23 April 2014
The Anatomy of a Dragon
Happy St George’s Day, everyone! For some images of this patron saint of England, Portugal, Russia, and many other nations, please see our post from last year. Today, though, we thought we would turn our attention to St George’s famous opponent, the dragon.
Detail of a miniature of St George and the dragon, from the Beaufort/Beauchamp Hours, England (London) and Netherlands (Bruges), c. 1401, Royal MS 2 A XVIII, f. 5v
Dragons are near-ubiquitious in medieval manuscripts. They take pride of place in bestiaries and herbals, books of history and legend, and Apocalypse texts, to name a few. They serve as symbols, heraldic devices, and even as ‘just’ decoration, and their physical characteristics can vary widely. Cinematic and literary depictions of dragons today are fairly consistent; they are almost always shown as reptilian, winged, fire-breathing creatures (in a word, Smaug). But this was by no means constant in the medieval period.
Let’s have a look at a very common medieval trope – of the dragon as the nemesis of a saint or angel. Below we can see dragons facing off against St George (again), St Margaret, and the Archangel Michael. All these examples are drawn from late 15th century manuscripts, but their dragons are very different, and range from a lizard-y animal with duck-like feet to a winged leonine creature and a demon.
Miniature of St George and a lizard-like dragon, from the Huth Hours, Netherlands, c. 1480, Add MS 38126, f. 139v
Detail of a miniature of St Margaret emerging from the side of a lion-like dragon, from a Book of Hours, Use of Sarum, Netherlands, 3rd quarter of the 15th century, Harley MS 2985, f. 37v
Detail of a miniature of the Archangel Michael fighting a demon-like dragon, from Francisco de Ximenez’s Livre des anges, France (Tours), c. 1480, Sloane MS 3049, f. 115r
Even within a single manuscript it is possible to find a multiplicity of dragon sub-species. One notable example is a French copy of the Life of Alexander the Great, in which this famous king is squaring off against three different kinds of dragon (our favourite, of course is the last).
Detail of a miniature of Alexander the Great battling against winged dragons with emeralds in their foreheads, from Le livre et la vraye hystoire du bon roy Alixandre, France (Paris), c. 1420 – c. 1425, Royal MS 20 B XX, f. 73r
Detail of a miniature of Alexander the Great battling against winged horned dragons, Royal MS 20 B XX, f. 78v
Detail of a miniature of Alexander the Great battling against two-headed, eight-legged, crowned dragons with multiple eyes along their torsos, Royal MS 20 B XX, f. 78v
The idea of the dragon as a fearsome foe for all godly and righteous beings stretches back to the late-antique source material that later developed into the 12th and 13th century text of the bestiary. The book of beasts tells us that the dragon is a variety of serpent, is ‘larger than all other animals in the world’, lives in caves, and possesses great strength in its tail. Nothing, ‘not even the elephant’, is safe from the dragon, which lies in wait and then suffocates the captured elephant within its coils. The ominously-curled tail of the dragon is often shown to great advantage in the miniatures illustrating this passage (see particularly the first image below).
Detail of a miniature of a dragon attacking and suffocating an elephant, from a bestiary with theological texts, England, c. 1200 – c. 1210, Royal MS 12 C XIX, f. 62r
Detail of a bas-de-page scene of a mother elephant giving birth in water to avoid the dragon circling overhead, from the Queen Mary Psalter, England (London?), 1310 – 1320, Royal MS 2 B VII, f. 188v
The bestiary text also makes explicit the connection between the dragon and the devil, aligning the fantastical creature with evil, deception, ‘vainglory and human pleasures’. We see this connection repeated again and again in medieval manuscripts, particularly those concerned with describing and explaining evil.
Detail of a miniature of men worshipping a dragon and the beast of the Apocalypse, from an Apocalypse with commentary in French prose, England (London?), c. 1325 – 1330, Add MS 38842, f. 5r
Detail of a miniature of the Woman and the seven-headed, ten-horned dragon-beast of the Apocalypse, from the Welles Apocalypse, England, c. 1310, Royal MS 15 D II, f. 153r
Detail of a miniature of a human-headed satanic dragon, representing the papacy of Urban VI whose election was contested and resulted in the appointment of the anti-pope Clement VII, from Joachim de Fiore’s Vaticinia de Pontificibus, Italy (Florence), 2nd quarter of the 15th century, Harley MS 1340, f. 8r
It would be too simplistic, though, to claim that dragons were universally objects of horror and loathing. They were not even always enemies. Dragons make appearances in discussions of astronomy and natural history, as elements of decoration, and even within the Tudor coat of arms.
