The exhibition Unfolding Time: The Medieval Pocket Calendar is now open at Lambeth Palace Library. Curated by Dr Sarah Griffin, it explores medieval conceptions of time by bringing together a remarkable group of manuscripts, known as concertina-fold almanacs, for the first time alongside treasures from Lambeth Palace Library itself. The British Library has loaned a number of items to the exhibition, including two English concertina-fold almanacs (Add MS 17367 and Egerton MS 2724), two bound calendar almanacs (Harley MS 2332 and Royal MS 17 A XVI) and several printed examples, made in the 15th and 16th centuries. The exhibition is free to visit and runs from 14 February to 15 May 2025.  

An opening from a concertina-fold almanac, showing a perpetual calendar: Add MS 17367  

During the medieval period, there were various ways of tracking time, from charting the movements of the planets and other celestial bodies, and the change in the seasons, to the marking of historic events and anniversaries and other significant days in the liturgical calendar. Such was the complexity of representing these different temporal cycles, manuscript makers moved away from the conventional format of the codex (or bound volume) to explore other means of recording the passage of time. By the end of the Early Modern period, a whole range of formats had developed to express this type of temporal information, from volvelles and other diagrams with moveable elements, to genealogical rolls, roll chronicles, and bat books. Perhaps the most ingenious of all these developing formats was the concertina-fold almanac.  

The upper cover and edge of a closed concertina-fold almanac, showing its distinctive folds: Egerton MS 2724 

A view of a printed concertina-fold almanac, showing its accordion or concertina-like structure: c. 36. aa. 5 

Concertina-fold almanacs were made from long sheets of parchment, which were folded to create a concertina-like structure composed of different compartments. Cuts made in the folds would then form a pop-up mechanism, allowing the reader to access the interior of the almanac and the information it enclosed, without the need to unfold the whole sheet each time. In the video below, we show how one of these almanacs unfolds (Add MS 17367): 

The benefit of the concertina-fold almanac as a format was both its portability – many of these items are small and compact enough to fit easily in the palm of a hand – and its capacity to compress a huge amount of calendrical and other information within relatively few leaves of parchment. Such information tended to be expressed in the form of tables and diagrams and through symbols and pictograms rather than through words alone. Here are just some of the different kinds of information that can be found within the manuscripts and printed items on display in the exhibition.  

Chronicle tables 

Chronicle tables chart the entire history of the world at the time of the manuscript’s production in a condensed form, referencing only a few significant events. For example, in the concertina-fold almanac below (Add MS 17367), we find a record of the number of years that have elapsed since Creation (here symbolised by a large orb), the Flood (symbolised by Noah’s Ark), and the number of years that Adam remained in Hell (symbolised by a fiery hell-mouth).  

A chronicle table from a concertina-fold almanac: Add MS 17367 

A hell-mouth from the chronicle table: Add MS 17367

Labours of the Month 

Many concertina-fold almanacs mark the change in the seasons through representations of the so-called Labours of the Month, the agricultural or domestic activities conventionally associated with different calendar months during this period. In this printed example below (C.41.a.28), the tasks for January-April show a labourer sitting by the fire, pruning trees, and ploughing the fields. Opposite these images, circular diagrams in red and black with an orange orb in the centre handily indicate the number of hours of daylight and darkness in each calendar month.   

Labours of the month for January to April, and accompanying diagrams illustrating the daylight hours and periods of darkness: C. 41. a. 28 

Perpetual calendars 

Concertina-fold almanacs often feature ‘perpetual calendars’, recording both saints’ days and other feasts celebrated on the same day each year (e.g. Christmas), together with the information a reader could use to determine moveable feasts (e.g. Easter). In this calendar for November and December from a finely illuminated example (Egerton MS 2724), the feast days for different saints are accompanied by an illustration, either a portrait of the saint, an attribute closely associated with them or a scene from their life. St Andrew, who appears at the top right-hand side of this calendar, is depicted with an image of his martyrdom, in which he was crucified upon a saltire or x-shaped cross. Likewise, the second row illustrates Thomas Becket’s feast day with a depiction of his murder in Canterbury Cathedral.  

