08 March 2014
The Books of Remarkable Women
In 2011, when we blogged about the Shaftesbury Psalter (which may have belonged to Adeliza of Louvain; see below), we wrote that medieval manuscripts which had belonged to women were relatively rare survivals. This still remains true, but as we have reviewed our blog over the past few years, it has become clear that we must emphasize the relative nature of the rarity – we have posted literally dozens of times about manuscripts that were produced for, owned, or created by a number of medieval women.
Full-page miniature of the manuscript’s female owner kneeling as a supplicant before the Virgin and Child, from the Shaftesbury Psalter, England, 2nd quarter of the 12th century, Lansdowne MS 383, f. 165v [for more on this manuscript, read our blogpost A Prayerbook Fit for a Queen?]
In honour of International Women’s Day, we would like to have a look back at a few of these manuscripts, and the remarkable women who owned them.
Miniature of the Ascension of Christ, from the Melisende Psalter, Eastern Mediterranean (Jerusalem), 1131-1143, Egerton MS 1139, f. 11r
The Melisende Psalter, owned by Melisende, the Queen of Jerusalem (1105-1161), this Psalter was possibly created for her by her husband, Fulk V, Count of Anjou and Maine
Miniature of the Crucifixion, with eight niches occupied by male figures, with an historiated initial 'A'(d), with a pope, king, bishop and two others kneeling before an altar, with a bas-de-page scene of Christina cast into the sea and rescued by angels, from the Queen Mary Psalter, England (London or East Anglia), between 1310 and 1320, Royal MS 2 B VII, f. 256v
The Queen Mary Psalter, a remarkable manuscript produced in England between 1310 and 1320. It takes its name from its later owner, Queen Mary Tudor (1516-1558), daughter of Henry VIII, but possibly originally produced for Isabella of France (1295-1358), queen of England and consort of Edward II. More about the Psalter’s history can be found in the earlier link, or in this post Rival Queens, Precious Books, which also describes the digitisation of the Prayer Book of Lady Jane Grey (1536/7-1554), Harley MS 2342.
Miniature prefacing the prayers to be said at Mass, with a crowned woman (probably the first owner of the manuscript) kneeling underneath a canopy while a priest raises the host, and a bas-de-page scene of Jerome writing, from the Taymouth Hours, England (London?), 2nd quarter of the 14th century, Yates Thompson MS 13, f. 7r
The Taymouth Hours, a Book of Hours containing a spectacular programme of bas-de-page paintings, this manuscript was created in England in the 2nd quarter of the 14th century. Its patron was certainly an aristocratic, and possibly royal, woman. Scholars have variously argued that the original patron may have been Joan of the Tower, the daughter of Edward II and later wife of David II of Scotland (1321-1362), Isabella of France (1295-1358, see above), or Philippa of Hainault (1312-1369), the queen of Edward III. Recent scholarship hypothesizes that the book was commissioned for Eleanor of Woodstock, elder daughter of Edward II (1318-1355), on the occasion of the princess’s betrothal. A closely related manuscript, is of course, the famous Unicorn Cookbook.
Detail of a miniature of Christine de Pizan working in her study, accompanied by her small dog, at the beginning of the ‘Cent balades’, from the Book of the Queen, France (Paris), c. 1410 – c. 1414, Harley MS 4431, f. 4r
Christine de Pizan’s Book of the Queen, the extraordinary manuscript created c. 1410 – c. 1414 by Christine de Pizan (1364- c. 1430), widely regarded as one of Europe’s earliest female professional authors. The Book of the Queen contains the largest extant collection of Christine’s writing, and was written and decorated under her supervision, commissioned for Isabeau of Bavaria, the queen consort to Charles VI of France.
Detail of a miniature of John Talbot presenting the book to Queen Margaret of Anjou, seated in a palace beside King Henry VI of England, and surrounded by their court, from the Talbot Shrewsbury book, France (Rouen), c. 1445, Royal MS 15 E VI, f. 2v
The Talbot Shrewsbury Book, produced as a wedding gift for the young Margaret of Anjou (1430-1482), the future wife of Henry VI of England (and for more details on the texts of this manuscript, read out blogpost The Art of Chivalry)
The arms of Ferdinand and Isabella with the arms of Infante John and Margaret of Austria (left) and the arms of Philip of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, and Infanta Joanna, Netherlands (Bruges), c. 1497, Add MS 18851, f. 436v
The Isabella Breviary, produced for Isabella I of Castile (1451-1504) and illustrated by the preeminent Flemish artists of the period, this breviary was the subject of our first calendar series back in 2011, as well as a later post on the charming prevalence of monkeys in its margins.
