09 June 2012
Lancelot and the Quest for the Holy Grail
The most beautiful Arthurian manuscript from the Royal collection, recently displayed in our exhibition, Royal Manuscripts: The Genius of Illumination, is now online on our Digitised Manuscripts site (click here for the fully digitised version of Royal 14 E. iii, and the entry in the Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts).
Detail of a miniature of Sir Galahad and his companions on the Quest for the Holy Grail, approaching a castle which is destroyed by lightning (Part 2, Queste del Saint Graal): France, N. (Saint-Omer or Tournai?), c. 1315-1325 (London, British Library, MS Royal 14 E. iii, f. 133v).
All the manuscript's vibrant borders and its 116 gilded images can be viewed ‘up-close and personal’ on Digitised Manuscripts. The French text, written in a fine 14th-century Gothic bookscript, includes those parts of the Lancelot-Grail epic with predominantly Christian themes – the Holy Grail legend and the destruction of Arthur’s court by a combination of human frailty and evil. The more frivolous adventures of Lancelot and the story of Merlin are not included.
Royal 14 E. iii is a very large book, almost half a metre tall, with three columns of writing per page. It was produced in a workshop in the Franco-Flemish border region, possibly in Tournai or Saint-Omer, for an unknown aristocratic patron. The text and images are designed not only to educate the reader in chivalric and Christian values, but to make the lessons entertaining. The first page is dominated by two religious images with a backdrop of altars and spires. But a closer look at the borders reveals all manner of strange beings involved in a variety of distinctly non-religious activities: a knight jousting with a hybrid creature with a human head, dragon’s wings, hooves and a tail; two strange hairy creatures in capes locked in some kind of embrace; and rabbits and musicians capering along the edges of the text.
Miniature of the author as a hermit prostrating himself before the altar with a chalice, the Manus Dei blessing him, a historiated initial 'C'(hil) of a young man with a dog, at the beginning of the text, and a miniature of a hermit speaking with God, following the rubric, 'Ensi que dieus eu une nue parole an hermite qui est devant son autel'; with a partial border containing two angels and the Virgin with Child, a tournament scene with knights and musicians, a hunting scene, animals and hybrids (Part 1: Estoire del Saint Graal): France, N. (Saint-Omer or Tournai?), c. 1315-1325 (London, British Library, MS Royal 14 E. iii, f. 3r).
Anyone who has attempted to read the entire Lancelot-Grail epic with its complex structure of interwoven episodes will be able to sympathise with the medieval audience who needed light relief from time to time!
The three parts of the Lancelot-Grail legend in this manuscript are:
Estoire del Saint Graal (The Story of the Holy Grail): the chalice in which Joseph of Arimathea collected Christ’s blood, how it was brought to England by his descendants, and the origin of the Round Table.
Detail of a miniature of Joseph of Arimathea on his deathbed, entrusting the Grail to Alain, (Part 1: Estoire del Saint Graal): France, N. (Saint-Omer or Tournai?), c. 1315-1325 (London, British Library, MS Royal 14 E. iii, f. 86r).
Queste del Saint Graal (The Quest for the Holy Grail): the adventures of Perceval, Galahad and the knights of the Round Table as they seek the Holy Grail. The quest is completed by Galahad, the purest knight, son of Lancelot.
Mort Artu (The Death of Arthur): this part tells of Lancelot’s love for Guinevere and his willingness to risk everything in her defence. This manuscript breaks off just as the armies of Lancelot and King Arthur are preparing for the final battle, which will result in Arthur’s death and the destruction of the court at Camelot.
Detail of a miniature of Sir Lancelot fighting Sir Mados to defend the honour of Guinevere, watched by Arthur, Guinevere, and the court, France, N. (Saint-Omer or Tournai?), c. 1315-1325 (London, British Library, MS Royal 14 E. iii, f. 156v).
For information on other Arthurian manuscripts held in the British Library collections, including a full set of the entire Lancelot-Grail legend produced in the same workshop as this one (Additional MSS 10292, 10293 and 10294), see the Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts and associated virtual exhibition.
Royal 20 D. iv, another exceptional manuscript from the Royal collection, also containing the Lancelot du Lac, will be digitised later this year.
