Illuminations of the "Roman de Troie" and French royal dynastic ambition (1260-1340) [thesis]
Elizabeth MorrisonA careful analysis of the iconographic programs of the illuminated copies of the Roman de Troie demonstrates that the images offer a specific visual gloss on the text, shaping the reader's understanding of and relationship to the narrative. The subject that was consistently given the most illumination was the story of Hector, who is identified as the founder of the French royal dynasty in the Grandes Chroniques de France, the principal vehicle for disseminating the Capetians' claims to genealogical legitimacy. The illuminations in the French Roman de Troie manuscripts, moreover, variously depict the invading Greeks as aggressive outsiders, stress the perfidious role of traitors in the city's downfall, or highlight the role of the king as the personification of the state, all aspects of the story that would interest readers sympathetic to the Capetian monarchy's attempts to increase its power and foster a sense of French nationalism. This new reading of the manuscripts' iconography is only possible through recasting the most important copies as Parisian products illuminated by artists with intimate ties to the Capetian sphere. It was ultimately the particular story being told by the images in illuminated copies of the Roman de Troie that fulfilled the specific needs and hopes of the Capetian dynasty.