's first illustrated copy (B ) of this text may have provided an opportunity for oral explications. If so, Oresme may well have discussed the important analogy between paternal rule and kingship.

In short, the illustrations for Book VIII in A and C (Figs. 37, 37a and 38, 38a) show radically different approaches to the visual definition of Aristotle's concept of Friendship. The former relies on an elegant and subtle personification allegory to communicate profound psychological and social characteristics of Friendship. As a whole, the triadic scheme presents a variation on the man-in-the-middle theme not only in gender but also in representing an embracing ideal rather than a set of contrasts. In comparison, the radical revisions undertaken in Figure 38 attempt far more ambitious visual definitions. Based on Aristotle's insightful division of personal relationships according to the power of one party over another, Oresme's ingenious program represents the most advanced example in C of the subject-guide type. Within their separate representational modes, Figures 37 and 38 conceive sophisticated and contrasting strategies for ordering the two types of visual definitions presented to the readers of Book VIII.

13—
Moral Obligations of Friendship (Book IX)

Problematic Relationships between Friends

The illustration for Book IX in A (Figs. 40 and 40a) shows various physical similarities to the preceding miniature of this manuscript (Fig. 37). The images share the distinctive rose and blue colors that may signal the continuity of subject matter between the two books. But Figure 40 is not only smaller than Figure 37 but also is below average in its vertical dimension.^[1] The reduced size of Figure 40 may indicate its secondary status in comparison to the considerably larger Figure 37, which introduces the subject of Friendship.

The program for Figure 40 is also reduced, with only two of the three figures from Figure 37. Perhaps in response to criticism about the unidentified males in Figure 37, each is labeled "Amy" (friend). Identical in size, facial type, and costume, the friends stand in three-quarter poses facing one another. The figures are symmetrically placed within the picture field, and their bodies occupy the same number of squares of the geometric background pattern. Most unusually, the center of the composition is empty, save for a large gold ring held by the man on the right. With outstretched hand, he offers it to his companion, who reaches out to accept or call attention to this prominent object.

This pared-down personification allegory seems even more cryptic than that of Figure 37. As mentioned above, the personification of Amistié in the illustration for Book VIII may have led to ambiguities about her relationship to the two males. In contrast, the two companions of Figure 40 leave no doubt that Friendship is a relationship reserved for men. Yet the gesture of Amistié in Figure 37 conveys the notion of the unifying spirit characteristic of Friendship, while the heart held by the two men expresses the idea of one soul in two bodies. In Figure 40, however, the relationship of the Amis is difficult to define both visually and textually. Of course (as in Fig. 37), the twinlike appearance of the two Amis repeats the notion that "a friend is another self."^[2]

Indeed, several interpretations of Figure 40 are possible. This first alternative draws on the costumes and the ring as clues. The fashionable dress of the Amis differs from the modest attire worn in Figure 37 by the friends who are associated with the noblest, spiritual type of Friendship. Together with the ring, the worldly dress of the Amis in Figure 40 may signify the less worthy types of Friendship, those for profit or pleasure. In Chapter 1, directly above the miniature, the rubrics

[Full Size]

Figure 40
Two Friends. Les éthiques d'Aristote,  MS  A.

[Full Size]

Figure 40A
Detail of Fig. 40

read: "Ou premier chapitre il monstre par quoy et comment amistié puet estre gardee" (In the first chapter he shows by what means and in what manner friendship may be preserved).^[3] The text column directly next to the illustration contains Oresme's discussion of Aristotle's explanation that problems result when one friend seeks pleasure and the other, profit.^[4] In other words, each likes the friend not for himself, but for what he can get out of him. In this type of temporary and disingenuous Friendship, the gold ring may symbolize the material gain sought by each party. More positively, Figure 40 may stand for a principal theme of Book IX: the various obligations of friends. Thus, the giving of the ring may signify a generous act, or one of the four actions of Friendship, called beneficence, discussed in Chapters 5 and 9 of Oresme's translation.^[5] In the ninth chapter Oresme takes up Aristotle's theme of the different attitudes to one another of the benefactor and the recipient. Such an interpretation of Figure 40 is difficult to define verbally because of the weak links among the parts of the miniature and the meager inscriptions.

Using a popular saying to explain the identity of the two Amis suggests another avenue for interpreting the image. The starting point is Aristotle's quotation of proverbs about Friendship, found in Chapter 10 of Oresme's translation.^[6] The Philosopher considers whether a man should love himself more than another and

[Full Size]

Figure 41
A Ransom Dilemma, top : Father or Son; center : Father or Friend; bottom : Friend
or Son. Les éthiques d'Aristote,  MS  C.

[Full Size]

Figure 41A
Detail of Fig. 41

regard himself as his own best friend. The twinship of the Amis may be a witty allusion to the theme of self-love. But in Figure 40 a more obvious relationship of the identical friends to the proverbs is also possible. The sameness of the Amis can reflect the sayings, quoted in this passage, that friends have one soul and that Friendship is equality. The ring bears out the proverb that friends hold everything in common. If the modern English translation of the last proverb in Chapter 10 is read as "Charity begins at home," another reference to the ring is also possible: identity of the friends equates the offer of the ring with a gift to one's self.^[7] Although the textual source of the proverbs explains many visual aspects of Figure 40, again the cryptic verbal links of the inscriptions in this image make a single interpretation arbitrary. Perhaps Oresme relied on his readers to furnish the appropriate proverb or interpretation.