- Chantry Westwell
05 June 2012
'Documentary' of a Royal Coronation
One of the most extraordinary Royal manuscripts, the Coronation Book of Charles V, is now available online on the British Library's Digitised Manuscripts site.
This extensively illustrated record of the coronation ceremonies of King Charles V and his Queen, Jeanne de Bourbon, was ‘arranged, written, corrected and illustrated’ at the special instigation of King Charles within a year of his accession to the throne.
Detail of Charles V's autograph colophon, with the King's personal signature included at the end of the coronation order, stating that the volume was created for him in 1365, from the Coronation Book of Charles V, France (Paris), 1365, Cotton Tiberius B. VIII, f. 74v
The manuscript contains a directory (description and instructions for a coronation) in French and a Latin coronation order which was expanded especially for Charles’s ceremony. The most striking innovation, however, was the inclusion of the unprecedented set of illustrations. Almost forty images record virtually each step of the coronation, as though for a documentary film. The story begins at the gate of Reims Cathedral, the traditional place of the French royal coronation, with the Archbishop of Reims, Jean de Craon, blessing the King when he arrives for the evening prayer (f. 43r).
Detail of a miniature of Charles V being blessed with holy water and incense by the Archbishop of Reims and his retinue, from the Coronation Book of Charles V, France (Paris), 1365, Cotton Tiberius B. VIII, f. 43r
Seven miniatures (two additional images were excised in the 17th century) were initially planned to mark the beginning of the orders (the French translation of the directory of the ‘Ordo of Reims’, the order of Charles V, and the order for the coronation of the queen) and the most important moments of the rite. Below is the King seated on the throne holding the sceptre of Charlemagne (which you can still see displayed at the Louvre) and the ‘Main de Justice’, with the peers of France sustaining his crown, each identified by his heraldic colours.
Detail of a miniature of the peers sustaining the crown and the enthronement of the king, from the Coronation Book of Charles V, France (Paris), 1365, Cotton Tiberius B. VIII, f. 59v
When work on the book was still at an early stage, the programme of illumination was considerably expanded, and more than thirty further images found their place in the lower margins of the pages. This is when the order for the Queen's coronation received an unusually lengthy cycle of illustrations. The image below (from f. 68r) shows the anointing of the Queen’s breast. The women assisting Queen Jeanne help to unfasten her dress, ensuring that no witness be allowed to see too much of the royal body.
Detail of a miniature of the anointing of the breast of Queen Jeanne, from the Coronation Book of Charles V, France (Paris), 1365, Cotton Tiberius B. VIII, f. 68r
Charles V clearly intended this book to be an official account of his coronation and a model for future ceremonies. Almost 15 years after its completion, he had his coronation oath altered, so that it forbade any alienation of territories and the rights of the French crown.
Detail of a miniature of Charles V swearing his oath. The altered text including the crucial words: ‘corone francie inviolabiliter custodiam et illa nec transportabo nec alienabo’ is visible above the miniature. From the Coronation Book of Charles V, France (Paris), 1365, Cotton Tiberius B. VIII, f. 46v
Charles also ordered the book to be supplemented with a set of oaths that implied his suzerainty over Guyenne and the Norman possessions of the King of Navarre. In May 1380, just before his death, Charles deposited a copy of his Coronation Book at the royal abbey of St Denis to be stored with other French regalia. However, the book informed only one successive French coronation, the sacre of Charles’s son, the mad King Charles VI. After his death, the Louvre library was purchased by the Duke of Bedford, the English regent in France, and the Coronation Book eventually found its way to England.
Detail of the oath of allegiance of a bishop to the king of England, added at the end of the volume c. 1450, from the Coronation Book of Charles V, France (Paris), 1365, Cotton Tiberius B. VIII, f. 80r.
More manuscripts from the former collection of Charles V will be made available on Digitised Manuscripts:
Royal 14 E. iii: Estoire del Saint Graal
Royal 17 E. vii: Bible historiale in two volumes (coming soon; click here for the Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts entry)
Royal 19 C. iv: Songe de Vergier (coming soon; click here for the Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts entry)
- Joanna Fronska
01 June 2012
A Calendar Page for June 2012
For more details on calendar pages or the Hours of Joanna of Castile, please see the entry for January 2012.
