Dirty Books with Kate Rudy
Through grime, stains, and wax droplets, the filthiest, most well-loved manuscripts tell us the story of how medieval people used – and abused – their books. This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Kate Rudy about what we can learn from the smudges the people of the Middle Ages left behind, how modern technology helps us figure it out, and why we should all appreciate a really dirty book.
Seven videos on making medieval manuscripts
What goes into making a medieval manuscript? Here are seven videos from The British Library where Patricia Lovett, a professional calligrapher and illuminator explains the process, tools and techniques used in designing an illuminated page.
The Humour of Medieval Scribes
Thanks to new research, we are now finding many more examples of medieval scribes’ sense of humour, as they wrote jokes, complaints and even complete nonsense.
Medieval Manuscripts: Scribes’ Secret Humor Revealed
How medieval scribes were leaving jokes, complaints and even complete nonsense in their manuscripts.
Medieval Manuscripts Take Center Stage in Innovative New Game
Inkulinati, a turn-based strategy game, launches today. Gamers on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One can now get into the Middle Ages by playing with characters right out of medieval manuscripts
Deciphering medieval shorthand – can a digital tool solve the ‘Tironian Notes’?
Medieval manuscript writers created a system of shorthand known as ‘Tironian Notes’. A new project hopes to develop a digital tool to decipher it.
Dr. Jörn Günther Rare Books returns to TEFAF Maastricht 2024
Dr. Jörn Günther Rare Books returns to The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) in Maastricht this year with a splendid selection of precious manuscripts and rare books. Their highlights this year the Pèlerinage de la Vie Humaine, the Histoire Ancienne, and the Liechtenstein Tacuinum Sanitatis. All three are outstanding, historically significant books that convey the breadth and beauty of medieval manuscript illumination.
Visualizing Persian History: The Illustration of Persian Manuscript Histories
How did medieval chroniclers writing in Persian narrate their past and present history and – the main focus of this paper – how were the historical events depicted in the manuscripts in which their work was written?
Images of Medieval Astrology: The Liber astrologiae
An excerpt from Kristen Lippincott’s introduction to Liber astrologiae (Abū Maʿshar Treatise), a 14th-century manuscript and its beautiful medieval imagery.
Need a Medieval Christmas Gift? Perhaps a 14th-century quadrant
A Christie’s auction in London will be featuring medieval manuscripts, early printed books and a 14th-century quadrant. Many of these items are expected to get bids in tens of thousands of pounds.
Searching for comets in Late Medieval manuscripts
The observation and representation of comets has intertwined the history of art and science since ancient times.
A Medieval Manuscript for a Healthy Life: Tacuinum Sanitatis
Through 130 beautiful pictures the Tacuinum Sanitatis provides unparalleled insights into 15th-century life.
Secret Code, Lost Language, Nonsense, or Hoax: The Voynich Manuscript’s Enduring Mysteries
Lisa Fagin Davis gives a tour of the ‘world’s most mysterious manuscript.’
Seven Things to Look for in Medieval Manuscripts
A guide to some of the interesting things you can look for in these manuscripts from the Middle Ages.
British Library digitizes its entire Chaucer manuscript collection
The British Library has made available online its entire collection of manuscripts related to Geoffrey Chaucer. Users can now freely access over 60 items, which include many versions of The Canterbury Tales.
New Medieval Books: The Art of Anatomy in Medieval Europe
There is a myth that medieval Europeans did not understand human anatomy and did not perform human dissections. Taylor McCall’s new book definitively disproves that and has the images to back it up.
Inks and Skins: Investigations into the Materiality of the late-medieval Gaelic Manuscript
A series of papers dealing with medieval manuscripts from Ireland.
61 Medieval Manuscripts digitized and available online
One of the largest databases of medieval manuscripts has added 61 new items to its collection. They include manuscripts from the Franciscan order as well as fragments dating back to the eighth century.
New project aims to create database for medieval music and manuscripts
Over the next seven years, Dr. Bain will create an online platform that links and synergizes plainchant databases around the world.
The Washington Haggadah and 33 other Medieval Manuscripts digitized by the Library of Congress
The Library of Congress has released some 230 newly digitized manuscripts written in Hebrew and similar languages such as Judeo-Arabic, Judeo-Persian and Yiddish. It includes 34 manuscripts dating between the 11th and 16th centuries.
Graphic Design in the Middle Ages – new exhibition at The Getty
The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles will be hosting a new exhibition – Graphic Design in the Middle Ages – that reveals the ways that design influenced the making, reading, and interpretation of medieval books. It will take place at the Getty Center from August 29, 2023 through January 28, 2024.
10 Medieval Curses to Protect Your Books From Thieves
If anyone take away this book, let him die the death; let him be fried in a pan; let the falling sickness and fever seize him; let him be broken on the wheel, and hanged. Amen.
Medieval manuscripts to be showcased in Seoul
Next month some spectacular medieval manuscripts will be on display at the second edition of Frieze Seoul. Les Enluminures will be showcasing the items at the Korean international art fair.
10 Beautiful Medieval Manuscripts
What are the most beautiful medieval manuscripts?
Hidden text of Elizabethan chronicler revealed by imaging technology
Through new imaging technology, the British Library has uncovered hidden text in William Camden’s Annals, the first official account of Elizabeth I’s reign, providing new perspectives on the queen’s life.