29 March 2025
The Moutier Grandval Bible loaned to Jura
The British Library has loaned the Moutier-Grandval Bible to the Musée Jurassien d'Art et d'Histoire in Delémont, Switzerland. This enormous manuscript of the whole Bible was made in the scriptorium of the abbey of St Martin in Tours in the 830s or 840s. It was subsequently held at the Abbey of Moutier-Grandval near Delémont in north-west Switzerland. The manuscript is celebrated for its four, spectacular, full-page illustrations. The first of these, facing the opening of the book of Genesis, in on display in Delémont.
The page facing the opening of the Book of Genesis, from the Moutier-Grandval Bible (Tours, France, c. 830–c. 840): Add MS 10546, f. 5v
The illustration on this page is a narrative sequence in four panels. The scenes depict events described in the second and third chapters of Genesis: the Creation of Adam and Eve; God’s warning not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge; the Temptation and Fall; the Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden; and Eve suckling and Adam toiling. Within the borders of these scenes is a Latin poem written in chrysography, or gold letters, that summarises the events.
This monumental manuscript, which has 449 leaves, making 898 pages in total, weighs 22 kg. It is the work of some twenty scribes and contains the Latin text of the Bible as revised by Alcuin of York, who had been abbot at Tours from 796 until his death in 804.
The Moutier Grandval Bible (Add MS 10546), on display at the Musée Jurassien d'Art et d'Histoire
The exhibition includes other manuscripts and objects made in the early Middle Ages, most notably the crozier of St Germain, the first abbot of Moutier-Grandval, which dates from the 7th century.
The opening of the exhibition attracted great press attention, and both His Excellency James Squire, His Majesty’s Ambassador to Switzerland, and Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider spoke at the inaugural event. Radio Télévision Suisse have also made a TV documentary about the manuscript which will be broadcast in April.
Claire Breay, Head of Medieval Manuscripts, being interviewed at the press preview for the exhibition: © [email protected] 2025
This is not the first time that the Moutier-Grandval Bible has been on display in Delémont. In 1981, the manuscript was loaned to the Musée Jurassien d'Art et d'Histoire for three months, where it was seen by more than 30,000 visitors.
The Moutier-Grandval Bible is again on display there until 8 June 2025 and the museum has organised an extensive programme for visits by school groups to introduce a new generation to the manuscript.
There will also be a research colloquium on 9–10 May in Tramelan, organised by Mémoires d’Ici, Centre de recherche et de documentation du Jura bernois, in collaboration with the University of Geneva.
For more information on the exhibition and opening times, visit the website of the Musée Jurassien: https://www.mjah.ch/e/expositions/detail/784-la-bible-de-moutier-grandval-fait-son-retour-en-2025
Follow us @BLMedieval
07 March 2025
Unfolding Time: The Medieval Pocket Calendar
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
25 February 2025
Medieval Women manuscripts now online
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
18 January 2025
The mortuary roll of Lucy of Hedingham
What is the measure of a life once it has ended? In the early decades of the 13th century, the Benedictine nuns of Castle Hedingham Priory in Essex marked the life and passing of their first prioress, Lucy, in the most special way: they made a mortuary roll for her. This most poignant of manuscripts (Egerton MS 2849) can be found on display in our major exhibition, Medieval Women: In Their Own Words, which runs till 2 March 2025.
The installation of the Mortuary Roll of Lucy of Hedingham (Egerton MS 2849) in Medieval Women: In Their Own Words
Mortuary rolls were used to commemorate the deaths of the most significant members of monastic communities during the medieval period. They were typically composed of a covering letter, which eulogised the deceased and set out a call for prayers to be made for their soul. Specially employed messengers would then take the roll around neighbouring institutions, who would add these Latin prayers for the dead beneath the letter, together with memorials and reflections on their passing.