Full-page miniature of Joanna the Mad praying, accompanied by John the Evangelist, from the Hours of Joanna of Castile, Bruges, between 1496 and 1506, Add MS 18852, f. 288r
The Hours of Joanna the Mad, created for Joanna the Mad (1479-1555), the daughter of Isabella I of Castile, and carefully customised under Joanna’s direction. These magnificent Hours have been the subject of a number of our posts, including one on the plethora of marginal animals in the manuscript, and our series on the calendar pages (see as well this post on the mystery of another Book of Hours that may have belonged to Joanna).
There are of course many other examples of medieval women as patrons and artists within our collections and elsewhere. We hope you enjoy paging through some of these remarkable books, and that you have a very happy International Women’s Day!
Sarah J Biggs
14 February 2014
An Illustrated Guide to Medieval Love
Oh, Valentine’s Day: romance is in the air, passions are running high, the sense of anticipation and excitement is building…but – alas! – you are alone. How do you catch that man/woman/animal of your dreams?
Despair not, oh singletons! The Medieval Manuscripts Blog is coming to your rescue. We have combed our books to compile a handy illustrated guide to love, complete with some do’s and don’ts for both genders on their quest for true love:
1. Ladies: do not befriend men with dismembered arms: they are without chivalry (and probably have ‘wandering hands’ as well).
Detail of a miniature of Imagination showing the Knight a man with dismembered arms, from the ‘Imaginacion de vraye noblesse’, England/Netherlands (Sheen/Bruges), 1496-1497, Royal MS 19 C VIII, f. 32v
2. Gentlemen: do seek out opportunities to defend your lady’s honour, preferably with a violent display of martial skill:
Detail of a miniature of Sir Lancelot fighting Sir Mados to defend the honour of Guinevere, from the ‘Morte Artu’, France (Tournai/Saint-Omer?), c. 1315-1325, Royal MS 14 E III, f. 156v
Extra marks if you present the head of your vanquished opponent as proof of your love.
Detail of a miniature from the ‘Meliadus’, Italy (Naples?), 1352-1362, Add. MS 12228, f. 101r
3. Ladies: do ensure that you go to bed with the right man; beware of shape-shifting wizards in particular.
Detail of a miniature of Nectanebus appearing as a dragon and sleeping with Olympias, from the ‘Roman d’Alexandre’, France (Rouen), 1444-1445, Royal MS 15 E VI, f. 6r
4. Gentlemen: do not go to bed with someone else’s wife!
Detail of a miniature of Mars and Venus being discovered in bed by Vulcan, from the ‘Roman de la Rose’, France (Paris?), c. 1380, Egerton MS 881, f. 126r
5. Ladies: do not go to bed with someone else’s husband!
Detail of a miniature representing ‘Adulterium’ (adultery), from the ‘Omne Bonum’, England (London), c. 1360- c. 1375, Royal MS 6 E VI, f. 61r
6. Gentlemen: do not leave the house without first checking your clothes; wardrobe malfunctions may result from ill-fitting codpieces…
Detail of a miniature of the Lover addressing three women outside the Castle of Love, from ‘Les Demands en Amours’, Netherlands/England? (Bruges/London?), c. 1483-c. 1500, Royal MS 16 F II, f. 188r
7. Ladies: do not encourage the affections of lions; it is not seemly.
Detail of a miniature of Josiane with two lions, from the Taymouth Hours, England? (London?), c. 1325-c. 1350, Yates Thompson MS 13, f. 8v
Detail of a miniature of Joanna of Paris embracing a lion, from the ‘Topographia Hiberniae’ of Gerald of Wales, England (Lincoln?), c. 1196-1223, Royal MS 13 B VIII, f. 19v
8. Gentlemen: do rescue women from attack by wild-men.
Detail of a miniature from the Smithfield Decretals, France (Toulouse?), c. 1300-c. 1340, Royal MS 10 E IV, f. 101r
9. Ladies: do not reject your rescuer in favour of another; you will be eaten by bears.
Detail of a miniature from the Smithfield Decretals, Royal MS 10 E IV, f. 102r
Detail of a miniature from the Smithfield Decretals, Royal MS 10 E IV, f. 106v
10. Gentlemen: do not wear a suggestively shaped sword; it is unlikely to convince a lady of your honourable intentions.
Detail of a miniature from the ‘Omne Bonum’, Royal MS 6 E VII, f. 150r
Happy Valentine's Day!
