By Alixe Bovey Head of Research The Courtauld Institute of Art Art, music and literature blossomed in the

This essay is based on a talk given in January 2020 at the Modern Language Association Convention in Seattle, whose Presidential Theme was “Being Human.”

Antiphonary

Hildegard of Bingen was a German nun who lived in the 1100s. She was a learned polymath and had numerous achievements in various fields, including medicine, nutrition, theology, botany, music and literature. She would have been familiar with illuminated manuscripts from that time and the Latin language as well. She was gifted with visions from [...]Read More...

This exhibition examines the ways in which the artists, writers, and composers represented in the Morgan's collection used animals to think and create.

This Book of Hours was completed for Use of Reims ca. 1450-1475 in northeastern France. The book was first owned by Collette, who is portrayed on fol. 76r with the Virgin and Child. An inscription from 1559 on the back pastedown records later ownership by female owner G. Marlot, as well as by her aunt, née Labourgue, wife of the merchant Jean Bourguet, followed by G. Marlot's daughter, Martine Marlot. The amount of female content in the book suggests that the patron, Collette, was very wealthy, as the book derives from a normal workshop program. This Book of Hours contains a heightened amount of prayers to the Virgin, virgins listed in the calendar and litany, as well as the Hours of St. Catherine in a devotional sequence. The manuscript also contains charming marginalia, most famously a garden party scene in which couples play music, and even games such as backgammon, together (fol. 16r). To explore fully digitized manuscripts with a virtual page-turning application, please visit Walters Ex Libris.

Antiphonary

Discover the diverse range of medieval musical instruments that shaped the music of that era. Join us on this fascinating journey through time!

One of the most interesting manuscripts of the late Middle Ages is now available online - The Geese Book, a lavishly and whimsically illuminated, two-volume liturgical book, can now be accessed through a project from the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies.

[Illuminated Music Leaf]

Simply a blog dedicated to music. I'll probably end up posting a majority about orchestral music, but I'll add in a few posts about other musical styles as well. None of the photos are mine unless otherwise stated. Feel free to leave me comments, questions, or posts you think I should submit :)

Don't know where to start? Let the Toronto Consort's David Fallis be your guide.

A medieval hand-scribed and 'illuminated' vellum antiphonal leaf, recto and verso with six lines of a Latin chant, one rubricated initial, the whole with musical notation, 53.5cm x 39cm, late 15th century. The vellum decorated on both sides with ornate calligraphy, illuminated complex scroll motif letters, and Gregorian chants. This document is hundreds of years old and was used in an abbey as a music manuscript by the monks for hundreds of years. Condition is good for almost 600 years of age. There is a hole to the vellum as depicted. Minor discoloration as expected after hundreds of years. Some creases and wiggles in the manuscript. The vellum (which is a special sort of leather) is strong and very intact especially considering it's authenticity. This would make a beautiful addition to any religious themed collection or for a music lover. Certificate of

[Illuminated Music Fragment]