Welcome to the Roman de la Rose Digital Library, a joint project of the Sheridan Libraries of Johns Hopkins University and the Bibliothèque nationale de France. The creation of this resource and the digitization of manuscripts from the BnF was made possible by generous support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The goal of the Roman de la Rose Digital Library is to create an online library of all manuscripts containing the 13th-century poem Roman de la Rose. We currently have digital surrogates of more than 130 Roman de la Rose manuscripts, and our collection continues to grow. These manuscripts can be explored using our IIIF viewer.

Morgan Library and Museum, M.948, f. 4r

This Digital Library features new content and enhanced functionality, and builds upon the previously developed prototype Roman de la Rose: Digital Surrogates of Medieval Manuscripts. We are continuing our relationship with the founding partners of the Digital Surrogates project, including the Walters Art Museum, the Bodleian Library, the Morgan Library & Museum, and the J. Paul Getty Museum, while working with an ever-broadening group of new institutions and private collectors who have contributed digital images of their manuscripts. Through the efforts of our project team and advisory committee, the Digital Library has been developed as a resource for scholars in a variety of disciplines, as well as for a wider public. All users must review and accept our terms and conditions.

The collections, services, and infrastructure of the Roman de la Rose Digital Library are intended to be dynamic. We look forward to engaging the community to help us consider new content and different features to be added over time, which will be discussed on the site’s blog.