The Decision Allegory of MS C

Possible dissatisfaction with the obscure personification allegory of Book IX in A (Fig. 40) accounts for Oresme's revision in C of the program of the illustration. Yet the physical characteristics of Figure 41 (Fig. 41a, Pl. 5), the miniature that

introduces Book IX in C , indicates that the illustration may represent a second version or a last-minute addition to the manuscript. First of all, the folio that contains the miniature was added to the existing quaternion.^[8] Second, Figure 41 does not follow the usual image-to-text relationship in C , as it comes before the chapter headings. Moreover, the scale and format of Figure 41 are unique in the cycle. The miniature is the largest and the only one divided into three registers. Even the decorative system is different. Two elaborate, foliate initials head the two columns of text written below the miniature, while the three rinceaux on the left margin consist of an unusual two-leaved spray issuing directly from the outer frame. With their expressive gestures and more normal proportions, the crisply outlined figures suggest that a different member of the workshop executed the miniature.^[9]

Study of the textual sources of the illustration reveal the reasons for the prominence of Figure 41. The chapter headings of the second column below the miniature establish links with crucial locations in Book IX. The dragon-headed initial O draws the reader's attention to this title: "Ou secont chapitre Aristote determine aucunes questions a savoir mon comment l'en est plus ou moins tenu a diverses personnes" (In the second chapter Aristotle examines certain questions, to wit, how one may be more or less bound to various people). A smaller initial introduces a sentence that completes the column: "Ou tiers il determine comment l'en doit rendre differentes choses a diverses personnes" (In the third chapter he examines how one may render various things to different people).^[10] In short, the reader will find in Oresme's translation that Chapters 2 and 3 of Book IX contain Aristotle's discussion of an individual's varying obligations to different kinds of friends. Of specific relevance to Figure 41 are the text passages and Oresme's glosses in Chapter 2 on difficult choices that arise in times of crisis. The particular situation involves a timely problem of ransom demands, specifically the question of who should be rescued, if only one of two people can be saved. For example, if a man is ransomed from the hands of robbers, should he "ransom his ransomer in return, whoever he may be (or pay him, if he has not been captured but demands payment) or should he ransom his father? It would seem that he should ransom his father in preference even to himself."^[11] In a gloss on this passage, Oresme explains the various points at stake. Among them is the claim that a son owes more to the father who gave him life than he does to himself. The translator acknowledges that certain commentators bring out the superior claims of the ransomer of the individual who faces such a difficult moral decision. At this point, Oresme opts for the father's claim on the grounds that nature, which has the force of a divine ordinance, dictates such a choice.^[12] Chapter 3 of Oresme's translation continues Aristotle's discussion of a person's moral obligations to different types of friends, family members, and benefactors.^[13] Oresme stresses, however, that judgment among conflicting loyalties is complex, if the friends are not the same type and the circumstances difficult. In Gloss 3 of Chapter 8 Oresme holds forth on moral dilemmas. Then there follows a separate Question that sums up Oresme's views on the problem.^[14] In Gloss 8, Oresme discusses Aristotle's argument that decisions about conflicting obligations are not hard to make, if they involve two people

such as a father and son, who share the same type of relationship, called amistié de lignage (relationship among family members). Oresme points out that several commentators have not dealt with the tough choice a person has to make between saving the life of his father or his son.^[15] To make the question more vivid, Oresme gives as an example a ransom situation:

Posé que un homme ait son pere et son filz bonnes gens, et sont pris en la main deleurs adversaires lesquelz octroient a cest homme que pour certain chose il li rendront seulement ou son pere ou son filz, l'un des deux, et l'autre tantost il mectront a mort, a savoir mon lequel il doit eslire.

(Take, for example, a man whose father and his son, both upright men, have fallen into the hands of their enemies, who for a consideration, agree to give him back either his father or his son, but not both, and the other they will put to death. Which of the two is he to choose?)^[16]

In Gloss 8, Oresme runs through a gamut of arguments regarding the dilemma. He first comes down on the side of the individual who prefers to save his father's life rather than his son's. Then he raises the important point that a man loves his son more than his father. Nevertheless, the man must deliver his father, who is his benefactor. Oresme concludes the gloss by stating that the man's obligation to his father rests on legal grounds, whereas his son's claim is moral, based on Amistié. In this case, Justice has a preferred standing.^[17]

In the lengthy Question following this gloss, Oresme continues his analysis of moral choices and takes up once again the case of a man required to deliver from his enemies one of two parties. Here the choice lies between his father on the one hand and on the other, his "amy tres vertueus" (his most virtuous friend).^[18] The translator summarizes the superior standing of amistié de lignage (a relationship among family members exemplified by the father) but restates Aristotle's position that the individual concerned must weigh many factors. One problem is that amistié vertueuse (friendship between virtuous people) and amistié de lignage are different types of relationships that do not permit a proper comparison. Sometimes a person owes more to a friend than to a family member.^[19]

This lengthy summary of Oresme's gloss and Question in Chapter 3 identifies the textual sources and contexts of Figures 41 and 41a. The three-register format permits a visual structure that depicts the moral choices to be made in the ransom situation. Each level represents a decision between two different and deserving parties. Study of the miniature reveals how ordering of the separate units offers a close visual analogue of Oresme's verbal arguments. In more than one way, the reader must decipher the visual puzzle offered in the illustration and decide the question on its merits.

