1284), earl of Chester, son of King Edward I, and Margaret, daughter of Florent V, Count of Holland and Zeeland, sadly the marriage was aborted by Alphonso’s death in August 1284. The psalter was likely commissioned in 1284 to celebrate the proposed marriage of Alphonso (b. This page is from a psalter, ‘The Alphonso Psalter’, also know as ‘The Tenison Psalter’. But wait, there’s more! If you look closely, especially along the left hand margin, I can make out at least three more dragons! The image below from The British Library Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts is a stunning example of dragons in the margins.Īt the bottom of the page, there’s a little scene of a dragon battling a stag. 500 sheep were slaughtered to produce the 2,060 pages of the 'Codex Amiatinus,' a Latin translation of the Bible. (If you haven’t read Marginal Cats yet, you might want to take a peek at it too!) 22 hours ago &0183 &32 Those beautiful medieval manuscripts were made from sheep, goats, and unborn calves. I confess I love marginalia and the fascinating stories that are told in it. These may be humble scribbles, or study notes, or even elaborate illustrations as are often found in medieval documents. It refers to marks made in the margins of a book or other document. 459ĭetail from a full border of a monkey playing a game (possibly blowing bubbles?), from the Isabella Breviary, Southern Netherlands (Bruges), late 1480s and before 1497, British Library, Additional 18851, f.Dragons in the Margins Have you ever heard of marginalia? 421vĭetail from a full border of a monkey wearing a cowl spinning thread, from the Isabella Breviary, Southern Netherlands (Bruges), late 1480s and before 1497, British Library, Additional 18851, f. 419vĭetail from a full border of a monkey with a basket trying to capture a bird, from the Isabella Breviary, Southern Netherlands (Bruges), late 1480s and before 1497, British Library, Additional 18851, f. 270ĭetail from a full border of a monkey playing bagpipes, from the Isabella Breviary, Southern Netherlands (Bruges), late 1480s and before 1497, British Library, Additional 18851, f. 96ĭetail from a full border of a monkey looking at itself in a mirror, from the Isabella Breviary, Southern Netherlands (Bruges), late 1480s and before 1497, British Library, Additional 18851, f. 77ĭetail from a full border of a monkey tending to the vinework that surrounds it, watched by a bird, from the Isabella Breviary, Southern Netherlands (Bruges), late 1480s and before 1497, British Library, Additional 18851, f. We would be interested to hear your thoughts on this remarkable group a few examples can be seen below.ĭetail from a full border of a monkey tending to the vinework that surrounds it, from the Isabella Breviary, Southern Netherlands (Bruges), late 1480s and before 1497, British Library, Additional 18851, f. Drawn in the same ink as the stems of the vines that curl around the text, it is reasonable to conclude these miniature nota’s were drawn with the rest of the border. Isabella's monkeys, for example, can be seen playing the bagpipes and playing games, capturing wildlife, hunting, spinning, eating and drinking, and even tending to the upkeep of the borders in which they dwell. This symbol was widespread in medieval manuscripts and certainly would have been recognised by literate audiences at the time. Monkeys appear regularly across the Breviary's 523 folios, and (like a lot of medieval simians) they are usually shown engaging in recognizably 'human' activities. Most of these borders contain beautifully naturalistic paintings of plants and animals, including a remarkable number of monkeys. There is much to recommend this magnificent manuscript, produced in Bruges in the late 1480s and illustrated by the foremost artists of its day, but particularly noteworthy are the many strew and foliate borders which surround the text and miniatures. The Breviary was created for Queen Isabella of Castile (1451-1504), and was the manuscript featured in our 2011 calendar series (see here for January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December). This left a lot of blank space for readers to interact with their books. As he puts it, the manuscript page was half empty, half full. If you happen to be in the mood for a bit of weekend whimsy (and who isn't?), we would like to draw your attention once again to the British Library's 'Isabella Breviary'. Let us remember that the margins of medieval manuscripts were ample Erik Kwakkel has emphasized that the average space around a writing block was about 50. In this way, illuminated manuscripts are different from other types of media in that they provided spaces for readers to record their reactions to image and text. Detail from a full strew border of a monkey playing bagpipes, from the Isabella Breviary, Southern Netherlands (Bruges), late 1480s and before 1497, British Library, Additional 18851, f. Nearly all medieval manuscripts provide ample space in the margins for readers’ notes and comments.
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