28 October 2013
Precious Papyri
The British Library holds one of the most significant collections of Greek papyri in the world, including the longest and most significant papyrus of the Aristotelian Constitution of Athens, unique copies of major texts such as Sophocles’ Ichneutae, and the Egerton Gospel, as well as a wide range of important documentary papyri from Oxyrhynchus, Aphrodito, Hibeh, Tebtunis, and the Fayum. The Department of Manuscripts in the British Museum was at the forefront of the new discipline of papyrology at the turn of the nineteenth century, and many of our predecessors are well-known to anyone who has ever consulted a text preserved on papyrus: Kenyon, Bell, and Skeat, to name just three.
Latin deed of the sale of a slave boy, Papyrus 229 (P. Lond. I 229)
Today, we are happy to announce that selected key papyri have been digitised and are now available to view on Digitised Manuscripts, along with completely new catalogue descriptions. Five papyri are available online now, and two more items will appear in the coming weeks (watch out for a separate post here on our blog!). The items now online are:
Papyrus 229 (P. Lond. I 229): Latin deed of the sale of a slave boy, retaining the seals of its signatories
Papyrus 1531 (P. Oxy. IV 654/P. Lond. Lit. 222): Fragment of the Gospel of Thomas, in Greek
Fragment of the Gospel of Thomas, Papyrus 1531 (P. Oxy. IV 654/P. Lond. Lit. 222)
Papyrus 2052 (P. Oxy. VIII 1073/P. Lond. Lit. 200): Fragment of Old Latin Genesis, from a parchment codex
Papyrus 2068 (P. Oxy. IX 1174/P. Lond. Lit. 67): Sophocles, Ichneutae
Egerton Papyrus 2 (P. Lond. Christ. 1/P. Egerton 2): The Egerton Gospel
Fragment of a Gospel, Egerton Papyrus 2 (P. Lond. Christ. 1/P. Egerton 2)
(A note on shelfmarks: The British Library’s method of referencing papyri is according to inventory number. This does not always correspond to the number by which the papyrus is more widely known in its published catalogue, be that P. Lond., P. Oxy., or other. The catalogue entries on Digitised Manuscripts give full cross-references for papyri for ease of use. Further details on how to match inventory and catalogue numbers can be found in the British Library’s Manuscripts Collection Reader Guide 4: The Papyrus Collections.)
- Cillian O'Hogan
24 October 2013
The Etheridge Encomium
If you’re a regular reader of our blog, you probably already know that the British Library’s collection of Greek manuscripts covers a wide variety of subjects and spans a very broad chronological period: from Homer to hagiography, from Babrius to the Bible, from Menander papyri to musical manuscripts from the 19th century. One group of Greek manuscripts you may be less familiar with, however, form part of our Royal collections, and consist of a number of laudatory or complimentary verses and prose compositions, in Latin and Greek, dedicated to Elizabeth I, Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, Charles I, and Henry, Earl of Arundel. These compositions were usually (though not always) written by members of public schools, such as Eton or Winchester, or of Oxford colleges. Most of these manuscripts will be digitised and made available online in the coming years.
Prose dedication to Elizabeth I by George Etheridge, Royal MS 16 C X, f. 1r
One manuscript from this group, however, has already been treated in extensive detail. Royal MS 16 C X contains the autograph Greek Encomium on Henry VIII by George Etheridge, Regius Professor of Greek at Oxford, which was addressed to Queen Elizabeth I and delivered on the occasion of the Queen’s visit to Oxford in 1566. The text gives us a fascinating insight into the author and how his life and career was impacted by events relating to the English Reformation, while also providing us with important information about Greek studies in Tudor England (Etheridge’s post, the Regius Professorship of Greek, was after all established by Henry VIII). It also reflects the national concern for Elizabeth’s succession as a precondition for the security of the kingdom.
A project to digitise and edit the manuscript was undertaken by researchers at the Hellenic Institute in the History Department of Royal Holloway, University of London, and at the British Library, and an electronic edition can now be viewed online both on both Digitised Manuscripts and on a dedicated website hosted by the Hellenic Institute. On this website, you can view the manuscript side-by side with a transcription, an edition, and a translation of the Greek text. The site also contains a number of extremely helpful essays about George Etheridge, the text of the encomium, and the British Library’s collection of Greek manuscripts.