A strategic device in ordering the illustration is the repetition on all three levels of the constant and variable figures who exemplify the moral dilemma. The center of all three zones is occupied by the man who must make a choice. In his right

hand he holds a purse containing the ransom. Standing in a full-length, three-quarter pose, he faces or glances at the party on the right of the composition. His upheld left hand conveys a gesture of deliberation or hesitation. The central figure does, however, vary in age and costume. On the top zone, he appears to be an older man and wears fashionable dress. On the two lower levels each protagonist wears a long mantle and seems to be mature. Standard, too, are the executioner figures placed at the left and right of each compartment. Although they vary in age and dress, these six figures hold an axe in one hand and stretch out the other to receive the ransom. On each level, next to their captors, there kneel before the blocks the two prisoners who gesture entreatingly. Adding to the image's complexity is the reader's problem in identifying these figures and their relationship to the man in the middle. The only verbal clues are the inscriptions, which represent words uttered by the captives. By comparing them, it is possible to deduce the choice called for between the two types of Amistié on each level. Once again, position in the center symbolizes both moral power and the ability to choose.

The situation in the top zone is perhaps the most comprehensible. The central figure must decide between an older figure on the left who says "merci filz" (thank you, son) and a younger one on the right whose inscription reads "merci père" (thank you, father). The decision is the one Oresme sets forth in Gloss 8 of Chapter 3: the man with the ransom must save either his father or his son. Although the predicament is clear, the resolution is not so obvious. Two elements suggest, however, that the decision advocated in the text is followed. First of all, the ransomer holds the money bag in the direction of his father and that man's executioner. Furthermore, he is physically closer to the left side, and the movement of his bent left leg indicates that he leans toward them.^[20]

More puzzling are the actors and predicament depicted in the middle zone. On the left, an aged male figure in a pleading posture says, "merci filz." Both words and gesture identify this man as the father. But what is the identity of the bearded figure on the right who says the words "merci je te delivre" (thanks, I'm saving you)? Perhaps he represents the claim of the amy vertueus who, in some situations, possesses qualifications for salvation as strong as an amy de lignage .^[21] Or does this figure represent the person who ransomed the man in the middle from robbers? In the text and a gloss of Chapter 2 Oresme elaborates on the choice between a father and a ransomer.^[22] In this instance, it is more difficult to judge the outcome. Although the man in the middle stands closer to the friend and glances sympathetically at him, he once more extends the money bag toward his father.

Most problematic is the choice depicted in the lower register. Here the prisoner on the left varies slightly the message of the man on the right in the middle zone: "merci je te delivray" (thanks, I saved you). The figure on the right who says "merci père" is the double of the young man on the top zone. The man in the middle appears to choose between his son on the one hand and on the other, his ransomer or amy vertueus . This dilemma typifies the difficult decision mentioned by Oresme when the choice involves two different types of Friendship. Again the result is not easy to interpret. The central figure holds the purse firmly in his

outstretched right hand toward the man on the left. At the same time, he stands closer to his son. Perhaps the lack of resolution of the dilemma relates to Oresme's method in posing the question to the reader. As a whole, the illustration reflects Aristotle's view that when conflicting obligations make a decision difficult, an individual must use his best judgment.^[23]

A Meaningful Redefinition of the Decision Allegory

Several features of Figure 41 follow the larger pattern of revision in the program of C , including a change in the representational mode adopted in the analogous miniatures of A (Figs. 37 and 40). A precedent also exists for the decision allegory in the illustrations for Book VII (Figs. 35 and 36). Despite these precedents, Figure 41 is unique not only in its size and three-register format but also in the development of its theme. For the treatment of the content offers a decision allegory of a different type from that of Figures 35 and 36. In Figure 41 the scenes depicted do not involve a choice between personifications of competing abstract forces but a moral quandary based on conflicting social obligations. The father, son, and ransomer or friend of the man in the middle exemplify certain relationships or types of Friendship, while the moral dilemma centers on a particular situation of dramatic human crisis. If the ransom dilemma is timeless and applicable to many different conditions, it is more specific and concrete than the generalized moral conflict between Raison and Concupiscence treated in Figures 35 and 36. Another somewhat startling aspect of Figure 41 relates to its visual translation of Oresme's Question following Gloss 8 of Chapter 3. The textual source of this figure underscores not only the translator's role in inventing the program but also an increased intervention that resulted in changes affecting the physical structure of the manuscript. The addition of Figure 41 to the existing quaternion reflects the importance attached to the illustration by Oresme as a visual analogue of his personal views expressed in the Question. Figure 41 seeks to replicate in summary form the method of the Quaestio , a tool of scholarly discussion and open debates at the University of Paris called the Quodlibeta .^[24] In his writings on miracles and marvels of nature, Oresme uses the Quaestio format to organize the structure of his inquiry.^[25]

