Category: 31 Days of Medieval Manuscripts
Learn about the wild and wonderful world of medieval illuminated manuscripts in this month-long series.
-
Non-European Medieval – Day 19
Europe was far from the only place to make incredible medieval illuminated manuscripts. Find out about great manuscripts from elsewhere in the world.
-
What in the World? – Day 18
This post is dedicated to the weird and wonderful images in medieval illuminated manuscripts. Trust me, there’s plenty of material to choose from here.
-
The Book of Durrow – Day 17
The Book of Durrow is a 7th-century Irish illuminated manuscript with lots of decoration. Think of it as a precursor to the more famous Book of Kells.
-
Vernacular Literature – Day 16
Most medieval manuscripts were written in Latin, the language of learning and religion. In this post, you’ll learn about those written in other languages.
-
The Roman de the Rose – Day 15
Read about the illustrations in a medieval French romance poem that was the subject of so many illuminated manuscripts.
-
Bindings – Day 14
Medieval manuscript bindings are often overlooked and rarely preserved, but they could be spectacularly elaborate works of art in themselves.
-
October in the Calendar Pages – Day 13
Calendar pages appear in Books of Hours and feature scenes for each month. Find out how October was traditionally depicted.
-
Herbals – Day 12
Herbals – books about herbs and medicine – were useful texts with plenty of opportunity to illustrate all the different plants they discussed.
-
Marginalia (Marginal Illustration) – Day 11
Marginalia – illustrations and other markings in manuscripts’ margins – is one of the most interesting and debated aspects of manuscript studies.
-
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.
-
Worksop Bestiary – Day 9
Bestiaries – books about animals and their qualities – are my favorite kind of medieval illuminated manuscript because of their great imagery.
-
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.
