The word cartoon first came into existence in the beginning of the Renaissance to refer to a study in preparation for a more permanent work of art, such as a painting. Later, in the 19th century the word "cartoon" came to refer to a comic picture with satirical or exaggerated graphic features--as in today's comic books, newspaper funnies, political cartoons, and graphic novels. However, this leaves out the marginalia of medieval prayerbooks and hymnals. Here, surrounding the image of veneration--a saint, a scene from the life of Christ and of Mary, or a scene from the Old Testament, and calendars, or surrounding the musical notations in hymnals--a rich subterranean and often comic pictorial life flourishes in the marginalia. For example, we see below that animals are often playing music in the marginalia--forerunners to the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, the Musicians of Bremen. All animals, not just the birds, it seems, had some kind of musical talent back then, even dragons (see last picture).
Just some medieval scribes keeping things interesting
Marginalia is a fantasy literary zine series by writer Logan Garner. Printed by Eberhardt Press in Portland, which has been doing neat work* since 2005. Issues I–III are available at Peculiar Parrish. “This first issue—Marginalia Astoria—includes four pieces of poetic flash-fiction. Readers share a cell with a damned heretic, meet a spell-casting smoker, witness the […]
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Yo, medieval scribes: no one's going to read the text you so painstakingly lettered if you continue to draw weird and dirty pictures in the margins. Well, I guess you're all dead, so we can't fix this now, can we?
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Maybe it's because it's Friday and I've been nursing a cold all week long, or maybe it's because it's Halloween and I'm feeling particularly irreverent, but I figure that
This list could easily read “butts butts butts butts butts.”
From a forgery of William Shakespeare's signature to a queen's love note asking not to be beheaded.
Ever wanted to see a rabbit riding a human snail while fighting a dog riding a rabbit with a broken neck? Well, now you can!
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In the introduction to his essay titled 'Marginalia,' Edgar Allan Poe wrote: 'In getting my books, I have always been solicitous of an ample margin; this not so much through any love of the thing in
We hope you are enjoying journaling while you read your Bible. Here are some more great Bible marginalia from Pat Maier. Enjoy!
¿Te gusta tomar notas en los libros que lees, o eres de esas personas a las que se les eriza la piel cuando alguien raya un libro?
Inside the hallmark of a great scientist and a great human being — the ability to hold one’s opinions with firm but unfisted fingers.
Classical Mythology (4th ed.), Morford and Lenardon, 1991. ETA, after this photo has made the rounds of Pinterest and, apparently, made bibliophiles the world over cry*: Yes, I WROTE ALL OVER THIS BOOK. It is a text book. I used it for several classes, and I learned or discovered something new each time I read it. There is nothing sacred or intrinsically special about this book, aside from the fact that it contains many of my notes. It is not intrinsically valuable. If you want one of your own, you can buy it used on Amazon for 1 penny. Only, you know, it won't be special like mine, because you won't have written in it. Yet. * And if this moves you to tears, you should see my copy of Lattimore's translation of The Iliad. YOU WILL WEEP.
New Atheist blogger Bob Seidensticker is scornful of a medieval map because of its monsters, but the real problem is his ignorance of history.