The transfer of the Quaestio to Oresme's translation of the Ethics follows naturally from the commentary tradition and the methods of scholastic philosophy. Harder to grasp is the transfer of this mode of argument to court circles. Yet, as mentioned above, Christine de Pizan writes that Charles V enjoyed intellectual disputation with the clerics in his entourage.^[26] Moreover, as was noted in Chapter 4, the prologue of the Songe du vergier states that the king took pleasure in having selections from the Ethics read to him. It is possible that Charles V heard Oresme discuss the ransom question in one or the other of these situations and requested a visual aide-mémoire and summary of the translator's views. Perhaps the king's interest was stimulated after the execution of an earlier illustration for Book IX in MS C . Or, at the last minute, Oresme may simply have decided to change the

format of Figure 41. In any case, Figure 41 represents a full visual expression of Oresme's own mode of thought that alters the physical structure of the manuscript.

The patron's enthusiasm for the ransom question may first have arisen from the timeless human interest in the moral dilemma of an agonizing choice between competing loyalties. After the French defeat in 1356 by the English at the battle of Poitiers, Charles had the experience of securing the release from prison of his own father, King John the Good. As regent, Charles had to negotiate the payment of a hefty ransom, which necessitated the imposition of heavy taxation.^[27] The continuing demands of raising funds for the ransom presented lasting problems for Charles V's administration. Monies were also required for dealing with brigands, former soldiers who ravaged France after the signing in 1360 of the treaty of Brétigny. Thus, for Charles V the decisions examined in Figure 41 about ransom, robbers or brigands, and obligations to one's father had both personal and political relevance. Oresme's association with his patron during and after the initial crisis of John the Good's imprisonment may have alerted him to Charles's particular interest in the ransom theme. The exceptional characteristics of Figure 41 may well reflect the high degree of interaction between Oresme and Charles V based on shared historical experience and intellectual understanding. Expressive of the translator's ingenious turn of mind, the riddle or puzzle aspect of Figure 41 would also have appealed to the king as a tribute to his mental acuity. Together with the extratextual inscriptions the illustration could certainly have furnished talking points and another occasion for the translator's explication of and dialogue with his patron regarding subtle moral issues.

14—
Contemplative Happiness and Intellectual Activity (Book X)

The Visual Definition of Félicité

The difficulties of interpreting Figures 42 and 42a, the illustration of Book X in A , do not arise from its placement, size, or color. Following the chapter titles, the miniature occurs in the second column of folio 198v. Of average size for a column illustration, in format this figure belongs to the category of undivided quadrilobes. After the preference for more muted tones noted in the images of Books VIII and IX (Figs. 37 and 40), the bright hues of Figure 42 mark a return in the A cycle to the usual red, blue, and white palette. In the upper right, gold delineates the crossnimbed halo of Christ and an accompanying host of angels. The crown worn by the seated figure is also gold. A mediating, light beige tone depicts the central element of the composition: an open book resting on a lectern. This color reappears in the thronelike, low-backed chair in which the main figure sits.

An inscription above the head of the crowned figure identifies her as Félicité, or Happiness. In the preliminary summary of the contents of Book X at the top of the first column, the reader finds the first mention of the word: "Ci commence le .x^e . livre ou il determine principalment de Félicité" (Here begins the tenth book, where he chiefly examines Happiness).^[1] The next sentence explains further that Book X begins with a discussion of Pleasure, considered by some as identical with Happiness. Thus, the reader learns that Félicité is not the first concept discussed, although it is the most important one. In fact, the word Félicité first occurs in the titles for Chapters 11 through 15. Lacking a descriptive adjective, the inscription in the miniature does not specify whether Félicité is a general or particular type of Happiness. Aristotle discusses the first category in Chapter 11; a second kind, Félicité speculative, in Chapters 12 through 14; and compares the latter to a third, Félicité active, in Chapter 15. Like the inscription of the illustration of Book IX in A (Fig. 40), the term used in Figure 42 does not provide the reader with a firm link to a text location where the verbal definition of a particular concept occurs. Nor does the term Félicité distinguish it from Aristotle's analysis in Book 1 of the concept of Human Happiness.^[2]

The iconographic formulas selected for representing Félicité also do not help the reader to understand the particular characteristics of Happiness discussed by Aristotle in Book X. The crown worn by Félicité may indicate the superiority or excellence associated with Félicité speculative (Speculative or Contemplative

[Full Size]

Figure 42
Félicité. Les éthiques d'Aristote,  MS  A.