A calendar opening within a concertina-fold almanac: Egerton MS 2724 

An illustration of the martyrdom of St Andrew on a saltire, or x-shaped cross: Egerton MS 2724 

An illustration of the murder of Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral: Egerton MS 2724 

Prognostications 

This calendar almanac (Harley MS 2332) has been bound into a codex format, but its contents share many features with the corpus of concertina-fold almanacs that survive. Notably, it includes a table of prognostics concerning the dominical letters, a method of predicting the future based on the day of the week (the big A to G letters on the left) on which the new year falls. Here, different possible outcomes that might befall the reader are shown pictographically, in the form of vibrant and entertaining symbols (some more easily interpretable than others), including crops, barrels, sleeping figures, pairs of flying eyes, axes and swords, demons, beehives, and sinking ships.  

 

A table of prognostics concerning the dominical letters within a bound calendar almanac: Harley MS 2332, ff. 19v-20r  

A sinking ship, beehives, daggers and a demon from the dominical letter prognostics: Harley MS 2332, f. 20r

We highly recommend you explore the world of the concertina-fold almanac in the exhibition, Unfolding Time: The Medieval Pocket Calendar at Lambeth Palace Library, where all these unique manuscripts and printed books and more will be on display, from 14 February until 15 May 2025.   

For more information on the exhibition and opening times, visit the Lambeth Palace Library website: www.lambethpalacelibrary.info/unfolding-time 

Calum Cockburn  

The British Library's Medieval Women: In Their Own Words exhibition has received rave reviews, has smashed its visitor target, and, most significantly, has given public recognition to dozens of women who lived in Europe centuries ago. We are thrilled that the exhibition has been such a great success, which is a tribute to the dedication of our colleagues and collaborators.

In the early planning stages, the curators and Exhibitions team focused on how we could bring these stories to life. We commissioned Su Koh to work on the 3D design, with the remit of making our gallery feel welcoming and spacious, in using its height to full advantage, and in creating sightlines throughout the space. Here are some of Su's reflections on how she approached the gallery design.

Silhouettes

From the start of the project, we wanted to give the featured women in the exhibition a physical presence. The challenge was not knowing what most of these women looked like, so we created shadowy silhouettes and overlaid them with details from brass rubbings of the tombs of medieval women. We left out any facial features, letting the visitors' imagination fill in the gaps. The silhouettes were printed life-size on 6m long banners suspended from the ceiling, accompanied by printed quotes and audio of their own words.

Façades

To support the silhouettes, we created a series of translucent façades, as scenography for the story to unfold. Entering the exhibition, the façades form a ‘town square’ for the Introduction. A replica of the statue of Queen Eleanor of Castile from Waltham Cross sits in the middle of the ‘town square’ along with three introductory objects for each of the main narrative sections (Private Lives, Public Lives, Spiritual Lives). Each façade is inspired by a surviving medieval building, namely a manor house (Chalfield Manor), a guildhall (Bury St Edmunds) and an ecclesiastical building (Elstow Abbey).

Both the silhouettes and the façades have a translucent quality. The silhouettes were printed on translucent white fabric, and the facades made from aluminium frame and stretch translucent fabric, giving the whole exhibition a light and ethereal quality. We've enabled our visitors to view through them into the spaces beyond, and we also created windows and doorways in the façades to enhance the sightlines and to give a sense of movement as visitors move around the gallery.

Colours

The colours used in the exhibition have been inspired by the objects on display. We studied the illuminated manuscripts and paired them with three main colours. Ultramarine blue references lapis lazuli, and has been used for the large totem in the Introduction, for the graphics, and in the back panels of the showcases. Gold has been used in the exhibition titles, in the highlight panels in the showcases, and in the labels for the featured ‘spotlight’ women. A teal fabric has been used for the façades, matching the verdigris used in manuscripts. Together these colours give the whole exhibition a paired back but impactful colour scheme.