Calendar pages for June, Hours of Joanna of Castile, Bruges, between 1496 and 1506, Additional 18852, ff. 6v-7
Most calendars depict June as a month of true labour, a time to leave behind the pleasures of early spring. This is largely the case for this calendar, but not entirely, as we can see on the left-hand folio above. Two men are at work mowing in a walled meadow, but a couple of their fellows have put down their tools to relax on the grass and have a drink. A well-dressed lady seems to be entering the meadow to join them (presumably in the drinking rather than the mowing). At the top of the facing folio is a strange-looking crab for Cancer, while at the bottom is a scene of men and a woman mowing hay and gathering it into bundles. At the upper right another group is at work winching these bundles into a barn.
25 May 2012
Marvels of the West
Detail of a miniature of the naked bearded-woman of Limerick and the naked man-ox of Wicklow (who is being given a round object by another man), from Gerald of Wales's Topographia Hibernica, England (Lincoln?), c. 1196 - c. 1223, Royal 13 B. viii, f. 19
The first fully-digitised manuscript from our recent exhibition Royal Manuscripts: The Genius of Illumination has gone live (huzzah!); please have a look at the stunning images of Royal 13 B. viii now available on the Digitised Manuscripts website.
Royal 13 B. viii was one of the highlights of the Royal exhibition and the favourite of many visitors (for more details also see the Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts record). The manuscript is an anthology of texts about history, topography and marvels, concentrating on Ireland and Wales. It includes the famous Topographia Hibernica by Gerald of Wales (1146-1223), the only text in the volume illustrated by a series of marginal images.
Detail of a marginal miniature of a leaping salmon in a river in Munster, from Gerald of Wales's Topographia Hibernica, England (Lincoln?), c. 1196 - c. 1223, Royal 13 B. viii, f. 23
The 'proto-ethnographic' Topographia was the result of Gerald's journey to Ireland with Prince John of England in 1185. The text contains descriptions of the Irish people, geography and wildlife, along with discussions of various miracles and the so-called wonders of Ireland. These marvels feature prominently in the marginal images of this manuscript; see for example the leaping salmon of Munster (f. 23, above) or the monstrous bearded woman of Limerick and the man-ox of Wicklow (f. 19, at the top).
Detail of a marginal miniature of the woman of Connacht embracing a goat, from Gerald of Wales's Topographia Hibernica, England (Lincoln?), c. 1196 - c. 1223, Royal 13 B. viii, f. 19v
The manuscript is more than a mere description of the 'marvels of the west', however. Gerald wrote his book as a propaganda tool in support of the English conquest of Ireland, and dedicated it to Henry II of England, who he described as 'our western Alexander'. Some of the marginal images reflect this slant (and are far beyond any sense of 'political correctness'). On f. 19v a woman of Connacht can be seen in a lustful embrace with a goat (above), whilst on f. 28v an Irish king-to-be is immersing himself in the broth of a slaughtered white mare, with which he has just had sexual intercourse (below). These and other examples of the purported bestiality and immorality of the Irish people were intended to serve as justification for the planned English invasion of Ireland.
Detail of a marginal miniature of the kingship ritual in Tirconnell: the killing of the white mare, the bath of the king in a stew of mare's meat and eating of the meat by the king's supporters, from Gerald of Wales's Topographia Hibernica, England (Lincoln?), c. 1196 - c. 1223, Royal 13 B. viii, f. 28v
There is some evidence that this Royal copy of the Topographia Hibernica could have been made in Lincoln, where Gerald spent time in 1196-1198, before finally returning to retire there after 1207. This manuscript contains some local additions, including a description and painting of a deer with golden teeth, which was allegedly captured in Dunholm Wood (close to Lincoln); it is shown here compared with a similarly golden-toothed fish found at Ulster in Ireland.
Detail of a marginal miniature of a fish with golden teeth found at Carlingford in Ulster, and a deer with golden teeth from Dunholm Wood, from Gerald of Wales's Topographia Hibernica, England (Lincoln?), c. 1196 - c. 1223, Royal 13 B. viii, f. 16v
You might also like to know that this manuscript is currently on display in the British Library's Writing Britain exhibition (11 May-25 September 2012).
We will be publishing many more Royal manuscripts to the Digitised Manuscripts site in the coming weeks and months; all our new uploads will be announced here.