The mortuary roll of Prioress Lucy was made between 1225 and 1230. Now divided into two parts, the roll comprises ten parchment membranes and is almost six metres long. It is particularly notable for its opening illustrated panel, arranged in three framed scenes. At the top, a depiction of the Crucifixion is shown alongside the seated Virgin and Child; in the middle, two angels carry the soul of Prioress Lucy up to Heaven; at the bottom, a vision of Lucy’s funeral appears, with her body lying in a bier, surrounded by priests, clerics, and nuns.
The illustrative programme at the beginning of the Mortuary Roll of Lucy of Hedingham: Egerton MS 2849/1, Membrane 1
The roll’s covering letter, written by Agnes, Lucy’s successor as prioress of Castle Hedingham, provides an account of her virtues – among them her virginity, her piety, her abstinence, and her lifelong discipline – and the grief of her fellow sisters at her death, ‘ymbres lacrimarum, et fletuum innundacionem’ (a storm of tears and flood of lamentation).
The letter is followed by the written responses (also known as 'tituli') of 122 religious houses in East Anglia and the southern half of England, including Barking Abbey, the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds, Campsey Priory, St Augustine’s Abbey, Canterbury, Dover Priory and Wilton Abbey. It is unclear how long it took the roll-bearers to reach these houses and return to Castle Hedingham, but it could have been a period of many years, a reflection of both the magnitude of the nuns’ undertaking and the strength of their affection for the late prioress herself.
The first response, made by the monks of St Botolph’s Priory in Colchester, some 20 miles from Castle Hedingham, is also the longest and includes a set of Latin verses dedicated to Lucy, which play on the Latin meaning of her name, ‘light’:
Hec Virgo vite mitis super astra locatur.
Et sic Lucie lux sine fine datur.
Transijt ad superos venerabilis hec Monialis.
Vix succedit ei virtutum munere talis.
Luci lucie prece lux mediente Marie
Luceat eterna, quia floruit vt rosa verna.
This Virgin, humble in life, is placed above the stars.
And so, Lucy is given eternal light.
This venerable nun has passed to the Heavens.
There are few who can compare to her in virtue.
Let the eternal light shine on Lucy with its light,
by the intercession of Mary’s prayer, because
she flowered just like a spring rose.
The first ‘titulus’ or written response added by the monks of St Botolph’s Priory: Egerton MS 2849/1, Membrane 3
Little is known about the rest of Prioress Lucy’s life. There are few documents or references to her in the surviving historical record, though some have speculated that she was a close relation of Audrey de Vere (d. 1194), 1st Earl of Oxford, who probably founded Castle Hedingham Priory in the second half of the 12th century. Nonetheless, the impact of her life and the emotion at her passing are preserved forever in this precious mortuary roll, made by the community of women she led and left behind.
The Mortuary Roll of Lucy of Hedingham on display in Medieval Women: In Their Own Words
To see the Mortuary Roll of Lucy of Hedingham in person, visit our exhibition Medieval Women: In Their Own Words, on show at the British Library from 25 October 2024 to 2 March 2025. You can purchase your tickets online now.
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.
Calum Cockburn
13 January 2025
Permission to practise medicine
Our major exhibition, Medieval Women: In Their Own Words, features many examples of female figures working in professions and fields otherwise dominated by men. Among them, one woman’s story is particularly striking. Around the year 1403, the widow Joan du Lee sent a petition to Henry IV, King of England, asking for permissions so that she could practise medicine around the country. Her petition is known to us through a single document now housed at the National Archives in London (SC 8/231/11510). We are thrilled to have this incredible manuscript on loan to us for the exhibition, which runs until 2 March 2025.
The petition of Joan du Lee to Henry IV, requesting permission to practise medicine; England, c. 1403: The National Archives, SC 8/231/11510
Joan’s document is so significant because it provides first-hand evidence of women practising medicine during the medieval period. Surviving medical manuscripts from the Middle Ages typically give us an impression of a field almost entirely occupied by men, specifically those who were able to receive a university education. Women were not allowed to go to university to study medicine and so could not qualify as licensed physicians. Yet despite the institutional restrictions placed upon them, women were not entirely alienated from medical professions. In fact, they performed many functions and occupied numerous roles, serving as healers and caregivers in domestic and religious households, hospital and infirmary staff, midwives who assisted women in childbirth, wetnurses who looked after young children, and other paid professionals called upon to attend patients or exist in caring capacities.