[Full Size]

Figure 42A
Detail of Fig. 42

Happiness) referred to in Chapters 12 through 15. In these sections of Book X Oresme attempts to explain Aristotle's conclusion that the greatest happiness in life derives from the activity of contemplation, identified with the intellectual pursuit of philosophical wisdom.^[3] According to Aristotle, the superiority of this type of activity depends on several criteria, including association with the highest type of virtue derived from "the best part of us, which is reason."^[4] The activity of reason connotes a life of contemplating "truth already attained," or knowledge of the most sublime, divine beings associated with metaphysics. The well-being or happiness derived from such lofty activity of the intellect is also superior. Not only are its objects unchanging, but the pursuit of philosophic wisdom is continuous and lasting and is based on the self-sufficiency and leisure of the philosopher.^[5]

In the text and glosses of Chapters 12 through 15, Oresme explains many of Aristotle's crucial points about the happiness derived from the contemplative life. Yet, the translator does not explicitly supply the context for the profound changes medieval thought made in the antique ideal of the contemplative life. The "speculative life" of the classical model, based on the "self-reliance and self-sufficiency of a process of thought which is its own justification," was completely transformed. The contemplative activity of the medieval thinker or scholar had "meaning and

justification not in itself but in the establishment of a relationship with the Deity." Located within the hierarchical structure of the church and later of the university, the medieval thinker used "his reason scientifically," not as "the creator of an intellectual world centered in himself" but as part of a tradition in which he served as "heir and transmitter," as "critic and mediator," and as "pupil and teacher."^[6]

How does Figure 42 re-present the contrasting classical and medieval concepts of the contemplative life and the happiness that derives from it? Oresme's program depends on a personification allegory that borrows essential aspects of the iconography of Sapience depicted in the miniature of Book VI (Fig. 33). Félicité, like Sapience, sits next to a lectern with an open book and gazes toward the heavens. In both cases, the object of contemplation is definitely Christian. The cruciform halo identifies the bust-length figure as Christ, who is surrounded by a host of angels. The resemblance between Félicité and Sapience is based on a common model of an inspired personification. Yet the particular kind of Contemplative Happiness discussed in Chapters 11 through 15 is known only to "celui qui a la vertu de sapience" (he who has the virtue of wisdom).^[7] In other words, the similarity between the personifications of Books VI and X echoes the close relationship between their intellectual activity and the objects of their study.

Other concepts expressed in the text about the character of Félicité contemplative relate to the iconography of Figure 42. As noted above, the crown worn by Félicité indicates the superiority or excellence of this type of Happiness. The open book refers to the intellectual activity that contemplation encompasses: "et tous sages confessent que de toutes les operacions qui sont selon vertu, la tres plus delitable est speculacion ou contemplacion selon la vertu de sapience" (And all wise men acknowledge that of all the activities that accord with virtue the most enjoyable is that of speculation or contemplation in accordance with the virtue of wisdom).^[8] The study of "choses divines" (divine things), exemplified by the inhabitants of the celestial sphere, imitates most closely "l'operacion de Dieu" (the activity of God) and is therefore "la tres plus beneuree" (the most highly blessed).^[9]

Thus far the iconography of Figure 42 is consistent with textual definitions of the happiness derived from the contemplative life. But another aspect of the illustration, Félicité's handing of a cloak to a kneeling beggar, is somewhat confusing, for the charitable gesture seems to link her to a mode of life opposed to the contemplative ideal. The contrasting type of the vita activa , or active life, as defined by Aristotle, is one based on "moral virtue and practical wisdom."^[10] Its sphere encompasses the practical activities of politics, military affairs, the family, and the like. The feelings of well-being that result from good actions taken on this level bring about what Aristotle calls Human Happiness, translated by Oresme as Félicité humaine.^[11] The Christian assimilation of the concept of the vita activa associates its operation with works of charity.^[12] Thus, the generosity of Félicité seems to link her with a personification of vita activa , sometimes exemplified by Martha, sister of Mary of Bethany, who, in turn, was identified with the vita contemplativa .^[13]

Oresme may have instructed the miniaturist to use a model based on a personification of vita activa , or Charity, for the depiction of Félicité. Yet an actual textual

source in Chapter 15 of Book X can explain the motif of the cloak and beggar as part of a consistent definition of Félicité contemplative. In several places, following Aristotle, Oresme states that the happiness derived from the contemplative life needs little in the way of material goods to sustain it. Indeed, earthly possessions constitute an obstacle to contemplation or study. As Oresme explains: "Mais celui qui vaque et met son entencion a speculacion, il ne a mestier de nulle tele chose quant a son operacion; mais l'en puet dire que teles choses li sont un empeeschement a sa speculacion" (But he who is at leisure and turns his mind to speculation has no need of any such [material] thing for his activity; and one can even say that such things are an impediment to speculation).^[14] In other words, the action of Félicité conveys her intention of giving away extraneous worldly possessions to pursue the contemplative life. Oresme refers in a gloss to a source in the Gospels to clarify this point: "Car grans richesces requierent sollicitude par quoy l'en est empeschié de contemplacion. Et pour ce en l'Evangile ilz sont comparees a espines" (For great riches require one's attention, which acts as a hindrance to one's contemplation. And for this reason in the Gospel they are compared to thorns).^[15] Such a moral attitude is consistent with Oresme's admonitions to his secular audience against undue expenditure and self-indulgence, conveyed in the programs for Figures 21, 35, and 36. Despite the textual justification of the motif of cloak and beggar, Félicité's charitable gesture may have confused the contemporary reader. The association of good works with the Christian virtue of Charity, or even with the action of a saint, may have obscured Oresme's definition of Félicité contemplative. The lack of a descriptive adjective in the inscription identifying the personification contributes to the ambiguous meaning of the image.