To view the manuscript and learn more about the project, please visit the homepage of the Etheridge Project.
- Cillian O'Hogan
22 October 2013
Lindisfarne Gospels Back in Treasures
Regular visitors to the British Library may be aware that some of our greatest treasures are often to be found on display in The Sir John Ritblat Gallery. At the time of writing you can see medieval manuscripts such as Magna Carta, Beowulf and the Luttrell Psalter; and we're delighted to announce that the magnificent Lindisfarne Gospels is a new addition to that list.
Canon table in the Lindisfarne Gospels (London, British Library, MS Cotton Nero D IV, f. 14v).
Now on display in London are two pages from the canon tables which preface the Lindisfarne Gospels. This Northumbrian gospel-book, renowned for its lavish carpet-pages and miniatures of the four evangelists, was made at the beginning of the 8th century, according to a colophon added some 250 years later (f. 259r). The canon tables provide readers with a concordance to the Four Gospels, allowing them to locate episodes described by more than one evangelist. Those tables in the Lindisfarne Gospels are notable for the intricate ornamentation of the columns, and for the rich palette of reds and blues, found elsewhere in the decoration of the manuscript.
Detail of the Lindisfarne Gospels canon table (London, British Library, MS Cotton Nero D IV, f. 15r).
The Sir John Ritblat Gallery: Treasures of the British Library is open seven days a week, and is free to visit. You may also like to know that the Lindisfarne Gospels can be viewed in its entirety on our Digitised Manuscripts site.
18 October 2013
Guess the Manuscript VIII
We're going to try something different with our latest instalment of Guess the Manuscript. The image below can be found somewhere on our Digitised Manuscripts site, as usual. Here's how we're going to be tricksy, though: we'll be sending out a series of further clues over the next few days on our Twitter account. Be sure to follow us @BLMedieval so you can solve this mystery. Good luck!
If anyone is clever enough to solve this before the first clue is sent out, your prize will be a life-size statue of yourself, to be placed on the main piazza of the British Library, accompanied by a parade and black-tie gala (subject to approval from the relevant authorities, of course).
10 October 2013
British Library Ivories in the Gothic Ivories Project
Regular readers of our blog will (hopefully) already be using the magnificent website of the Gothic Ivories Project. This project is based at the Courtauld Institute of Art, and is dedicated to producing a database which aims to include all the readily available information on every surviving Gothic and neo-Gothic ivory, accompanied by at least one image. The focus of the project is on objects made in Europe dating from c. 1200 - c. 1530 (excluding Embriachi work) and also modern imitations. The online database now contains data about 3,800 objects from nearly 300 museums around the world; these objects are illustrated by more than 10,000 images. Ultimately it will be possible to view in one place images and detailed information on about 5,000 pieces.
Like the British Library's Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts, the Gothic Ivories online resource allows wide-ranging searches on iconography, provenance, and origin. Now, two British Library manuscripts with ivory plaques inserted into their bindings have been included in the project.
The first is an English ivory, found on the cover of Add MS 10301, an English Legendary from the end of the 14th century.
14th century ivory panel of the Crucifixion with Mary and John the Evangelist, with a dragon in the lower border, and two rosettes in the spandrels, Add MS 10301
And the second is a French ivory, now inserted into the binding of Add MS 36615, a 14th century French copy of Le Roman de Godefroy de Bouillon.
14th century ivory fragment, probably originally from a casket with scenes from Arthurian romance, including: Gawain in armour fighting the lion; Lancelot, driven by his love for Guinevere, crossing the sword bridge while spears and darts fall on him from the sky; Gawain, at the Castle of Merveille, sleeping with his own sword on the perilous bed; and the three maidens at the Castle of Merveille, Add MS 36615
The British Library's images have been included in the Gothic Ivories website under our new Public Domain policy.
- Kathleen Doyle and Catherine Yvard
07 October 2013
Fancy Another Giant List of Digitised Manuscript Hyperlinks?
As promised back in July, we have an updated list of digitised manuscripts to offer you, our loyal readers. This master list contains details of everything that has so far been uploaded by the Medieval and Earlier Manuscripts department, complete with hyperlinks to each individual record on our Digitised Manuscripts site. You can download the Excel spreadsheet here: Download BL Medieval and Earlier Digitised Manuscripts Master List 07.10.13
Miniature of King Alfonso V praising our spreadsheet as Bishop Juan de Casanova looks on, from the Prayerbook of Alfonso V of Aragon - a new arrival to our list! produced in Spain (Valencia), 1436-1443, Add MS 28962, f. 14v
We should have another new list for you in 3 months - happy hyperlink clicking!