- Sarah J Biggs
11 May 2012
The Chosen Royals
Detail of miniatures from the prefatory cycle of the Nativity: in the upper register, the Virgin suckling the Christ Child and Joseph adjusting her pillow, and in the lower register, the Annunciation to the Shepherds, from a Psalter, England (Oxford), 1st quarter of the 13th century, before 1220, Royal 1 D. x, f. 1v
We would like to thank everyone who answered our call for ideas about which Royal manuscripts should be included in our upcoming digitisation programme, sponsored by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. A group of manuscripts was initially selected by our project group (see the list here), but as you'll recall, we asked you to supplement this with other manuscripts featured in our recent exhibition Royal Manuscripts: The Genius of Illumination. We are happy to announce that the following nine manuscripts have been chosen, based on your suggestions:
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Psalter, England (Oxford), 1st quarter of the 13th century, before 1220 |
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Isidore of Seville, Etymologiae, England, last quarter of the 11th century |
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Bestiary, with various theological tracts, England, 1st quarter of the 13th century |
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The Rochester Bestiary & Lapidary, England (possibly Rochester), 2nd quarter of the 13th century |
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The Welles Apocalypse, England, 1st quarter of the 14th century |
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The Queen Mary Apocalypse, England (London, or East Anglia), 1st quarter of the 14th century |
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La vraie ystoire dou bon roi Alixandre, and other romances, France (Paris), c. 1340, after 1333 |
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Romuléon, Netherlands (Bruges), 1480 |
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Le Livre et le vraye hystoire du bon roy Alixandre, France (Paris), c. 1420 |
Digitisation is currently in progress for the project, and we plan to begin loading the finished manuscripts onto the Digitised Manuscripts site shortly. We will announce all of the uploads on the blog, so keep watching this space!
Full-page miniature of Christ enthroned with 24 Elders and, in the lower register, the door opened in Heaven, illustrating Revelation 4:2-9, from the Welles Apocalypse, England, 1st quarter of the 14th century, Royal 15 D. ii, f. 117v
07 May 2012
Beneath the Surface
IN monogram at the beginning of Genesis, with Christ in Majesty, Netherlands (Belgium, near Leuven), 1148, Additional 14788, f. 6v
If you happen to be heading to the 47th International Congress on Medieval Studies this week in Kalamazoo, Michigan (10-13 May 2012), please consider stopping by the sessions sponsored by the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence (see as well the group's Facebook page).
I'll be taking part in the Saturday session at 1:30 pm, along with Jacob Thaisen of the University of Stavanger and Sean M Winslow from the University of Toronto's Centre for Medieval Studies. The session's theme is 'Material and Craft Aspects of Manuscript Production', and I'll be speaking about my ongoing research on the Parc Abbey Bible (British Library Additional 14788-14790).
The Parc Abbey Bible is a monumental three-volume Bible dated to c. 1148 which is associated with a Premonstratensian abbey outside Leuven (the abbey of Ste Marie at Parc, as it happens). It is a beautiful example of Romanesque Bible illumination - see the gorgeous incipit page above - but the manuscript is one with a difficult and complicated production history. Its very complications, though, have made it an excellent subject for scientific analysis, and I have been fortunate enough to examine it in the British Library's Centre for Conservation.
My paper is titled 'Pigments, Painters and the Parc Abbey Bible: A Multispectral Imaging Study' and it will be no surprise that I will be therefore concentrating on the imaging research I undertook on the Bible, using the British Library's MuSIS system (a multispectral system also used during the Codex Sinaiticus project).
Multispectral imaging can be a powerful tool for manuscript researchers. The system requires a specialised camera, which is used to take a series of images at 30 different wavelengths of light across the ultraviolet, visible, and infrared spectra (ranging from 420 nm to 1000 nm). These images, and the analytic software included with the system, can allow an investigator to literally peer beneath the surface of a manuscript. The data can be used to clarify questions about the production practices of individual artists, to identify the pigments used in illuminations, and even to examine erased text or the original drawings beneath a now-finished miniature. Images taken at the higher end of the spectrum (the infrared range) can be particularly helpful in the latter kinds of investigations.