A midwife hands a newborn baby to their mother: Arundel MS 66, f. 148r
Evidence of the kind of medical treatments women might have performed can be found in a collection of medical treatises (Sloane MS 6), made in England in the 15th century. The volume is also on display alongside Joan’s petition in the exhibition. The manuscript notably features an accompanying set of drawings of female medical practitioners caring for their patients and performing different treatments and surgical procedures. These include ‘cupping’, where a heated glass cup would be applied to a patient’s skin as a means of managing their humoral balance.
A set of drawings showing women performing different medical procedures and treatments, from a collection of medical treatises: Sloane MS 6, f. 177r
However, while women did take up medical roles, they could undoubtedly face animosity and suspicion as a result. Joan’s petition to Henry IV hints at some of the adversity she faced. In her request to Henry, she specifically asks for letters under the great seal – a symbol of the King’s approval that would effectively guarantee the legitimacy of the documents for anyone doubting her – which would allow her to go safely about the country, performing the art of ‘fisik’, without hindrance or disturbance from those people who might regard her with contempt or otherwise mistrust her medical knowledge.
A female medical practitioner performs a cupping treatment to a patient: Sloane MS 6, f. 177r
Unfortunately, we do not know any further details about the kinds of resistance Joan faced as a physician or the medical treatments she performed, or even if Henry ever granted her request. Nonetheless, her petition is a fascinating example of a medieval woman using the legal channels available to her to continue to work in her chosen profession.
To see Joan's petition in person, visit our exhibition Medieval Women: In Their Own Words, on show at the British Library from 25 October 2024 to 2 March 2025. You can purchase your tickets online now.
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.
Calum Cockburn
03 December 2024
From countess to convent
Our exhibition Medieval Women: In Their Own Words tells the story of the lives and experiences of medieval women not just through manuscripts, documents and printed books, but also works of art, paintings, jewellery, coins and sculpture. One of these precious artefacts is an ivory cross that once belonged to Sibylla of Anjou (b. c. 1112, d. 1165), Countess of Flanders, who for a time served as regent in her husband’s place and ultimately embarked on a journey to the Holy Land, where her life would change forever. We are delighted that the cross is on loan to the exhibition from the Musée du Louvre in Paris.
The ivory Cross of Sibylla of Flanders: Musée du Louvre, OA 2593
Sibylla was a noblewoman, the daughter of Fulk V of Anjou (d. 1143) and Ermengarde of Maine (d. 1126), and later the stepdaughter of Melisende (d. 1161), Queen of Jerusalem, a significant royal woman in her own right who also appears prominently in our exhibition. In 1134, Sibylla married Thierry of Alsace (d. 1168) and became Countess of Flanders. It was her second marriage, after her first to William Clito (d. 1127), Thierry’s predecessor as count, had been annulled by the Pope in 1124. Throughout much of their relationship, Thierry was away fighting on crusade, leaving her in Europe to rule as regent in his stead. Sibylla was clearly a formidable figure, able to take charge of the administration of Flanders effectively on her own. Notably, during one of her husband’s absences in 1148, the region was attacked by a rival lord, Baldwin IV, Count of Hainault, who intended to annex the territory for himself. Sibylla led her force in a counterattack that not only repelled the invasion, but also devastated Hainault and ultimately led to the negotiation of a truce between the two sides.
