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
28 February 2025
Design and rule
The British Library's Medieval Women: In Their Own Words exhibition has received rave reviews, has smashed its visitor target, and, most significantly, has given public recognition to dozens of women who lived in Europe centuries ago. We are thrilled that the exhibition has been such a great success, which is a tribute to the dedication of our colleagues and collaborators.
In the early planning stages, the curators and Exhibitions team focused on how we could bring these stories to life. We commissioned Su Koh to work on the 3D design, with the remit of making our gallery feel welcoming and spacious, in using its height to full advantage, and in creating sightlines throughout the space. Here are some of Su's reflections on how she approached the gallery design.
Silhouettes
From the start of the project, we wanted to give the featured women in the exhibition a physical presence. The challenge was not knowing what most of these women looked like, so we created shadowy silhouettes and overlaid them with details from brass rubbings of the tombs of medieval women. We left out any facial features, letting the visitors' imagination fill in the gaps. The silhouettes were printed life-size on 6m long banners suspended from the ceiling, accompanied by printed quotes and audio of their own words.
Façades
To support the silhouettes, we created a series of translucent façades, as scenography for the story to unfold. Entering the exhibition, the façades form a ‘town square’ for the Introduction. A replica of the statue of Queen Eleanor of Castile from Waltham Cross sits in the middle of the ‘town square’ along with three introductory objects for each of the main narrative sections (Private Lives, Public Lives, Spiritual Lives). Each façade is inspired by a surviving medieval building, namely a manor house (Chalfield Manor), a guildhall (Bury St Edmunds) and an ecclesiastical building (Elstow Abbey).
Both the silhouettes and the façades have a translucent quality. The silhouettes were printed on translucent white fabric, and the facades made from aluminium frame and stretch translucent fabric, giving the whole exhibition a light and ethereal quality. We've enabled our visitors to view through them into the spaces beyond, and we also created windows and doorways in the façades to enhance the sightlines and to give a sense of movement as visitors move around the gallery.
Colours
The colours used in the exhibition have been inspired by the objects on display. We studied the illuminated manuscripts and paired them with three main colours. Ultramarine blue references lapis lazuli, and has been used for the large totem in the Introduction, for the graphics, and in the back panels of the showcases. Gold has been used in the exhibition titles, in the highlight panels in the showcases, and in the labels for the featured ‘spotlight’ women. A teal fabric has been used for the façades, matching the verdigris used in manuscripts. Together these colours give the whole exhibition a paired back but impactful colour scheme.
Gateways
At the start of each main section of the exhibition is a window with an evocative projection introducing the expectations and attitudes of the day. The window motifs reference the façade windows. Gobo lighting has been used to project light and shadow, giving the illusion of light passing through the windows onto the floor. As visitors enter the Spiritual Lives section of the exhibition, the coloured light of a stained glass window fills the floor. These zones have also allowed school groups to congregate and have provided a contemplative space for our visitors.
Multi-sensory experiences
We collaborated with Tasha Marks, a scent designer from AVM Curiosities, to create two multi-sensory moments within the exhibition. First, we recreated two scents from a medieval cosmetic recipe collection known as De ornatu mulierum. Displayed on a dressing table are 3D printed ultramarine vessels, from which visitors have been able to smell a medieval breath freshener and a hair perfume, giving a rare insight to the past.
Our second sensory moment is based on interpretations of Heaven and Hell as inspired by the visionaries Margery Kempe and Julian Norwich. Contained within a large medieval window, visitors have opened two doors to experience the sweet floral scent of Heaven, as described by Julian of Norwich, or the ashy fire and brimstone of Hell, as witnessed in her visions by Margery Kempe.
Individual objects
Sometimes an object informed the physical shape of the exhibition layout. One example is a double-sided artwork containing scenes from the life of John the Baptist, painted in the 12th century by nuns from Hohenburg Abbey in Germany. As we wanted this item to be viewed from both sides, we created an opening in the wall leading to the Conclusion and mounted the object so that it floats in the middle. This arrangement gives our visitors a glimpse into the concluding space from Spiritual Lives and vice versa.