Félicité Contemplative:
A Monumental Personification Allegory

Following the pattern of revising the program of A , Figure 43 (Fig. 43a and Pl. 6) shows certain marked changes in iconography. Like the illustrations for the two preceding books in C (Figs. 38 and 41), the content of the miniature for Book X becomes more specific and focused, even though Figures 42 and 43 share the same representational formula: a seated female figure gazing up at the inhabitants of a celestial sphere. But in Figure 43 a process of simplification brings about not only the elimination of the book and lectern but also of the cloak and beggar. New to Figure 43 is the setting of hills and trees on either side of the principal figure, now identified specifically as Félicité contemplative. Her seat is a low bench similar to that of Sapience in Figure 34. The heavenly contingent has also changed. Instead of the bust-length image of Christ tucked in the corner, the godhead in Figure 43 is a commanding, dynamic force who occupies the center of the heavenly sphere. Accompanied by adoring angels and the sun and moon, he blesses Félicité contemplative. While these iconographic revisions in Figure 43 reveal important alterations in the program of Figure 42, physical and formal features show an even more dramatic character. For one thing, in its size Figure 43 is, after its predecessor

[Full Size]

Figure 43
Félicité contemplative. Les éthiques d'Aristote,  MS  C.

[Full Size]

Figure 43A
Detail of Fig. 43

(Fig. 41), the second largest miniature in the cycle. The gold leaves of the outer borders of Figures 41 and 43 suggest another link between them: the execution of the last two miniatures of the C cycle by a separate workshop.

Figure 43, however, shows characteristics that set it apart from the illustration for Book IX. The scale of the figure of Félicité contemplative shows a striving for monumentality unique in the cycle. The care taken to render the drapery folds of her robe and that of the deity is also unusual. Because the figures are modeled in grisaille, their resemblance to, and reliance on, sculptural prototypes seems even more pronounced. The size and beauty of Félicité contemplative, as well as the power of God's head and gesture, mark them as "imagines agentes" or "corporeal similitudes" of ethical ideals.^[16] Also distinctive to Figure 43 are the touches of color: green for the clump of trees and blue for the clouds. The use of gold for God's crown, the angels' heads, the sun and moon, and the belt and halo of Félicité contemplative shows the lavish treatment of this illustration.

The extraordinary formal qualities of Figure 43 certainly deserve notice both in themselves and as evidence for the emphasis given to the illustration. Remarkable though it is, the miniature contains a few irregularities that suggest haste or misunderstanding of instructions. Haste is suggested in the blurring of the frame directly above the head of God the Father and above the word delectacion at the lower right. God's flowing drapery, apparently painted over the background, shows evidence of reworking. Inspection of the inscription below the bench of Félicité contemplative also indicates last-minute additions. Compared to the identical words set on either side of God within the usual rectangular boxes, those below Félicité are irregularly shaped and outlined in pen. The use of abbreviations, the small scale of the letters, and the interruptions of words by drapery folds suggest that the lower inscription was added after the upper one. Perhaps Oresme thought that the placement of the higher one confused the reader by identifying the celestial figures with Félicité contemplative rather than with the personification herself. An alternative explanation is that the repetition of the inscriptions affirms the resemblance between the activity taking place in each realm.

Also difficult to interpret is the distance between the head of Félicité contemplative and the celestial sphere. Is the program meant to convey the vast space of an outdoor setting and the separation between the earthly and divine? Or is the miniaturist incapable of locating a monumental figure in a naturalistically conceived space? The too-small trees and rocks indicate a conventional approach to representing a figure in a landscape. Despite these incongruities, the setting signifies that mountains are a traditional location for contemplative activity.^[17]

The striving for effects of grandeur in Figure 43 is obvious not only in the composition and the style but also in the expressive quality of the principal actors. Changes from the iconography of Figure 42 noted above also play their part in bringing out characteristics of God and Félicité contemplative inherent in their verbal definition by Aristotle and Oresme. For example, the translator is careful to emphasize that speculative activity takes place in a state of leisure, marked by disengagement from labor, or, in Oresme's words, "repos ou cessacion de labeur ou de occupacions en negoces."^[18]Vacacion , the word used by Oresme to describe this state, is a neologism included in the glossary of difficult words at the end of the volume.^[19] Oresme also supplies a Christian context for associating the term both as noun and verb with contemplation of the divine. To contrast the active and speculative ways of life, the translator cites St. Augustine as the source of the distinction and the biblical exemplars of the two types of existence:

Ainsi disoit St. Augustin de Marie et de Marthe, que l'une vaquoit et l'autre labouroit. Donques il veult ainsi argüer: Félicité est en vacacion, et les vertus morales ne sont pas en vacacion; mais la speculative, etc.