Sibylla’s father, Fulk V of Anjou, and stepmother, Melisende of Jerusalem, from William of Tyre’s Histoire d’Outremer: Yates Thompson MS 12, f. 82v
In 1157, Thierry embarked on his third journey to the Holy Land and this time Sibylla went with him. However, when they finally arrived, Sibylla decided to leave her husband altogether to enter the Convent of Sts Mary and Martha in Bethany, one of the wealthiest abbeys in the kingdom, situated less than two miles outside Jerusalem. The convent had an important familial connection for Sibylla, as it had been founded by her father Fulk and stepmother Melisende in 1138, and its abbess Ioveta of Bethany (b. c. 1102, d. 1178) was also her step-aunt, though the two were actually very similar in age. Despite initial opposition from both her husband and the Patriarch of Jerusalem (its leading bishop), Sibylla was successful in taking her vows and ultimately remained in the convent until her death in 1165. There she was able to work together with Ioveta to support Melisende in her ruling of the kingdom, particularly through their combined influence over appointments to positions in the Latin Church.
An itinerary map of the Holy Land, showing the city of Jerusalem, made by the Benedictine monk and artist Matthew Paris: Royal MS 14 C VII, f. 5r
The cross is one of only a small number of surviving objects and documents with any known connection to Sibylla. It is made from walrus ivory and was crafted in the Meuse Valley region, probably a few years after her marriage to Thierry. A small, veiled female figure appears lying flat at the foot of the cross’s base before the crucified Christ, who appears between allegorical representations of the Sun and Moon. An accompanying inscription in Latin asks for pardon and identifies the figure as Sibylla herself:
NATE. MARIS. STELLE. VENIAM. C[on]CEDE. SIBILLE.
You who were born of the Star of the Sea grant forgiveness to Sibylla.
Here, Sibylla addresses Christ, but references the Virgin Mary using her ancient title, the Stella Maris (or Star of the Sea). It is an interesting choice, one perhaps made with her journey across the sea to the Holy Land in mind. The cross probably formed part of the decorative cover of a book, though it is unclear what happened to its original manuscript or if it even came with Sibylla on her journey. Nonetheless, its devotional symbolism remains a testament to a noble and politically influential figure, who ultimately found the greatest strength and happiness in the religious life and the community of women it provided her.
Sibylla kneeling at the base of the ivory cross, with an accompanying inscription in Latin: Musée du Louvre, OA 2593
Medieval Women: In Their Own Words is on show at the British Library from 25 October 2024 to 2 March 2025. You can purchase your tickets online now.
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.
Calum Cockburn
Follow us @BLMedieval
30 November 2024
Don't try this at home
Imagine you’re a medieval woman with a stomach-ache. Oh, and you’ve got jaundice. And gout. And you’re trying to have a baby. And you’ve recently been bitten by a rabid dog. And, to top things off, you’ve recently been thrown out of a moving vehicle. What’s a girl to do? Well, according to the Tractatus de herbis, a medieval herbal treatise, all these problems could be solved by differing preparations of the herb betony.
Betony (betonica): Egerton MS 747, f.14r
The treatise appears in a late 13th-century Italian manuscript (Egerton MS 747) currently on display in our Medieval Women exhibition. It's full of just such marvellous cures, many of them relating to gynaecological ailments and problems facing pregnant women and nursing mothers. For example, if you need to treat ‘suffocation of the womb’, a condition attributed to the womb’s wandering about the body and compressing the heart and lungs, you might turn to clove, ambergris or laudanum. To stimulate lactation, the herbal recommends asafoetida, aniseed, hemp, mint or chickpeas. Meanwhile, a staggering number of different herbs are prescribed for what the text vaguely calls ‘cleansing the womb’.
Laudanum: Egerton MS 747, f. 51r
Is there any evidence that these cures actually worked? We are used to imagining that medieval people were ignorant of the medical knowledge required to properly treat diseases. Certainly, some of the cures listed might have harmed more than they helped. ‘Monkshood’, recommended as a treatment for afflictions including intestinal worms and pains of the womb, is extremely toxic, as is ‘lords-and-ladies’, recommended for scrofula, haemorrhoids, and ‘cleansing’ and ‘refining’ the face. At least when the text lists white lead as a cosmetic for women, it also includes a warning that those who make it often suffer from epilepsy, paralysis and arthritis, suggesting that the author was aware of lead's toxicity, but the herbal seems to conclude that white lead’s potency in ‘wiping away impurities’ is worth the risk.