Medieval Women: In Their Own Words is on show at the British Library from 25 October 2024 to 2 March 2025.
This exhibition is made possible with support from Joanna and Graham Barker, Unwin Charitable Trust, and Cockayne – Grants for the Arts: a donor advised fund held at the London Community Foundation.
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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
14 February 2025
By your valentine, Margery Brews
In February 1477, at the village of Topcroft in Norfolk, Margery Brews dictated a letter to her suitor John Paston III, calling him her ‘right well-beloved valentine’ and expressing the depth of her love. While John’s reply to Margery does not survive, her words form the oldest known Valentine’s letter in English. The letter (Add MS 43490, f. 23r) is currently on display in our major exhibition, Medieval Women: In Their Own Words, which runs till 2 March 2025.
The earliest Valentine’s letter, by Margery Brews to John Paston III; February, 1477: Add MS 43490, f. 23r
Margery’s letter expresses great affection for John at a turbulent time for the couple, when it was by no means guaranteed their marriage would proceed. She asks after his welfare and prays to God to keep him safe. She confesses that she is not in good health ‘of body, nor of heart’ and nor will she be until she hears from him. She begs John not to leave her and promises in turn that she will not forsake him. Fascinatingly, Margery also asks him to keep the letter private, and not to show it to ‘any other earthly creature’, perhaps wary of the influence of other members of his family.
The letter includes several lines of Middle English poetry composed by Margery to express her commitment to him:
And yf ye commande me to keep me true where-ever I go,
Iwyse I wil do all my might yowe to love and neur no mo.
And yf my freendys say that I do amys,
Their schal not me let so for to do,
My herte me byddys euer more to love yowe
Truly ouer all erthley thing.
And yf thei be neuer so wroth,
I tryst it schall be bettur in tyme commyng.
And if you command me to keep me true wherever I go,
Of course, I will use all my might to love you and never no more.
And if my friends say that I do amiss,
They shall not let me so for to do,
My heart bids me ever more to love you,
Truly over all earthly things,
And if they be never so wroth,
I trust it shall be better in time coming.
At the root of Margery’s anxiety was a complex set of marital negotiations between their families. The Paston family, up-and-coming members of the Norfolk aristocracy, felt that Margery’s dowry was too small, while her father, Sir Thomas Brews, a landowner in his own right, was not inclined to increase the payment and evidently felt that there were better matches for his daughter. In a letter sent later the same month (Add MS 43490, f. 24r), Margery suggests that negotiations were breaking down completely, stating plainly to John that she has done all she can in the matter and that her father ‘will no more money parte with all in that behalfe but an hundred and fifty marke, whech is ryght far fro the accomplyshment of yowr desyre'. John was asking for at least 400 marks and a loan of £120 from Margery's father.
A subsequent letter sent by Margery to John Paston the same month; Add MS 43490, f. 24r
If not for the efforts of Margery’s mother, Elizabeth Brews, the marriage may never have happened. Elizabeth seems to have actively encouraged the relationship and acted as a go-between for the families. According to Margery, Elizabeth ‘laboured the matter to my father full diligently’, and eventually suggested in a letter of her own to John that he stay with the family on St Valentine’s Day to thrash out the details in person, reminding him that the feast day was a propitious time for lovers. Her strategy was successful. The families reached an agreement and the pair were married two months later.
Margery signing off her second letter to John Paston III, 'By your valentine': Add MS 43490, f. 24r
To learn more about the Paston Family and see the earliest Valentine's letter 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
05 February 2025
The first sultana of Egypt and Syria
In the mid-13th century, one woman rose from enslavement to become the Mamluk sultana and the female ruler to reign across Egypt and Syria. Her name was Shajar al-Durr (d. 1257) and her story features in our major exhibition Medieval Women: In Their Own Words, which runs till 2 March 2025. While Shajar al-Durr’s reign was only a short one, it was particularly consequential, both for her and the dynasty she left behind. We are delighted to have on loan from the British Museum one of only three known gold dinars (coins) minted for Shajar al-Durr during her reign. The coin is on display in the exhibition alongside a later historical account of her reign by the historian ibn Waṣīf (Add MS 25731).