Detail of a miniature of the constellation ‘Draco’, from an astrological compilation with political prophecies, England (London?), 1490, Arundel MS 66, f. 33v
Detail of a dragon with its tail circling a caption, from a Hebrew festival prayer book, Italian rite, Italy, 3rd quarter of the 15th century, Add MS 16577, f. 44v
Detail of a historiated initial ‘S’ of the Pentecost, with the body of the initial formed by two intertwining dragons, Italy (Lombardy), 3rd quarter of the 15th century, Add MS 39636, f. 28r
Detail of an allegorical miniature about the Tudor rose with a red dragon, lion, and white greyhound, from Magister Sampson’s Motets for Henry VIII, Netherlands (Antwerp), 1516, Royal MS 11 E XI, f. 2r
We’ll be tweeting more fabulous British Library dragons over the next day or so; as always, please let us know your favourites. And have a wonderful St George’s Day!
Sarah J Biggs
19 April 2014
Lorsch Manuscripts in the British Library
Seven manuscripts that were compiled in the 9th-century in the scriptorium of the former monastic library of Abbey Lorsch are today held at the British Library. These codices have now been digitized – together with five further works connected to the Abbey – and included in the Virtual Monastic Library of Lorsch, at Bibliotheca Laureshamensis digital. Amongst the 70 institutions world-wide that today hold Lorsch manuscripts, the British Library has one of the larger collections, together with the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek in Munich, the National Austrian Library, the Bodleian Library in Oxford, and the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana in Rome.
Miniature of the Evangelist St Mark, at the beginning of a Gospel lectionary (the 'Odalricus Peccator Gospel Lectionary'), Germany (Lorsch), first half of the 11th century, Harley MS 2970, f. 2v
The Abbey of Lorsch –today in a small town in Hesse in Germany – was one of the key centres of knowledge in the medieval period. During the reign of Charlemagne and his successors it reached the height of its prosperity and created an exceptional library as well as a proficient scriptorium. Library catalogues from the 9th century testify that the collection comprised nearly 500 manuscripts, an impressive figure. The medieval library held works on theology, historiography, monasticism and asceticism, grammar as well as school books. Of the monastic buildings in Lorsch only few have remained, but its heritage and significance are such that it was recognized as a UNESCO-World Heritage site in 1991.
The Abbey and its library were dissolved under the reign of the Elector Palatine Otto-Henry (1556-1559) and integrated into Heidelberg’s Bibliotheca Palatina. From there the largest surviving collection of Lorsch manuscripts was brought to the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana. In the later medieval period, several codices were brought to the monastery of Arnstein. Four of these are now in the British Library.
Based on the work of two German palaeographers, Bernhard Bischoff (1906-1991) and Hartmut Hoffmann (1930), more than 300 manuscripts from the Abbey can be identified, now in 13 countries. The online reconstruction of the library collection is a cooperation project by Heidelberg University Library, the Verwaltung der Staatlichen Schlösser und Gärten Hessen and the UNESCO-World Heritage Site Abbey Lorsch. The project Bibliotheca Laureshamensis digital was launched in 2010 and will be completed in 2014, the 1250th anniversary of the foundation of the Abbey (in 764). The aim of the project is to unite virtually all of dispersed manuscripts in one online platform and thereby make this remarkable collection once again accessible and researchable. Alongside the digitization, on the website all of the codices are fully described and can be searched in a separate database.
Incipit page at the beginning of Hilary of Poitiers, De Trinitate, De Synodis and Contra arianos, Germany (Lorsch), 1st half of the 9th century, Harley MS 3115, f. 1v
An overview of the manuscripts from the collection of the British Library which have been integrated into the Virtual Monastic Library of Lorsch can be found here. A PDF file of the manuscript descriptions can also be accessed directly from the corresponding manuscript in the Virtual Library.