Monkshood (anthora): Egerton MS 747, f. 11r
However, with popular interest in sustainable alternative medicines on the rise, it's worth noting that at least some of the treatise’s cures are not quite as bogus as our preconceptions about medieval medicine might lead us to believe. Camphor, which the text suggests can induce sneezing, is still used as a decongestant in products like Vicks VapoRub. Many of the text’s recommended uses for aloe—such as strengthening digestion and promoting wound healing—have been affirmed in recent scientific research. And both the medieval herbal and modern researchers agree that garlic is good for more than just aioli. It also has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antifungal properties—though today’s scientists are less confident than their medieval counterparts in recommending garlic as a sure-fire treatment for venomous animal bites.
Garlic (allium): Egerton MS 747, f. 5r
Like many other pre-modern herbals, our manuscript uses covert language to identify plants that could be used to induce abortions. Arabian balsam tree, centaury, yellow gentian, madder and rue, for example, are all described as effective in ‘inducing menstruation’ and ‘bringing about the abortion of a dead foetus’. Some of these—like yellow gentian—are still warned against for pregnant people due to risk of unwanted abortion. Given the insistence of medieval canon law on the sanctity of life, herbal writers couldn’t afford to be explicit about identifying plants as a means of bringing about the end of a pregnancy by choice. Medieval women must have been capable of reading between the lines to seek out the help they needed.
Madder (rubea): Egerton MS 747, f. 84v
Mugwort (artemisia): Egerton MS 747, f. 7v
However baffling the advice of herbals may sometimes seem (did you know that if you anoint yourself with marigold juice at night, you will find yourself transported somewhere else in the morning?), it is clear that they still have a great deal to say to medics and patients today. Whether in providing healthy eating tips—celery is indeed as good for you as the treatise suggests—or informing us about the history of women’s medicine, they make for fascinating reading. Still, though, we have to warn you: the British Library cannot advise that you follow our herbal’s advice and include gold, bitumen, opium or cuttlefish bone in your morning herbal tea!
Cuttlefish bone (os sepie): Egerton MS 747, f. 71r
Medieval Women: In Their Own Words is on show at the British Library from 25 October 2024 to 2 March 2025. You can purchase your tickets online now.
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.
Rowan Wilson
Follow us @BLMedieval
28 November 2024
The Eleanor Crosses
When you visit our exhibition, Medieval Women: In Their Own Words, the first item you’ll find on display isn’t a manuscript, a document or a printed book. It’s a statue. A crowned female figure in formal robes, weathered to a ruddy brown, her body damaged in places and missing a hand, but whose distinctive likeness remains. This statue and the woman she represents lay claim to one of the most poignant stories to survive from medieval England, a testament to the strength of affection of a husband to his wife, as well as an elaborate display of royal power. This is the story of Eleanor of Castile (b. 1241, d. 1290), Queen of England, and the Eleanor Crosses made in her memory.
The reproduction of a statue of Eleanor of Castile, on display in Medieval Women: In Their Own Words, made by Michael Whitley
Eleanor was the daughter of King Fernando III of Castile and Juana of Ponthieu. She came to England in 1255 at the age of only 14, following her marriage to Prince Edward, son of Henry III, who later became Edward I. They ruled the country together for some 18 years. During their reign, Eleanor became renowned for her skill as a landowner and administrator, her devotion to the Church, and her patronage of the arts, particularly the production and copying of books. Among the manuscripts associated with her is the Alphonso Psalter (Add MS 24686), a lavishly illuminated copy of the Book of Psalms, made to commemorate the betrothal of her son Alphonso to Margaret, daughter of Florent V, Count of Holland and Zeeland in 1284.