The golden dinar of Shajar al-Durr on display in the exhibition, Medieval Women: In Their Own Words
Very little is known about Shajar al-Durr’s early life. Even the details of her original name are lost to us (Shajar al-Durr is in fact an epithet or nickname that means ‘tree of pearls’ in Arabic). Most likely of Turkic or Armenian origins, she was sold as a slave as a child to Al-Mustaʿṣim (b. 1213, d. 1258), the last caliph of the Abbasid dynasty, who ruled a vast territory from his capital in Baghdad. By 1239, she had been purchased by Salih Najm al-din Ayyub (b. 1205, d. 1249), the Ayyubid sultan of Egypt and Syria, as a concubine and travelled to Egypt with him. There she quickly became of one of his most trusted wives, giving birth to their son Khalil in 1240.
Shajar al-Durr’s dramatic ascendancy to the throne came in 1249/50. Sultan Salih died, just as an army under Louis IX of France had invaded Egypt as part of the Seventh Crusade. While the crusaders marched on Cairo, Shajar al-Durr acted as regent in her husband’s place. She took steps to hide the news of her husband’s death from her forces and transported his body away in secret. Unaware of their sultan’s demise, the Ayyubid army were able to defeat the French invaders in a decisive battle at Mansurah. Louis IX was later captured and had to be ransomed back to the French and the Seventh Crusade itself was derailed and came to an end soon after. It was then that Shajar al-Durr became the first Muslim woman to take on the role of sultan, using her status as the mother of Salih’s son and heir, Khalil, who was still too young to ascend the throne and would later die in infancy. Her rule marked the beginning of the Mamluk dynasty, which would control the region for centuries.
Shajar al-Durr’s story is one of those featured in our new animation, Tales of Medieval Women
Shajar al-Durr’s reign only lasted three months, from May to July 1250, but she was still able to assert her status through the minting of gold and silver dinars from her capital Cairo. Very few of these coins now survive. The golden dinar on display in the exhibition is tiny (measuring only 22mm in diameter). The obverse (or front face) of the coin features an inscription that dates it to the year 1250, enclosing a central panel with lines referring to the Abbasid caliph Musta’sim, Shajar al-Durr’s former owner and a key figure whose recognition she needed if she was to remain on the throne. The reverse meanwhile features Shajar al-Durr’s titles, referring to her as the former slave of al-Mustaʿsim and Salih, the mother to Salih's heir Khalil and glorifying her in uniquely female terms as 'queen of the Muslims' (malikat al-muslimīn).
The front and back face faces of a golden dinar minted for Shajar al-Durr; Cairo, 1250: The British Museum, 1849,1121.294
Despite her efforts to placate Musta’sim, Shajar al-Durr’s rule was not accepted by the Ayyubid caliph and she was soon forced to abdicate, having first married her successor as sultan, Izz al-Din Aybak (d. 1257). Nonetheless, she remained an influential advisor to her new husband, positioned at the very centre of court life and politics, until her assassination by a rival in 1257. In that time, Shajar al-Durr decided to commission two mausoleums, one for herself and another for her former husband, built in the very heart of Cairo. The design of the tomb, which survives to this day, features an elaborate mosaic in the form of a tree of pearls, an allusion to the Arabic epithet that became synonymous with her and subsumed her very name in the annals of history.
The tomb of Shajar al-Durr, as imagined in the animation Tales of Medieval Women
To see Shajar al-Durr’s coin 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
21 January 2025
Black Agnes and the siege of Dunbar
Overlooking the harbour town of Dunbar in East Lothian, Scotland, stands a ruin. The corner of a tower, a broken courtyard, and the walls of a blockhouse: these stone fragments and the barest of foundations are all that remain of one of the most important fortresses in medieval Scotland. Dunbar Castle’s location and prominence against the surrounding coastal landscape meant that it was often the target of enemy lords and across the centuries, it sustained many sieges. One particular siege would take on an almost legendary status in Scottish history thanks to the actions of a single woman. In 1338, Agnes Randolph (b. c. 1312, d. 1369), commonly known as ‘Black Agnes’ either because of her dark complexion or her fierce character, led a heroic five-month defence of its fortifications against an invading English army. An account of the siege and Agnes’ bravery is detailed in the Orygynale Cronykil by the 15th-century writer Andrew Wyntoun, currently on display in our exhibition, Medieval Women: In Their Own Words.