All of the British Library’s Lorsch manuscripts are theological texts, including exegetical tractates by Church fathers from late Antiquity, as well as by the Anglo-Saxon Bede, and Theodulf of Orléans. Two other manuscripts were added to the list of Further Manuscripts: the fragment Arundel MS 501, fol. 13, which was ascribed to Lorsch by Nigel F Palmer, and Cotton MS Vespasian D V, ff. 155r-156r, which contains a poem by Henry of Avranches on Starkenburg castle, which was a property of the abbey in the 13th century.
A full list of the manuscripts recently uploaded is below, along with links to their digital versions on the Bibliotheca Laureshamensis site. These manuscripts have also been included in the British Library's Digitised Manuscripts portal, and can be found there by searching on the main page.
Add MS 17980: Bede, In Lucam
Add MS 37328: Augustine, De opere monachorum, De agone christiano
Arundel MS 37: Bede, In Ezram et Nehemiam
Arundel MS 386: Commentary on Psalms 101-150
Arundel MS 501, f. 13: Hrabanus Maurus, Enarratio super Deuteronomium (ll.xxxvi-xxvii)
Harley MS 2970: Gospel lectionary
Harley MS 3024: Theodulf, De spiritu sancto
Harley MS 3032: Hesychius, In Leviticum
Harley MS 3039: Augustine, De Genesi contra Manichaeos
Harley MS 3115: Hilary, De Trinitate; Contra Arianos
Harley MS 5915, ff. 10r-10v: Justin, Epitoma historiarum Philippicarum
Cotton MS Vespasian D V, ff. 155r-156r: Poem by Henry of Avranches
- Alexandra Büttner, Bibliotheca Laureshamensis - digital Virtuelle Klosterbibliothek Lorsch
17 April 2014
Internship in the Medieval and Earlier Manuscripts Section
The British Library is pleased to be able to offer an internship in the Medieval and Earlier Manuscripts section of the History and Classics Department for a doctoral or post-doctoral student in history, history of art, medieval language or other relevant subject.
Detail of a miniature of a woman reading moral proverbs at the beginning of the
'Proverbes moraux', from Christine de Pizan's Book of the Queen, France (Paris), c. 1410 - c. 1414, Harley MS 4431, f. 259v
The intern will be involved in all aspects of the work of the Medieval and Earlier Manuscripts section, including responding to enquiries, providing talks for students and patrons, selecting and presenting manuscripts for display in our exhibition gallery, assisting in exhibition preparation, and cataloguing, thereby gaining insight into various curatorial duties and aspects of collection care. During the internship at the Library, the intern will enjoy privileged access to printed and manuscript research material, and will work alongside specialists with wide-ranging and varied expertise.
A major focus of the internship will be to enhance the online Digitised Manuscripts and Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts websites by creating and supplementing catalogue entries for medieval manuscripts and accompanying images, working under the supervision of the Curator of Illuminated Manuscripts. The internship will also provide an opportunity for the student to assist in presenting manuscripts to a general audience in our major Magna Carta anniversary exhibition, exhibitions in the Sir John Ritblat Treasures Gallery, and to develop research skills in medieval and Renaissance history and art history.
The programme is only open to students who are engaged actively in research towards, or have recently completed a PhD in a subject area relevant to the study of pre-1600 illuminated or other medieval manuscripts, who have eligibility to work in the UK.
The term of internship is either full time (36 hours per week) for six months, or part time for twelve months, depending on how many hours the successful candidate can offer. Applicants are asked to specify which work pattern they would prefer in the application. The salary is £8.80 per hour. The internship will start in July 2014 after relevant security clearances are obtained.
The selection process will include questions about the date, origin, and decoration of a particular manuscript to be shown at the interview.
For further information about the position, please contact Kathleen Doyle, Curator of Illuminated Manuscripts at [email protected].
To apply, please visit www.bl.uk/careers quoting vacancy ref: COL000490 and upload a CV and Cover Letter. The Cover Letter should include answers to the following three questions:
1. Please give examples of your experience in cataloguing medieval manuscripts.
2. Please provide examples of your experience in writing about your research for a general audience.
3. Please give an example of how you have adapted your own communicating style to deal with different people and situations.