Gateways 

At the start of each main section of the exhibition is a window with an evocative projection introducing the expectations and attitudes of the day. The window motifs reference the façade windows. Gobo lighting has been used to project light and shadow, giving the illusion of light passing through the windows onto the floor. As visitors enter the Spiritual Lives section of the exhibition, the coloured light of a stained glass window fills the floor. These zones have also allowed school groups to congregate and have provided a contemplative space for our visitors. 

Multi-sensory experiences

We collaborated with Tasha Marks, a scent designer from AVM Curiosities, to create two multi-sensory moments within the exhibition. First, we recreated two scents from a medieval cosmetic recipe collection known as De ornatu mulierum. Displayed on a dressing table are 3D printed ultramarine vessels, from which visitors have been able to smell a medieval breath freshener and a hair perfume, giving a rare insight to the past.  

Our second sensory moment is based on interpretations of Heaven and Hell as inspired by the visionaries Margery Kempe and Julian Norwich. Contained within a large medieval window, visitors have opened two doors to experience the sweet floral scent of Heaven, as described by Julian of Norwich, or the ashy fire and brimstone of Hell, as witnessed in her visions by Margery Kempe.

Individual objects 

Sometimes an object informed the physical shape of the exhibition layout. One example is a double-sided artwork containing scenes from the life of John the Baptist, painted in the 12th century by nuns from Hohenburg Abbey in Germany. As we wanted this item to be viewed from both sides, we created an opening in the wall leading to the Conclusion and mounted the object so that it floats in the middle. This arrangement gives our visitors a glimpse into the concluding space from Spiritual Lives and vice versa. 

 

Medieval Women: In Their Own Words is on show at the British Library from 25 October 2024 to 2 March 2025.

This exhibition is made possible with support from Joanna and Graham Barker, Unwin Charitable Trust, and Cockayne – Grants for the Arts: a donor advised fund held at the London Community Foundation. 

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It’s the final week of our major exhibition Medieval Women: In Their Own Words and we have some fantastic news! Several important items from our Medieval and Renaissance Women digitisation project are now available to consult online, including handwritten volumes, charters, and rolls. All these manuscripts have been on display in the exhibition and can be explored in their entirety.

A full list of the items, with links to their digitised images and summary catalogue information, can be consulted on the British Library website. We will be adding more manuscripts from the project over the coming weeks. The Medieval and Renaissance Women project was made possible through the generous support of Joanna and Graham Barker.

Here are a few highlights from the items now available:

Christine de Pizan, Livre des faits d'armes et de chevalerie; London, England, 1434: Harley MS 4605, f. 3r

Refoundation charter of Bordesley Abbey; Devizes, England, 1141-1142: Add Ch 75724, Seal obverse

Cicero, De senectute, written by Ippolita Maria Sforza, Milan, Italy, 1458: Add MS 21984, f. 3r

Hildegard von Bingen’s Liber divinorum operum; England, Late 15th century: Add MS 15418, f. 7r

Breviary; Northern Germany, 2nd half of the 15th century: Harley MS 2975, f. 73v

The will of Margaret Paston; England, 1482: Add Roll 17253, Membrane 1

Middle Dutch prayer-book; Southern Netherlands, c. 1440-c. 1500: Harley MS 3828, f. 27v

Collection of medical treatises in Middle English; England, 2nd quarter of the 15th century: Sloane MS 6, f. 177r

The Martyrology of Syon Abbey; England, 2nd half of the 15th century: Add MS 22285, Upper cover

Indenture between Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond, and John Islip, Abbot of Westminster Abbey; London, England, 1506: Lansdowne MS 441, f. 3r

Aldobrandino of Siena, Le Régime du corps; England, 4th quarter of the 15th century: Sloane MS 2401, f. 36v

Medieval Women: In Their Own Words is on show at the British Library from 25 October 2024 to 2 March 2025.

This exhibition is made possible with support from Joanna and Graham Barker, Unwin Charitable Trust, and Cockayne – Grants for the Arts: a donor advised fund held at the London Community Foundation. 

Follow us @BLMedieval