- James Freeman
The Medieval Manuscripts Blog is delighted to be shortlisted for the National UK Blog Awards (Arts & Culture category). For more information about the nomination, see the Awards website.
07 February 2014
Saints' Lives... and Deaths
With the twin goals of our readers’ edification and entertainment forever at the forefront of our minds, we at the BL Medieval Manuscripts Blog have hatched a plan for a series of posts on saints over the coming weeks and months, timed to coincide with their individual feast days.
In devotional compilations such as Books of Hours, miniatures of saints were a common presence alongside biographies of their lives or other texts to be read during private prayer or reflection. The choice of which saints to include in one’s book could be a very personal one. For example, the decoration in the magnificent Bedford Hours (Add MS 18850) was adapted following the marriage of John, duke of Bedford, to Anne of Burgundy.
Prefacing the portion of the manuscript containing suffrages to the saints is a large miniature showing Anne of Burgundy kneeling in veneration before her namesake and patron, St Anne, who is accompanied by her daughter the Virgin Mary, and her grandson, Jesus Christ.
Miniature of Anne of Burgundy, venerating St Anne, St Mary and the Infant Jesus, from the Bedford Hours, France (Paris), c. 1410-c.1430, Add MS 18850, f. 257v
The association of saint and book-owner is continued in the border, for example with Joachim and Clopas, each of whom is identified by different interpretations of the Bible as the father of St Anne.
Miniatures of St Joachim and St Clopas, Add MS 18850, f. 257v
Saints could be depicted in a variety of contexts in manuscript miniatures. On this page of the Bedford Hours, we see them thinking, reading, writing and discussing, enclosed in private alcoves or chambers that evoke the architecture of the medieval palace.
Miniatures of St ‘Salome’, St Alpheus and St ‘Maria Yaque’, and St Zebedee and St Mary Salome, Add MS 18850, f. 257v
By reflecting the reader’s own behaviour and environment as she studied her Book of Hours, these miniatures complemented the text by cultivating her identification with a saint’s life. Enhancing the exemplary of these lives in this way further encouraged the reader to emulate a saint’s virtues or good works, to shape her behaviour according to the saintly mould she held before her.
First, though, a little taster of what is to come of our series of saints. Certain objects or animals became associated with a saint as a consequence of the events of his or her life or the manner of his or her death. These attributes made depictions of saints in stained glass, stone statuary or manuscript books readily identifiable to anyone familiar with their stories.
In Harley MS 2332, we see saints’ attributes being used as a visual shorthand for the dates of their feast days during the calendar year. This physicians’ almanac has appeared a couple of times on this blog before: when we solicited help assigning a date of production on the basis of a series of pictograms and dates attached to them; and when the volvelle on f. 23v appeared in Guess the Manuscript.
The book is small; measuring only 140mm x 100mm, it was designed to be portable. It was made using a less expensive grade of dark and thick parchment, and was quite possibly written and even illustrated by the person who owned it. It was produced perhaps around 1412. It is of English origin, but the selection of certain saints for the calendar at the beginning of the book strongly suggests a connection or at least familiarity with eastern England: East Anglia and Lincolnshire (Sts Guthlac and Edmund), Yorkshire (Sts John of Beverley and William of York) or Northumberland (Sts Cuthbert, Oswald and Wilfrid).
Calendar pages for February, with tinted pen-drawings of the Labour of the Month, zodiac symbol and religious feast days, from an illustrated physician’s almanac, E. England, c. 1411-12, Harley MS 2332, ff. 2v-3r
Each month in this calendar occupies an opening, with the traditional activity of the month and the relevant zodiac symbol on the left. Along the top, symbols provide a quick visual guide to significant dates within the month, with lines directing the reader to when these feasts should be celebrated.
There are the well-known evangelist symbols: Matthew (21st September, f. 10r), Mark (25th April, f. 5r, see below), Luke (18th October, f. 11r) and John (27th December, f. 13r).
Evangelist symbol of Mark, Harley MS 2332, f. 5r
There are also symbols relating to saintly miracles or acts.
Three candles in a chalice, attributes of St Blaise, Harley MS 2332, f. 2v.
