Making a “super-Alexander romance” (Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Bodley 264): Tradition and Innovation in Workshop Practice

Abstract

This article examines the nine full-page miniatures in a manuscript of the Roman d’Alexandre (Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Bodley 264). Almost entirely overlooked by scholars, these miniatures constitute one of the most exceptional iconographic ensembles of the fourteenth century. As pictorial punctuation, these miniatures announce the main divisions of the narrative, illustrate the opening scenes in each section, and signal encyclopedic content. In this way they function similarly to multi-compartment images in other sacred and secular manuscripts, but magnified and elaborated in accordance with Bodley 264’s luxury and textual completeness. As mnemonic devices, Bodley 264’s full-page miniatures facilitate navigation of the text and signify that Alexander’s story is morally exemplary and memory-worthy. They recall the ekphrastic descriptions that were used for composition and memorization in medieval rhetorical and meditational practice. These full-page images also refer to monumental art such as wall paintings and tapestries, thereby assimilating Bodley 264’s functions to those of larger, more public pictorial forms. Crucial to the display and narrative effects of Bodley 264, these full-page miniatures transform the book into a “super Alexander romance”: an exceptional textual and visual compilation in dialogue with numerous other texts, objects, and cultural practices.