¶ The Perilous

Fountain with the Char-

ter of Love.

original: "La fōtaıe perıleuse auec la chartre Damours." In the original French, a horizontal line (a macron) is placed over the "o" in "fontaine" to indicate a missing "n," a common space-saving technique used by early printers. The "¶" symbol is a pilcrow, used here as a decorative flourish to mark the start of the title.

The center of the page features a woodcut illustration of a man and a woman engaged in a courtly exchange. The man wears a chaperon (a hooded hat) and a pleated doublet—the fashionable attire of a nobleman or a poet. The woman wears a high-waisted gown and a traditional hood. This visual serves as an immediate signal to the reader that the book concerns the "Art of Love" and the refined manners of the French court.

The "Perilous Fountain" is an allegorical poem. In such works, the "Fountain" often represents the dangers of falling in love, drawing on the myth of Narcissus. The "Charter of Love" refers to a formal document—written in the voice of the God of Love—laying out the rules and laws that lovers must follow.