Dunbar Castle Ruins by Jennifer Petrie: CC BY-SA 2.0
Agnes was the daughter of Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray, and later Countess of Dunbar through her marriage to Patrick Dunbar, a prominent Scottish lord during the reigns of Robert the Bruce and David II. In January 1338, Patrick Dunbar was away on an expedition, leaving Agnes to hold the castle. It was then that an invading English army led by William Montagu, 1st Earl of Salisbury, took the opportunity to cross the Scottish border, the latest in a series of military campaigns ordered by Edward III to seize Scotland. They surrounded the fortress and laid siege to it. The defenders were made up of Agnes, her household and only a handful of soldiers, but despite the odds against her, Agnes refused to give up the castle.
A 15th-century map of Scotland, including a depiction of Dunbar Castle (bottom left), from John Hardyng's Chronicle: Lansdowne MS 204, ff. 226v-227r
During the siege, Montagu made various attempts to assault Dunbar Castle. He began by using catapults to fire huge rocks at the walls, but they did little to damage the strong fortifications. According to Wyntoun, Agnes poured salt on the wound of Montagu’s failed bombardment by sending out her ladies-in-waiting to dust the ramparts with pieces of cloth:
Thai warpyt at the wall gret stanys
Bathe hard and hewy for the nanys
Bot that nane merryng to thame made.
And alswa qwhen thai castyne hade,
Wyth a towalle a damyselle
Arayid jolyly and welle
Wipyt the wall, that thai mycht se,
To gere thaim mare anoyid be.
They threw great stones at the wall
Both hard and heavy for that purpose
But they did no damage.
And also, when they had the thrown them,
A damsel with a cloth,
Dressed prettily and well,
Wiped the wall, so that the English could see,
To make them even more annoyed.
The siege of a medieval castle, defended by women, from the Luttrell Psalter: Add MS 42130, f. 75v
When the catapult barrage failed, Montagu then tried to blackmail Agnes into submission, by threatening to execute her brother, John Randolph, 3rd Earl of Moray, who had recently been captured. Agnes responded by pointing out that there was no incentive for her to save her brother, as his death would leave her the inheritor of the earldom. At the same time, another effort by the English to reach the walls with a special siege engine, called a 'cat’ or a ‘sow’, ended badly when Agnes ordered a giant boulder to be dropped on it, re-purposing one of the very stones Montagu had fired at the castle earlier in the siege.
An English attempt at bribing one of Agnes’s men to sneak them through the castle gates similarly led to disaster for the besieging army. The guard received the money, but promptly told the countess, who used it as an opportunity to set a trap for Montagu and his men. When a portion of the English army was already through the gates, she suddenly closed the portcullis behind them with no way for them to leave. While the English earl was able to escape in time, many of his men were killed in the chaos that ensued.
A woman defends a castle from assault, from the Smithfield Decretals: Royal MS 10 E IV, f. 18v
Eventually, on 10 June 1338, five months after the English had first arrived at Dunbar Castle, with supplies dwindling and having spent some £6000 in the attempt (the equivalent of over £4.5 million in modern currency), Montagu decided to raise the siege completely. Wyntoun’s chronicle quotes a song the English are believed to have sung as they abandoned the castle, its words a testament to the strength of Agnes’ resilience and the impression she left on them over those five months:
I wowe to God, scho maid gret stere
The Scottish wenche ploddere.
Come I are, come I late,
I fand Annot at the yhate.
I vow to God, she makes a great leader
That Scottish woman fighter.
Come I early, come I late
I found Agnes at the gate.
Andrew Wyntoun’s verse account of the Siege of Dunbar in his Orygynale Cronykil; Scotland, 15th century: Royal MS 17 D XX, ff. 238v-239r
To learn more about Agnes Randolph and see the account of the Siege of Dunbar 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
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
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