- Sarah J Biggs
03 October 2013
It's a Busy Life in Camelot
Those who are familiar with Royal MS 14 E iii, the gorgeous Arthurian manuscript which was in our Royal Exhibition last year and is now fully digitised on our Digitised Manuscripts site, will know that it contains The Estoire del Saint Graal, La Queste del Saint Graal, and Morte Artu, which tell the religious and mystical sections of the legends of King Arthur.
Detail of a miniature of Arthur and Merlin at dinner at Pentecost, northern France (Saint-Omer or Tournai), c. 1316, Add MS 10292, f. 91r
In our collections we have another manuscript made at the same time by the same workshop in northern France, which contains the entire French prose ‘Vulgate Cycle’, as it is often called, and is now divided into 3 volumes: Additional MSS 10292, 10293 and 10294. Our virtual exhibition on Arthurian manuscripts on the Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts puts these manuscripts into context.
In addition to the texts in the Royal manuscript, these three volumes also contain the Histoire de Merlin, about Merlin’s early involvement in the story, and the Lancelot du Lac, the original stories of Lancelot and the Knights of the Round Table and their chivalric exploits, including the love story of Lancelot and Guinevere.
There are catalogue entries and a selection of images already online in our Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts, but these manuscripts contain over 600 of these colourful, imaginative images, which are soon to be available online, as we are currently preparing them for digitisation. Here is a selection of the delights in store:
Detail of a miniature of King Celidoine at sea in a small boat, with a lion, northern France (Saint-Omer or Tournai), c. 1316, Add MS 10292, f. 41v Quiz question: who is King Celidoine and why is he having a 'Life of Pi' experience? (A tip: see H. Oskar Sommer, The Vulgate Version of the Arthurian Romances (Washington, 1909-1916), a 7 volume edition based on the Additional Manuscripts. It is available online here; happy searching!
Detail of a miniature of Lancelot, fully armed, joining knights and ladies in an enchanted dance in a forest, northern France (Saint-Omer or Tournai), c. 1316, Add MS 10293, f. 292v
Detail of a miniature of Lancelot and Guinevere, northern France (Saint-Omer or Tournai), c. 1316, Add MS 10293, f. 325v
Detail of a miniature of Hector and Gawain meeting in a forest, northern France (Saint-Omer or Tournai), c. 1316, Add MS 10294, f. 29v
Miniatures of a lady being wounded by a sword while she mourns for Gawain, and of King Arthur ont the Wheel of Fortune with a blindfolded Lady Fortuna, northern France (Saint-Omer or Tournai), c. 1316, Add MS 10294, f. 89r
Watch this space and be the first to know when the full digitisation of these gorgeous manuscripts appear online! Or follow us on Twitter @BLMedieval.
- Chantry Westwell
01 October 2013
A Calendar Page for October 2013
For more details on calendar pages or the Golf Book, please see the post for January 2013.
Wine-making - and the more agreeable labour of wine-tasting - is the focus of the main calendar page for the month of October. In the full-page miniature, a group of men are at work with a wine-press, and pouring the finished product into nearby casks (one of which is being repaired even as it is filled). On the left, the wine merchant is offering his wares to a well-dressed customer. Behind them, beyond a stone wall upon which two peacocks are sitting, a vineyard can be seen, with men still gathering grapes. In the bas-de-page, men are playing with knucklebones. On the following page are the usual listing of saints' days and a small painting of two scales for the zodiac sign Libra. Below, four men are restraining a massive ox in preparation for its slaughter.
Calendar page for October with a miniature of wine-making, from the Golf Book (Book of Hours, Use
of Rome), workshop of Simon Bening, Netherlands (Bruges), c. 1540, Additional MS 24098, f. 27v
Calendar
page for October with a bas-de-page scene of a men slaughtering an ox, from the Golf Book (Book of Hours, Use of Rome),
workshop
of Simon Bening, Netherlands (Bruges), c. 1540, Additional MS 24098, f. 28r
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