Closing Date: Thursday 15th May 2014
Interview Date: Monday 2nd June 2014
15 April 2014
The Next Giant List of Digitised Manuscript Hyperlinks
It's that time of year again, friends - when we inflict our quarterly massive list of manuscript hyperlinks upon an unsuspecting public. As always, this list contains everything that has been digitised up to this point by the Medieval and Earlier Manuscripts department, complete with hyperlinks to each record on our Digitised Manuscripts site. There will be another updated list here on the blog in three months; you can download the current version here: Download BL Medieval and Earlier Digitised Manuscripts Master List 10.04.13. Have fun!
Miniature of Joachim in the fields among the shepherds, rejoicing in joy about our new spreadsheet, from a Book of Hours, Netherlands (Utrecht or Delft), c. 1410 - 1420, Add MS 50005, f. 3v
11 April 2014
On a Roll
Harley Roll Y 6 – the Guthlac Roll – has been fully digitised, and a new catalogue description and high-resolution images are now available on Digitised Manuscripts. This newest upload takes place, appropriately, on St Guthlac’s own feast day. It also coincides with the conclusion of a two-day conference at the University of London, which has marked the beginning of the 1300th year since Guthlac’s death with a series of papers on the saint’s life, his cult, and the surviving sources. The Guthlac Roll is also on display in the British Library’s newly refurbished Treasures Gallery.
Drawing of Guthlac being carried to the gates of Hell by demons and being given a scourge by St Bartholomew with which to repel them, Harley Roll Y 6, roundel 8. For more Hell-mouths in BL manuscripts, see ‘Prepare to Meet Your Doom’.
The Guthlac Roll was made around the late twelfth or early thirteenth centuries. It is regrettably incomplete: a fifth piece of parchment, containing perhaps two or three roundels illustrating the earlier stages of his life, has been lost. What survives is a series of seventeen compelling and skilful pen-drawings in roundels of Guthlac’s life and deeds – including an entertaining trio illustrating his torment by and ultimate vanquishing of demons, aided by St Bartholomew – plus a final roundel illustrating the benefactors of his shrine at Crowland, in present-day Lincolnshire.
Drawing of Guthlac deciding to devote himself to a life of religion, Harley Roll Y 6, roundel 1 (incomplete).
Born into the Mercian royal dynasty, Guthlac spent his early adult life as a warrior, leading apparently successful raids and battles against hostile neighbouring tribes. The roll in its present state opens with half of a roundel that illustrates the sleepless night on which the young Guthlac, surrounded by his slumbering fellow-soldiers, resolved to devote himself to a life of religion.
Drawing of Guthlac leaving military service, Harley Roll Y 6, roundel 2.
The roundel scenes are given particular animation by the skill with which the anonymous artist captured facial expressions. Note the bewilderment of Guthlac’s men as he bade them and the military life farewell. Stumped by his decision, they turn to one another questioningly; one looks down at the ground, seemingly lost in a moment of doubt. The soldier at the front appears to be appealing to Guthlac – but too late: his back turned, he is departing with a simple wave.
Drawing of Guthlac sailing to Crowland with Tatwin, Harley Roll Y 6, roundel 4.
Having received the tonsure at Repton Abbey, Guthlac set sail for Crowland, at that time an island amidst the Fens. The roundel shows that his life of contemplation had already begun: with an open book on his lap, his gaze tilted upwards, he is lost in thought, oblivious to the paddling of Tatwin and his helper (who appears to be using a quant pole).
Drawing of Guthlac exorcising a demon from Ecgga, Harley Roll Y 6, roundel 10.
In a later roundel, two men look on in wonderment, one open-mouthed, as Guthlac is exorcising a demon from Ecgga. The scene reinforces Guthlac’s saintliness: that he possessed holy powers that were witnessed by his contemporaries.
Drawing of Guthlac counselling Æthelbald, Harley Roll Y 6, roundel 12.
According to Felix of Crowland’s Vita Sancti Guthlaci, the main source for the roll, word of Guthlac’s deeds attracted wide attention. While in exile, Æthelbald, King of the Mercians, sought Guthlac’s advice. The artist depicted Æthelbald sitting with his eyes fixed upon Guthlac, listening intently to his teaching, his attentive pose echoed by the rapt gaze of his attendant.
Drawing of Pega setting sail for Crowland with Beccelm, Harley Roll Y 6, roundel 15.
