A Scholarly Skater
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Gargoyles and Grotesques of the Temple of Nike in Sicily
These lion gargoyles come from the Temple of Nike (Victory) at Himera, Sicily. The ancient temple was probably built to commemorate a military victory of the Syracusans (rulers of Sicily) over the Carthaginians c. 480 BCE, though it was destroyed around 408 BCE in another battle that resulted in victory for the Carthaginians. Ruins of…
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The Luttrell Psalter – Day 10
The Luttrell Psalter is a beautiful book that’s celebrated for its animal marginalia and idealized scenes of everyday medieval life.
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Worksop Bestiary – Day 9
Bestiaries – books about animals and their qualities – are my favorite kind of medieval illuminated manuscript because of their great imagery.
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Medieval University Students’ Textbooks – Day 8
Just as they are today, university students were big consumers of books in the Middle Ages. Learn about illuminated textbooks in law, medicine, and more.
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The Manuscript Collection of Jean de Berry – Day 7
Instead of focusing on a manuscript or a component of one, I’ve chosen to write today about medieval history’s most prolific manuscript collector.
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Initials and Capital Letters – Day 6
Initials – capital letters within manuscripts’ texts – are key venues for decoration, aides in navigating the text, and veritable works of art.
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The Black Hours – Day 5
Today’s post is about a truly stunning manuscript that demonstrates the relatively rare but wonderful phenomenon of manuscripts on colored parchment.
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Text in Manuscripts – Day 4
Art historians primarily see manuscripts as works of art, but we shouldn’t forget that they are also books intended to convey the written word.
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Gargoyles and Grotesques in Quito, Ecuador
You guys should know by now that I love non-European gargoyles, particularly when they take forms distinctly different from what we’re used to seeing. These Ecuadorean gargoyles representing local wildlife certainly fit that bill. Above, we can see several species of bird gargoyles, and below are some other creatures including a pair of alligators. This post on…
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A Fourteenth-Century Italian Choir Book – Day 3
Today’s entry features a page from a 14th-century choir book called an antiphonary. Like most medieval choir books, it’s huge and has big illustrations.
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The Hours of Jeanne d’Evreux – Day 2
The early-14th century Hours of Jeanne d’Evreux introduces us to the Book of Hours, surprising scale in manuscripts, and the wacky world of marginalia.
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The Book of Kells – Day 1
It only seems appropriate to start off 31 Days of Medieval Manuscripts with the Book of Kells, arguably the world’s most iconic illuminated manuscript.
