It's Caption Time!

It's Caption Time!

One of our conservators is currently examining the British Library's Greek manuscripts, with a view to having them digitised in due course. Regular readers may be aware that more than 500 of our Greek manuscripts have already been published in full on the British Library's Digitised Manuscripts site, thanks to the generosity of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.

A manuscript which we hope to digitise is Egerton 3157, a 14th century book containing the Synaxaria of Nicephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos, and the Encomium in Patriarcham Joseph Assemani of Ephraem Syrus. Here are two preliminary photos taken by the conservator: the question is, can you beat our captions?!

1. Hands up or I'll shoot!

(London, British Library, MS Egerton 3157, f. 99v)

2. Don't be scared, my pet dragon is muzzled

(London, British Library, MS Egerton 3157, f. 109r)

Caption 1: "Let me get this right, you're saying the fish that bit your finger was this big?"

Caption 2: Said the king to the fortune teller: "You are telling me that I have to kiss this thing to get my queen back?"

Caption 2: Said the man to his wife: "I admire how these letter-eating birds create a place for us to sit, but if he eats any more we will fall off the page."

Posted by: Erik Kwakkel (@erik_kwakkel) | 28 August 2012 at 11:41 AM

Caption 1 - "They call it a Mexican Wave apparently."

Caption 2 - "I have told you before about buying exotic pets. Remember that "it doesn't get any bigger" pot bellied pig that you bought"

Posted by: Steve Dunn | 29 August 2012 at 06:34 AM

Received from @Sarah_Peverley via Twitter:
Caption 1: 'So you've invented a glass helmet for exploring space, but how do we get up there?'

Posted by: Julian Harrison | 31 August 2012 at 08:50 AM

Received from @CelesteRegal via Twitter:

Caption 1 "You pompous ass, you broke my huka?"
Caption 2 "Okay, we'll hang him. I didn't mean to outshine anyone. He's merely an entertainment"

Posted by: Julian Harrison | 31 August 2012 at 08:52 AM

Caption 1: "Well, I'll admit the glow helps me read at night, but it's the moths I can't stand"

Posted by: Tracy Bruce | 31 August 2012 at 09:55 AM

1: "How many times do I have to tell you? It's 'Y-M-C-A'..."
2: "So you're saying this collar will stop him biting his stitches, yes?"

Posted by: Ardeninian | 31 August 2012 at 03:18 PM

Caption 1

Put that mobile phone down and talk to me!

Posted by: Ann Tomalak | 03 September 2012 at 12:13 PM

caption one- Harry Callahan: I know what you're thinking. "Did he fire six shots or only five?" Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk? caption 2-
"Never laugh at live dragons."
J.R.R. Tolkein - The Hobbit

Posted by: kathy lawler | 03 September 2012 at 10:40 PM

Caption 2: "I know you said the sticky paper on a string would trap the moth, but I wasn't expecting it to be so big"

Posted by: Tracy Bruce | 04 September 2012 at 02:05 PM

Caption 1: "My halo is bigger than yours! And you'll be excommunicated soon anyway!"

Posted by: Irina Lester | 04 September 2012 at 03:38 PM

Caption 1: I don't know what it is but you have one around your head now too!

Posted by: shamma Boyarin | 05 September 2012 at 01:34 AM

So you're saying this collar will stop him biting his stitches, yes?"

Posted by: gurjeet | 15 September 2012 at 12:14 PM