One brief example may be useful. The first image below is a detail of a large historiated initial from the Parc Abbey Bible's third volume (Additional 14790). In this charming initial the prophet Ezechiel is literally surrounded by the opening words of his book - 'Et' (factum)' - and he is shown rather cheekily sitting on the crossbar of the initial 'T'. But the second image, taken at a wavelength of 1000 nm, shows that Ezechiel was originally meant to be sitting on a rather Byzantine-style stool (you can perhaps see the cushions of the stool extending to either side of him). It is not clear at what point in the design process it was decided to change this, but it was evidently fairly far along, as a portion of this scroll was originally painted (and overpainted again beneath the Prophet).
Detail of an historiated initial 'ET'(factum) at the beginning of Ezechiel, Additional 14790, f. 80
Detail of an historiated initial 'ET'(factum) at the beginning of Ezechiel, taken at 1000 nm to reveal the underdrawing, Additional 14790, f. 80
I will be talking about these results and more, and the manuscript sessions promise to be inspiring. I hope to see you all in Kalamazoo!
- Sarah J Biggs
01 May 2012
A Calendar Page for May 2012
For more details on calendar pages or the Hours of Joanna of Castile, please see the entry for January 2012.
Calendar pages for May, Hours of Joanna of Castile, Bruges, between 1496 and 1506, Additional 18852, ff. 5v-6
Courting and hunting are the themes for the month of May, in this calendar and many others. On the left-hand folio is a miniature of a gentleman and two ladies on a pleasure trip. They carry musical instruments, and their boat is piloted by two figures that bear a strong resemblance to grotesques. On the facing folio, beneath the two nude figures of Gemini, is another scene of courting, with a gentleman kneeling before his lady. This lady bears a strong resemblance to the woman on horseback in the April miniature, but in the intervening month she has apparently found a new admirer. At the far right are two men, with hounds and birds of prey, presumably about to join the hunting party that can be seen in the fields above.
29 April 2012
Monkeys in the Margins
Detail from a full strew border of a monkey playing bagpipes, from the Isabella Breviary, Southern Netherlands (Bruges), late 1480s and before 1497, British Library, Additional 18851, f. 13
If you happen to be in the mood for a bit of weekend whimsy (and who isn't?), we would like to draw your attention once again to the British Library's 'Isabella Breviary'. The Breviary was created for Queen Isabella of Castile (1451-1504), and was the manuscript featured in our 2011 calendar series (see here for January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December).
There is much to recommend this magnificent manuscript, produced in Bruges in the late 1480s and illustrated by the foremost artists of its day, but particularly noteworthy are the many strew and foliate borders which surround the text and miniatures. Most of these borders contain beautifully naturalistic paintings of plants and animals, including a remarkable number of monkeys. Monkeys appear regularly across the Breviary's 523 folios, and (like a lot of medieval simians) they are usually shown engaging in recognizably 'human' activities. Isabella's monkeys, for example, can be seen playing the bagpipes and playing games, capturing wildlife, hunting, spinning, eating and drinking, and even tending to the upkeep of the borders in which they dwell. We would be interested to hear your thoughts on this remarkable group; a few examples can be seen below.
Detail from a full border of a monkey tending to the vinework that surrounds it, from the Isabella Breviary, Southern Netherlands (Bruges), late 1480s and before 1497, British Library, Additional 18851, f. 77
Detail from a full border of a monkey tending to the vinework that surrounds it, watched by a bird, from the Isabella Breviary, Southern Netherlands (Bruges), late 1480s and before 1497, British Library, Additional 18851, f. 96
Detail from a full border of a monkey looking at itself in a mirror, from the Isabella Breviary, Southern Netherlands (Bruges), late 1480s and before 1497, British Library, Additional 18851, f. 270
Detail from a full border of a monkey playing bagpipes, from the Isabella Breviary, Southern Netherlands (Bruges), late 1480s and before 1497, British Library, Additional 18851, f. 419v
Detail from a full border of a monkey with a basket trying to capture a bird, from the Isabella Breviary, Southern Netherlands (Bruges), late 1480s and before 1497, British Library, Additional 18851, f. 421v
Detail from a full border of a monkey wearing a cowl spinning thread, from the Isabella Breviary, Southern Netherlands (Bruges), late 1480s and before 1497, British Library, Additional 18851, f. 459
Detail from a full border of a monkey playing a game (possibly blowing bubbles?), from the Isabella Breviary, Southern Netherlands (Bruges), late 1480s and before 1497, British Library, Additional 18851, f. 470v
- Sarah J Biggs
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