(Thus spoke St. Augustine of Mary and Martha: one took her rest and the other toiled. Therefore he wishes to argue thus: Happiness lies in leisure, and moral virtues are not passive, but the speculative virtue is, etc.)^[20]

In another gloss at the end of Chapter 13, in which the term vacacion is introduced, Oresme again turns to Scripture to emphasize the superiority of the contemplative life: "Et est meilleur que n'est félicité de vie pratique ou active. Et pour ce dit l'Escripture : 'Maria optimam partem elegit, etc.'" (And it is better than the Happiness that comes from the practical or active life. And for this reason Scripture says, "Mary chose the better part").^[21] In Figure 43, Félicité contemplative shows no sign of the apparently worldly activity that marks her counterpart in Figure 42.

Other aspects of Félicité contemplative's character absent in Figure 42 emerge in this illustration. The deletion of the cloak-and-beggar motif emphasizes the self-sufficiency or independence of others that constitutes a great advantage of the contemplative life. The large gold halo accorded Félicité contemplative conveys the divine quality of such a mode of life stripped of "passions corporeles" (bodily passions).^[22] In a gloss to Chapter 15, Oresme explains that because of Félicité's disregard of such emotions, "elle n'est pas a dire humaine, mais divine" (She is not to be called human, but divine).^[23] Her halo also relates her to the inhabitants of the divine realm. Of all the female personifications in the A and C cycles, Félicité contemplative is the only one awarded a sacred status, an honor that refers to the idea that speculative activity expresses within human beings "aucune chose divine" (something divine).^[24]

The posture and gesture of Félicité contemplative reveal her character. Unlike the analogous personification in Figure 42, Félicité contemplative no longer needs a book to inspire her activity. With sharply turned head and upraised hands, she glances directly at God and the celestial sphere. Figure 43 emphasizes the meaning of the verb contempler as an act of actually looking at something.^[25] Furthermore, the gaze of Félicité contemplative affirms her independence of earthly things and her direct communication with the objects of her contemplation. Since Félicité's activity is based on the intellectual virtue of Theoretical Wisdom (Sapience), which encompasses Intuitive Reason (Entendement) and Knowledge (Science), she seeks to express the best elements encompassed by the human intellect. The act of contemplation, which resembles the activity of divine beings, brings directly to her sight the objects of her speculation.^[26] Not surprisingly, the model for Félicité contemplative is the same inspired Evangelist mentioned for the figures of Sapience in the illustrations of Book VI (Figs. 33 and 34).^[27]

The gesture of Félicité contemplative may also provide clues about the antecedents and interpretation of the figure. Her eloquently upraised hands may indicate astonishment, submission, striving, or prayer. Stemming from her exalted activity and relationship to the deity, such expressions are appropriate also to personifications of the vita contemplativa . As previously noted, a process of medieval exegesis identified the sisters Martha and Mary of Bethany as exemplars of the vita activa and vita contemplativa respectively.^[28] But various medieval writings cite the Virgin Mary as one who unites both categories of experience.^[29] Although Oresme does not mention the Virgin in such a context, he may have referred the miniaturist to an image of Mary. The ideal beauty, blue mantle, and long hair of Félicité contemplative are attributes of the Virgin appropriate to such an allusion.

The representation of God the Father also conforms to medieval iconographic tradition.^[30] The deity as a creative and unifying force of the cosmos is symbolized by his command of the heavenly host of angels and the depiction of the sun and moon. God's blessing gesture and the fall of his drapery into Félicité's sphere indicate the spiritual affinities between them. As Oresme's text states, of all human activities, the one closest or most like the activity of God is the most blessed.^[31]

Although in his discussion of Félicité contemplative, Oresme does not give an explicit Christian definition of God as the object of her activity, it is difficult to say whether he envisioned a philosophical rather than a theological frame of reference. At the point in Chapter 15 where Oresme speaks of the excellence of Félicité contemplative, he refrains from defining her character as a task beyond the scope of the present inquiry. His gloss also evades a clear interpretation: "Car ce appartient a la methaphisique et a la science divine. Mais par ce que dit est, plus excellente que n'est félicité active" (For this belongs to metaphysics and theology. But by what is said, [it is] more excellent than is happiness of the active life).^[32] Furthermore, Oresme does not carry on the distinction made by Thomas Aquinas that the contemplative life in this world yields only "imperfect happiness," compared to the "perfect happiness attainable only in the next life consisting principally in the vision of God."^[33] The imagery of Figure 43 does not resolve this problem either. Although God is not associated with specifically Christian symbols as in Figure 34, it is hard to imagine that Oresme or his readers understood the text or the image in secular, philosophical terms. Even if Oresme wished to convey such notions, the conceptual and linguistic transformation of the vita contemplativa during the Middle Ages into a Christian context makes such an interpretation difficult. Likewise, the visual associations of Figure 43 are also founded on religious iconography. As is the case with the visual language chosen to represent Justice légale in A (Fig. 24), the illustration of Félicité contemplative has an ambiguous or multivalent character. Yet the absence of overt Christian symbols may furnish a clue to Oresme's perceptions, if not to his audience's reading of them.

