Imaging the miraculous: 'Les Miracles de Notre Dame', Paris, BnF, n.acq.fr. 24541 (Gautier de Coinci, Jean Pucelle, France)

The deluxe 14th-century Miracles of the Virgin manuscript, Paris, BnF, n. acq. fr. 24541, containing poetry, songs, and prayers by the Benedictine monk Gautier de Coinci (c. 1177-1236), is justifiably the most famous copy of this text. This dissertation examines its 78 images---attributed to the Parisian illuminator Jean Pucelle (d. 1334)---as a complete pictorial cycle. I analyze the relationship between the whole sequence of images and the text in comparison to the other illustrated Gautier de Coinci manuscripts, which are rarely discussed or reproduced in art-historical literature. Other sources for BnF, n.acq.fr. 24541's miniatures include devotional and secular manuscripts, Italian panel paintings, and contemporary Parisian metalwork and ivories.; BnF, n.acq.fr. 24541 contains an exceptional number and variety of representations of Marian sculptures and icons. The dissertation evaluates the important role of miraculous images of the Virgin across the illustrated Gautier de Coinci manuscripts. There is often a blurring of boundaries between visions of Mary and images of the Virgin as physical objects. I examine the strategies the illuminators employed to indicate that the panel paintings and polychromed sculptures displayed "signs of life." An analysis of the effective collaboration of image and text in three micro-narratives, the Conversion of a Saracen, the Marian Image Insulted, and the Siege of Orleans, demonstrates the variety of the artists' approaches.; To understand its reception, I also examine BnF, n. acq. fr. 24541 in relation to its royal patrons. The first full description of the manuscript is recorded in the inventories of the famous bibliophile Jean, duc de Berry (1340-1416). Although Queen Jeanne de Bourgogne (1293-1348) most likely commissioned the book primarily for the education of her son Jean le Bon (1319-64), its first documented owner, I argue that its intended audience probably included the entire royal family, if not the court. The nine unidentified portraits of figures in prayer at the end of the manuscript emphasize royal status, a display of piety, and the continued devotional efficacy of Marian images in the 14th century.