Tag Archives: The British Library

‘Penned and Painted’

IMG_1479This new book – ‘Penned and Painted’ – by Lucy Freeman Sandler looks at books from many different aspects and provides a cornucopia of wonderful images of pages from manuscripts. If you like looking at manuscripts and finding out more about them, then this book is for you!

 

 

 

 

 

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Lucy Freeman Sandler starts by considering the book as an object, and then books as images in books. Sometimes the pages or scrolls in miniatures are left blank and at other times actual words are depicted. Here, this wonderful image of a rather grumpy elderly St Mark peering through his spectacles, with his lion looking on with sympathy, has text shown simply as vertical lines.

 

 

 

IMG_1488But St Dunstan, in all his gilded glory is shown with his quill in his right hand and his quill knife in his left holding down the bumpy vellum and ready to trim his pen, and is writing out the beginning of the Rule of St Benedict. As St Dunstan was one of the three people responsible for bringing the church into the benedictine Rule in the tenth century, this seems very appropriate.

 

 

 

IMG_1484The rest of the book consists of two main sections: Books as Symbols and Books in Use. The Harley Golden Gospels were produced during the time of Charlemagne, possibly in Aachen, and lives up to its name. Written in gold throughout, mainly in Uncials the four evangelists are shown holding books or scrolls. Here St Mark, looked on rather menacingly (look at that smile!) by his lion, is writing out a section from his gospel. One would have thought that he would have arranged his writing position and the position of his ink well a little more conveniently so that he didn’t have to twist his wrist quite so much to fill his pen to fill it from an ink pot on top of a pillar, but there we are! His lion holds a scroll with letters in gold. It is truly a magnificent book.

IMG_1486This manuscript shows a miniature which is most unusual – a left-handed scribe! It is from a fifteenth-century breviary produced for John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, and his wife Margaret of Bavaria. The detail is quite amazing as the fifth-century pope, Leo the Great, dictates to an amanuensis sitting at his feet. The scribe is turning to hear the words which he is writing into a book on his lap. The expressions on the faces are amazingly detailed.

And that left-handed scribe – when left-handedness was certainly not looked on favourably? Well, you’ll need to buy the book to read Lucy Freeman Sandler’s possible explanation! This is a book that is well worth buying and well worth reading!

Mediæval Monsters

Devil snatching soulThe British Library have done it again! This delightful little book on Medieval Monsters by Damien Kempf and Maria L Gilbert is the perfect introduction to all those fascinating creatures which delighted the mediæval mind as much as many of us today. Sometimes the monsters are familiar – the one on the right is the devil waiting for death when the soul leaves the body. In mediæval times this was believed to be through the mouth, hence the devil’s hands ready to make a timely catch!

 

 

Devil taking soulAnd here the devil has been successful. The soul is often depicted as a newborn baby, so this poor chap, having left this mortal coil, is off to spend eternity in hellfire as the devil drags his soul there.

 

 

 

 

 

Devil stealing inkpotThe devil was often at work in other ways too. Here is St John the Evangelist, with a couple of completed books behind him, writing the Book of Revelation on the island of Patmos – a place known for its dangerous criminals, scary bears and lions. None more so dangerous and scary than the devil who is here stealing the saint’s inkpot to prevent him writing the word of God.

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But it is the invented animals and grotesques which are often so intriguing. What about Panotii (which means ‘all ears’ in Greek) who had such big ears that are so large they act as scarves or blankets? Others have slightly smaller ears, but pointed, wizened grey faces and hands that are claws, with bodies wrapped in a long cloak. Now some of you may have thought that the creatures in Star Wars were completely invented, but no, here is Yoda on the right, the legendary Jedi Master, instructor of Luke Skywalker (NB I am getting this info from the internet!).

YodaAnd if you don’t believe me, there is the ‘real’ Yoda on the right.

 

 

BlemmyaeWhat mediæval imagination would have thought of Blemmyae? They were harmless, without heads with their faces on their chests.

This little book covers a number of fantastical monsters as well as dragons, unicorns, mermaids, werewolves and very many more. Many of the images are full page which means that you really can see the details and the print quality and design make it a delightful book to read.

If you want to see more mediæval creatures, here’s the top ten monsters of the middle ages here