The relationship between God and Félicité contemplative also deserves comment. By virtue of his position in the celestial hierarchy, his crown, and his commanding gesture, the image of the deity is the dominant force. It is consistent with Aristotle's outlook that the highest creative and intellectual powers are masculine. Also traditional is the contrasting passivity of Félicité contemplative, a compliant and beautiful young woman. Yet the size, monumentality, and halo of Félicité give her figure visual and spiritual authority. Ironically, the representation by a feminine personification of the highest type of happiness derived from intellectual activity is perhaps the most dramatic instance in the Ethiques cycles of a disjunction between the image and Aristotle's views of female mental, moral, and physical inferiority.

Affirmation of the Contemplative Life

Although the illustration in A (Fig. 42) of Book X, the last book of the Ethiques , receives no special emphasis, in size, format, and style, its counterpart in C (Fig.

43) is a deliberate climax to the cycle. In one sense, Figure 43 contrasts with the representation of Félicité humaine, combined in the first miniature of C with the dedication scene (Fig. 10). Even if allowances are made for the changes in the size of the illustrations in the second half of C , the prominence and preeminence of Figure 43 are still remarkable.

Apart from Oresme's appearance in a leading role in the dedication frontispiece of C (Fig. 10), the translator does not figure in any other illustration. Yet the editorial and visual alterations noted in the second half of C indicate that Oresme's quasi-authorial intervention in the choice and ordering of the program of illustrations strengthens perceptibly. It is, therefore, tempting to see the translator's continued influence in the strong emphasis of Figure 43. Like its predecessor in C (Fig. 41), Figure 43 seems distinct from the other miniatures in format, iconography, and expressiveness. Oresme certainly took part in reordering the program to stress in a monumental and simplified format the grandeur of Félicité contemplative. The visual realization of this concept is both formally and thematically exceptional in contemporary French manuscript production.

The question now arises of Oresme's motivation in highlighting Figure 43. After all, glorification of the happiness that comes from the contemplative life is only one of several themes Aristotle explored in Book X. As a scholar and thinker, Oresme would naturally have a special affinity for the contemplative life. Chapter 12 of Oresme's text speaks of the wonderful pleasures of philosophy, marked by purity and permanence.^[34] His gloss on these delights reveals an enthusiasm quite probably derived from his own experience. Oresme explains:

Elles sont merveilleuses pour ce que elles sont excellentes et precieuses et ne sont pas communes. Car le plus des gens se delictent en choses materieles. Item, elles sont pures, car elles sont vers choses esperitueles et immaterieles.

(They are wonderful because they are excellent and precious and are not common to all and sundry. For most people delight in material things. Item, these are pure, for they incline toward spiritual and nonmaterial things.)^[35]

Oresme's emphasis on vacacion , or leisure, as a condition and advantage of intellectual activity may also reflect a preference or enjoyment familiar from his own career. The translator may here have reflected on his years in Paris working on the Aristotle translations when, with the king's assistance, he took leave from his ecclesiastical duties in Rouen. Oresme's glosses thus express a consciousness of the rarity of the withdrawal from material pleasures that typifies the classical ideal of the life of the mind, soon to be revived in the writings of the Italian humanists.^[36] Even the setting of mountains and trees in Figure 43 conveys the idea of a peaceful retreat in which contemplative activity takes place. Oresme was also personally engaged in writing about the objects of Félicité contemplative's intellectual activity. Oresme's Latin and French treatises on natural science, including physics and the study of the movement of celestial bodies, approach from various vantage

points knowledge of "les choses divines." Thus, drawing on his own life and work, the program of Figure 43 may well express Oresme's reverence for the happiness that comes from the contemplative life. Likewise, the ambiguities of the philosophical/theological context of this illustration may reflect the wavering in his scientific views between orthodox Christian beliefs and "radical philosophical ideas."^[37]

If Figure 43 displays Oresme's preferences, what interest might the illustration have held for Charles V? Chapter 13 and other locations in Book X unfavorably contrast the field of political action, driven by an incessant search for power and honors, with the leisure and tranquility that characterize the happiness of the contemplative life. But the translator explains in a gloss that political action supplies the preconditions for people to enjoy the contemplative life.^[38] In addition, Oresme states in the final gloss of Chapter 14 that the active life is sometimes more desirable and necessary than the contemplative mode, particularly when it assures the safety of the common good.^[39]

Certainly the idea that good political action assures the possibility of the contemplative life is relevant to Charles V's own tastes and his patronage of literature and the arts. The massive translation project is just one aspect of his cultural policy. The king was also known for his love of learning and his intellect.^[40] The various mentions of Charles V's "Sapience" in dedicatory poems and prologues to translations are more than literary convention. For him, as well as for Oresme, the happiness of the contemplative life was a concept that had personal meaning and merited special honor in the climactic illustration of the king's personal copy of Oresme's translation of the Ethics . In Figure 43 the illuminator creates a monumental and exceptional figure worthy of his reader's recollection. This memorable image certainly could have provided the basis for the translator's eloquent oral explication of the delights of the contemplative life.