The Alphonso Psalter, made for Eleanor of Castile’s son: Add MS 24686, f. 11r
Towards the end of her life, Eleanor’s health began to decline, some have speculated because of an underlying heart condition or possibly a case of malaria. She eventually died on 28 November 1290, a record of which can be found in a set of accounts made by her personal treasurer, John of Berewyk (see our previous blogpost on the details of this fascinating account-book). At the time, Edward and Eleanor were engaged in a tour of her properties in the Midlands, their final stop the village of Harby in Nottinghamshire. Perhaps aware of her impending death, Eleanor had already made preparations for her final resting place. Notably, she was to receive a triple burial: her internal organs were to be buried at Lincoln Cathedral, her heart in Blackfriars Priory in London, and her body in Westminster Abbey.
The final page of Eleanor of Castile's household account book, including a note of her death: Add MS 35294, f. 15v
Such was the depth of Edward’s affection for Eleanor that after her death he commissioned a permanent memorial to his departed queen, a series of large stone crosses placed at 12 sites along the route her body was taken from Lincoln to Westminster. Constructed between 1291 and 1295 at a collective cost of at least £2000 (over £1.5 million in modern currency), each cross was at least 13 metres tall and featured a representation of her likeness. Now known as the ‘Eleanor Crosses’, these sculptures stood at Lincoln, Grantham and Stamford in Lincolnshire; Geddington and Hardingstone in Northamptonshire; Stony Stratford in Buckinghamshire; Woburn and Dunstable in Bedfordshire; St Albans and Waltham in Herfordshire; Cheapside in London; and Charing in Westminster.
The sites of the Eleanor Crosses, from Lincoln to Charing Cross (Source: Wikipedia; © OpenStreeMap)
The statue in our Medieval Women exhibition is a handmade reproduction of a sculpture owned by Hertfordshire County Council and now housed at the Victoria & Albert Museum. It was originally part of the Waltham Cross, crafted by Alexander of Abingdon, one of the leading sculptors in England around the turn of the 13th century. The statue was removed and replaced by a replica in the 1950s because of the weathering it had suffered over the centuries. This was the fate of many of the other Eleanor Crosses too, which either deteriorated through exposure to the natural elements, or instead were dismantled or destroyed. Aside from the Waltham Cross, only two others now survive in their original state (Geddington and Hardingstone). But even though the statues may not mark Eleanor's final journey as they once did in the 13th century, the story behind the crosses, Edward's love for Eleanor, and the strength of the queen's image in the popular imagination has persisted.
A drawing of the Waltham Cross as it looked in the 18th century: Add MS 36367, f. 49r
To see the statue of Eleanor of Castile in person, visit our exhibition Medieval Women: In Their Own Words, on show at the British Library from 25 October 2024 to 2 March 2025. You can purchase your tickets online now.
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.
Calum Cockburn
Follow us @BLMedieval
Medieval manuscripts blog recent posts
Archives
Tags
- Africa
- Alexander exhibition
- Ancient
- Anglo-Saxons
- Animals
- Black & Asian Britain
- British Library Treasures
- Calendars
- Classics
- Decoration
- Digital scholarship
- Early modern
- Elizabeth and Mary exhibition
- English
- Events
- Exhibitions
- Fashion
- Featured manuscripts
- French
- Gold exhibition
- Greek
- Harry Potter
- Humanities
- Illuminated manuscripts
- International
- Ireland
- Latin
- Law
- Leonardo
- LGBTQ+
- Literature
- Magna Carta
- Manuscripts
- Maps
- Medieval
- Medieval history
- Medieval women
- Middle East
- Middle east
- Modern history
- Music
- Olympics
- Palaeography
- Polonsky
- Printed books
- Rare books
- Research collaboration
- Romance languages
- Royal
- sacred texts
- Sacred texts
- Science
- Scotland
- Slavonic
- South East Asia
- Visual arts
- Women's histories
- Writing