After Guthlac’s death, his sister Pega came to Crowland for his burial. The fifteenth roundel shows her, grief-stricken, being met by Guthlac’s disciple, Beccelm. Her brow is wrinkled, her eyes downcast; she is holding one hand up to her face mournfully. Her emotional state is echoed by her unsteady pose: with one foot on land and the other on the boat, she is balanced by Beccelm, who is lending her his hand.
Drawing of Guthlac’s burial, Harley Roll Y 6, roundel 16.
The next roundel illustrates Guthlac’s burial. Observe the care with which one of the monks is holding Guthlac’s legs, how tenderly Pega is cradling the saint’s head in the crook of her arm, as they lower his shrouded body gently into the coffin. The depiction of Guthlac in silhouette – rather than wrapped in dramatic loops and whorls of drapery as in the earlier death-bed scenes – was a deliberate artistic decision. It encapsulates the sudden absence of the central figure in this cycle of roundels and the emptiness of his mortal remains following the departure of his soul.
Drawing of Guthlac’s appearance in a vision to King Æthelbald during the vigil at his tomb, Harley Roll Y 6, roundel 17.
It also emphasises the miraculousness of Guthlac’s startling reappearance in the next roundel: standing before Æthelbald, who is now looking up in wonder at the newly designated saint.
- James Freeman
10 April 2014
My Kingdom for a Horse
Recently we had an enquiry about an unusual image that appears in the Rochester Bestiary. This famous English book of beasts, which dates to the mid-13th century, has featured quite prominently in our ongoing series about medieval animals; have a look at our posts about lions, beavers, dogs, wolves, elephants, and hedgehogs, for example.
The particular miniature in question can be seen below. ‘Why,’ asks our slightly tongue-in-cheek correspondent, ‘are those horses having a cuddle?’.
Detail of a miniature of two horses and two men, from the Rochester Bestiary, England (Rochester?), c. 1230, Royal MS 12 F XIII, f. 42v
At first glance, it certainly does appear that this is what’s going on here. We are sad to report, however, that the truth is not quite so full of squee – rather than cuddling, these horses are in fact fighting one another. An inscription in French intended to guide the illuminator can be found beside the miniature, telling us that it is meant to represent two knights and two horses engaged in combat (see below for a detail of this inscription).
Detail of an inscription beside the miniature of the two horses and two men, altered to increase legibility, Royal MS 12 F XIII, f. 42v
This is a fascinating scene, and as far as we can tell, a unique one among bestiary images. The Rochester Bestiary is notable in that the miniatures illustrating each animal appear at the end of the relevant section, rather than at the beginning (for an example of the latter, see the Royal Bestiary: Royal MS 12 C XIX). The Royal Bestiary gives us a much more typical example of the kind of horse to be found in the book of beasts:
Detail of a miniature of a horse at the beginning of the text about that animal, from a bestiary with theological texts, England, c. 1200 – c. 1210, Royal MS 12 C XIX, f. 34r
A horse (of course) was an animal that every medieval reader would have been familiar with, and so most bestiaries depict the animal just as they are, with little in the way of drama or exposition in the scene. The Rochester miniature is different, although we're not sure why. However, there are a few clues – albeit indirect ones – in the text preceding this fascinating scene.
Horses in the early medieval period were largely the possessions of the aristocracy and warrior classes, and the bestiary text reflects their crucial role in battle. Horses, we are told, rejoice in winning and are disheartened by defeat, and some can become so carried away that they will bite their enemies whilst fighting. But most importantly, a noble horse is loyal to his noble master, will ‘suffer no one except their master to ride them’, and will weep at the death of its owner. Amongst many examples of loyal horses, the bestiary text provides us with the story of the horse belonging to the king of the Scythians. This king was killed in single combat, and when his opponent tried to divest him of his armour, the king’s horse attacked, biting and kicking until he was killed himself.
This is not exactly what is going on in the Rochester scene, but it’s as close as we can come. We have here a depiction of a story that is not reflected in any of the canonical bestiary texts – nor any others that we have yet uncovered. We see two horses so faithful to their masters that when the warriors are fighting, the horses mirror their aggression and attack one another. Whether this scene is reflective of a parallel narrative tradition lost to us today or simply an artist’s unique interpretation of the instructions left for him remains to be determined.