[f. 168r] The Luttrell Psalter is a book that was commissioned by Sir Geoffrey Luttrell in the 14th century. It is best known for its outstanding marginalia, which combines religious events and iconography with scenes of everyday life in medieval times. Apparently they had squirrels as pets back then, which is a bit awesome. [f. 33r] [f. 201r] [f. 164v] There is only one copy of this text in existence, however the British Library recently digitised the manuscript, and you can check it out here. So you can look at this priceless artifact without leaving your couch. Pretty cool. The online viewer reveals that the ancient pages have retained much of their original colour, as the imagery is bright and clear throughout. As the British Library explains, Psalters are religious texts: The Psalms are 150 ancient songs, grouped together to form one of the Old Testament books of the Bible. In the Middle Ages (and down to the present day) they formed a fundamental part of Christian and Jewish worship, for ecclesiastics and lay-people alike; many people learnt to read by being taught the Psalms. The Psalms were often written out separately from the rest of the Bible, preceded by a calendar of the Church’s feast-days, and followed by various types of prayers. Such a volume is known as a Psalter. Accordingly, the Luttrell Psalter contains many biblical scenes depicting the adventures of saints and angels, and includes the story of Jesus himself (click to enlarge all pictures). [f. 86v] [f. 90v] [f. 93r] Due to my limited religious knowledge, I can't identify precisely what is going on in many places, although some events are rather disturbing. E.g. is this a zombie execution? [f. 108r] This naked man appears to be stuck on a cactus. Not that he is getting any sympathy. [f. 106v] [f. 60v] Who or what is this sinister hooded figure? [f. 60v detail] Why is this two-faced werewolf being told off? [f. 54v] I don't remember any of this happening in the Bible. [f. 47r] [f. 38r] [f. 34r] Excuse me what. [f. 155v] At this point it's probably obvious that the Luttrell Psalter is much more than 'just' a book of Psalms. As well as many scenes of rural life in the 1300s, it is packed with rude and beautiful medieval grotesques. [f. 154r] A number of anonymous artists participated in illustrating this text, but it seems one very imaginative person in particular may have been responsible for the creatures. The British Library again: The finest decoration is in the central section of the manuscript, painted by the most gifted of the artists. His pictures display acute observation and attention to detail - he even tidied up some of the other painters' work. His clear talent for inventiveness and gentle humour is expressed in the so-called 'grotesques': hybrid monstrosities that may combine a human head, an animal/fish/bird body, and a plant tail. The animals have attracted the interest of scholars and public alike. Many of these must have been products of the artist's imagination, and seem unrelated to the text they accompany. And there are so many. Big ones. Small ones. Ones with bird hats. [f. 30r] [f. 212r] [f. 201v] [f. 58r] Or birds with hats on... [f. 185r] [f. 186v] That guy above seems to be wearing the medieval version of a fedora. I can't emphasise enough: if you are a fan of grotesquerie, surreal art, animals, or weirdly wonderful things in general, you need to check out the Luttrell Psalter. [f. 168r] It's really difficult to try and pick my favourites, but here are a few more amazing ones (there are many others): [f. 48r] [f. 27r] [f. 50r] [f. 203v] [f. 56v] [f. 81r] [f. 82v] [f. 50r] [f.58r] [f. 182v] [f. 72v] [f. 61r] [f. 74r] [f. 200v] [f. 191r] [f. 188v] [f. 194v] For first-time users of the BL digital archive, please note - to access the Luttrell Psalter, first go here, then scroll down and click 'View: bindings': Then you can use the buttons on the upper right to turn the pages and explore the book. To find specific pages, use the drop down menu on the furthest right. You can see the reference number for each page - e.g. f. 56r - and you can chase up all the grotesques I've posted here that way as well. (Adding these instructions because it took me a little while to work it out the first time. Not the sharpest tool in the shed.) [f. 77r] Right, I think that's enough gushing from me. If you're interested in these kinds of texts and images, I would encourage you to follow the British Library's medieval manuscripts people on Twitter. Click the 'traditional grotesque' keyword tag below if you want to read other posts about these kinds of beasties. [f. 52v]
1. Rumer Godden. She did not convert to Catholicism until the year she turned 61 but she continued to publish novels for almost 30 years after that. Included in her post-conversion writings are two…
Marginalia in a 1556 edition of Aristotle's Physics in the hand of James Harris (1709-1780), English politician, grammarian, and philosopher, best known for his work Hermes, a philosophical inquiry concerning universal grammar. His son, James Harris (1746-1820), became the 1st Earl of Malmesbury. This book became part of the library at Hurn Court, former seat of the Earls of Malmesbury, and was rebound with the Malmesbury arms on the left board. Established heading: Harris, James, 1709-1780 Established heading: Malmesbury, James Harris, Earl of, 1746-1820 All images of books from the Hurn Court Library in the Penn Libraries collection. Penn Libraries call number: GrC Ar466.19 1556 All images from this book Penn Libraries catalog record
32. Contemporary unused floral marquetry panel from Sorrento
Strange, Trippy And Perverted Pictures From Illuminated Medieval Manuscripts
The Songbook of Zeghere van Male contains local and international 500 year old songs and motets. Made in 1542, the 1200-page long book is rich in illuminations, depicting ornamental and historiated initials and interlinear drawings not necessarily related to its content. Also known by its call number MS 125-128 in Cambrai’s Mediathèque Municipale, the late … Continue reading "Weird And Wonderful Illustrated Letters From A 16th Century Songbook"
