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//@esme.louisee: ⬇️ comment your best captions for this image ⬇️Step into the wild world of this 14th-century manuscript, and you'll find yourself face-to-face with some seriously spicy scenes in the bas-de-page of the Roman de la Rose. From illustrations of a nun casually plucking disembodied phalluses from a tree, to another nun leading a monk on a chain attached to… well, you can probably guess. 🍆The brains behind this medieval madness were Richard and Jeanne de Montbaston, the dynamic duo running a secular Parisian atelier. They cranked out a whopping nineteen manuscripts of the Roman de la Rose. When Richard passed away in 1353, Jeanne took the reins and let her creativity run wild. Scholars even think she might be the mastermind behind the whimsical and downright naughty illuminations in this particular manuscript.Most importantly… What’s the deal with phallus trees, you ask? Well, in the late medieval secular scene, they were all the rage. These big boys popped up on lead pilgrimage badges, wood carvings, and, of course, the iconic Massa Marattima fountain mural. There’s no one-size-fits-all explanation for these cheeky trees. Some academics think they were all about fertility and making babies, while others used them to crack jokes about the ancient fear of male impotence. Sometimes, they were just there to be plain funny, especially when they turned up as parodies of images tied to popular devotion.People liked “stand up” comedy even back in the medieval times. So, next time you think medieval manuscripts are all about knights and dragons, remember that Jeanne de Montbaston was out there giving the Roman de la Rose a spicy makeover, one phallus tree and taboo embrace at a time!To learn more, check out: 🍆 Mattelaer, Johan J. "The Phallus Tree: A Medieval and Renaissance Phenomenon." Journal of Sexual Medicine 7:2 (2010). pp. 846-51.🍆Rouse, Richard H. and Mary A. Rouse. "A 'Rose' By Any Other Name: Richard and Jeanne de Montbaston as Illuminators of Vernacular Texts," in Manuscripts and Their Makers: Commercial Book Producers in Medieval Paris, 1200- 1500. Harvey Miller Publishers, 1999. pp. 235-260.#KinkyHistory #History #Medieval #MedievalArt