- Sarah J Biggs
08 April 2014
Fore! The British Library's Golf Book
The 2014 Masters starts at Augusta this week (that's golf for the uninitiated). And what better way to kick things off -- to mangle a sporting analogy -- than with this famous image from the Golf Book. The modern game of golf has its origins in 15th-century Scotland, when King James II had it banned, in order that his subjects should devote more of their time to practising archery. There were, however, other ancient and medieval games which resembled the game of golf, from China, Persia and Rome, among other places. Some say that golf developed from cambuca (chambot in French), a game played with a stick and a wooden ball that was taken up in the Low Countries and Germany.
A game resembling golf in the Golf Book (London, British Library, MS Additional 24098, f. 27r).
We very much doubt that the modern golf professionals playing at Augusta will care for these niceties. But they might be interested to see this page from the British Library's Golf Book (Add MS 24098, available in full on our Digitised Manuscripts site). We have featured this manuscript before, most notably as our calendar for 2013 (see the month of September) and in the post A Good Walk Spoiled. The splendid book in question was made at Bruges around the year 1540, and the illumination is attributable to the famous Simon Bening (d. 1561) and his workshop.
You may wonder if the players in the bas-de-page scene are engaged in golf or in a game similar to cambuca. But we do suspect that the name "the Cambuca Book" would never have taken on, don't you agree? Watch out for those flying golf balls ...
Julian Harrison
05 April 2014
Royal Manuscripts Follow-on Project - Completed!
The Royal Manuscripts project team are pleased to announce that with the publication of 1000 Years of Royal Books and Manuscripts, edited by Kathleen Doyle and Scot McKendrick, published by British Library Publications, the AHRC-funded follow-on to the Royal Manuscripts research project has been successfully concluded.
Kathleen Doyle, Scot McKendrick, and 1000 Years of Royal Books and Manuscripts
In February 2012, the AHRC made an additional grant to the Library under the Digital Equipment and Database Enhancement for Impact scheme, to enhance the research undertaken for the original Royal: Illuminated Manuscripts of the Kings and Queens of England project, and its dissemination. As a digital enhancement project, the principal goal was to augment the resources on Royal manuscripts available to researchers on the British Library’s Digitised Manuscripts website. Regular readers of the blog will know that we have published regular updates on the project of this digitisation (see the links at the end of this post).
God the creator, from a Bible Historiale, Royal MS 19 D III, f. 3r
The goal of the follow-on project was to provide freely-accessible full online digital coverage of 24,750 pages from approximately 40-50 manuscripts featured in the Royal Manuscripts: The Genius of Illuminated exhibition held at the British Library 11 November 2011-13 March 2012. This objective was met and exceeded with 71 manuscripts now available on the website. Thanks to all of you who provided ideas for digitisation selection.
The project had two other objectives. The first was to convene two workshops to allow students and scholars to build on the existing research undertaken as part of the Royal project by analysing texts and images of these manuscripts in collaboration with other researchers. One workshop was held at Durham University on 6 June 2012, hosted by Professor Richard Gameson, Department of History. At the workshop eleven undergraduate students presented papers on manuscripts included in the Royal exhibition, and Roger Middleton, Lecturer Emeritus, Department of French Literature at the University of Nottingham, presented a live display of the new research capabilities of the Digitised Manuscripts website. The second workshop was designed for post-graduate students, and was held in London on 9 November 2012. This workshop explored the research possibilities of digitisation in a seminar examining three original manuscripts together with their magnified digital images.
The third output was the publication of the book, which is a collection of ten essays on the development of Royal libraries, enhancing and building on the research completed for the initial Royal project. Two of the essays (by Richard Gameson and Catherine Reynolds) were drawn from the new research presented at the Frank Davis lecture series held at the Courtauld Institute of Art in autumn 2011. Four (by Michael Wood, Nicholas Vincent, John Goldfinch, and Jane Roberts) grew out of lectures given as part of the British Library lecture series accompanying the exhibition. One (by James Carley) is on a royal manuscript that was once a part of the Old Royal Library but was not included in the exhibition, and so his research is presented in the volume for the first time. The remaining three contributions (by Joanna Fronska, Scot McKendrick, and Kathleen Doyle) build on research that was undertaken for the initial Royal Manuscripts project presented in the exhibition catalogue. Thanks to the grant provided by the AHRC, the book is extensive illustrated with ninety-four colour illustrations.
Previous Royal Manuscripts blog posts:
http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2012/05/the-chosen-royals.html
- Kathleen Doyle
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