St Blaise’s day (3rd February) is represented by candles used in the Blessing of the Throats ceremony, which commemorates his curing of a boy choking on a fishbone.
Hammer and horseshoe, attributes of St Eligius, Harley MS 2332, f. 7r.
The hammer and horseshoe recall the legend that St Eligius (25th June) shod a skittish horse through the novel practice of first cutting off its leg, attaching the shoe, then miraculously reattaching the leg.
St Edmund, king and martyr, holding a ring, Harley MS 2332, f. 4r.
Here the creator of the tinted drawings has conflated two different St Edwards. On the feast day of St. Edward, king and martyr (18th March), he has drawn Edward holding a ring. This refers to a story from the life of St Edward the Confessor, whose feast day is 13th October. A beggar requested alms from Edward the Confessor in the name of St John. Having no money on his person, the king instead gave the beggar a ring from one of his fingers. Certain legends have St John guiding some Englishmen to safety during their pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and handing them the ring to give to the king; others record the saint appearing before the king and returning the ring personally.
Shoe and crozier, attributes of St. Botulph, Harley MS 2332, f. 7r.
Other symbols evoke the subsequent patronage of saints. For instance, St Botulph (17th June), patron saint of travellers, to whom churches at town gates were often dedicated, is represented by a shoe (the crozier poking out of it refers to the fact that he was sometimes referred to as ‘bishop’).
St Jacob/James, dressed as a pilgrim, Harley MS 2332, f. 8r.
St Jacob/James, whose shrine at Compostela was and remains a major pilgrimage destination, is shown as a pilgrim with a walking staff and scallop badge (25th July).
A ship, attribute of St Simon, Harley MS 2332, f. 11r.
St Simon, patron of sailors, and St Jude, patron of last causes, share a feast day (28th October) and are represented by a ship.
And finally (what you’ve obviously been patiently waiting for), some symbols represent the ways in which particular saints were martyred.
Instruments of the martyrdom of St Vincent and St Paul, Harley MS 2332, f. 2r.
St Vincent and St Paul (22nd and 25th January) each hold tools used to kill them: a saw, representing St Vincent’s torture; and a sword, representing the beheading of St Paul.
St Agatha being mutilated, Harley MS 2332, f. 2v.
On the 5th of February, the gruesome mutilation of St Agatha is illustrated.
Instrument of the martyrdom of St Bartholomew, Harley MS 2332, f. 9r.
St Bartholomew, who was flayed alive then crucified, is drawn holding a knife (24th August), alongside the decapitated head of John the Baptist (29th).
Instrument of the martyrdom of St Leodegar, Harley MS 2332, f. 10v.
Leodegar had the misfortune to have his eyes put out with a drill, which instrument is shown next to his feast day on 1st October.
These are just a few examples; we’ll let you figure the rest out! The manuscript is available in its entirety on Digitised Manuscripts. There are still some unresolved puzzles in the manuscript: for instance, does anyone have idea what event was commemorated here?
Erasures and checkerboard pattern, Harley MS 2332, f. 1v.
The title has been erased, and the connecting line to the calendar is heavily smudged – but what is the meaning of the checkerboard pattern, and what might its connection be to the 13th of January?
Keep your eyes out (sorry St Leodegar!) for future posts on saints…
- James Freeman
The Medieval Manuscripts Blog is delighted to be shortlisted for the National UK Blog Awards (Arts & Culture category). For more information about the nomination, see the Awards website.
07 January 2014
Welcome to the Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts
Did you know that thousands of images from the British Library's collections are available on our Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts?
Detail of a kneeling figure in a calendar for January (Germany, 13th century): London, British Library, MS Arundel 159, f. 1v
Our catalogue enables you to search by keyword or date, or by its reference (if known); and you can also perform an advanced search using such criteria as language and provenance. The site also contains a number of virtual exhibitions -- such as The Royal collection of manuscripts, Arthurian manuscripts in the British Library and French illuminated manuscripts -- and there's a helpful glossary to help you navigate your way round some of the terms used when describing medieval books. What's more, all images on the Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts are available for download and re-use under a Creative Commons licence, on the condition that you respect our terms and conditions. How fantastic is that?
And here, in true Blue Peter fashion, are the results of a search we did earlier for images of hedgehogs (don't ask). No fewer than 8 manuscripts featured in the Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts contain pictures of hedgehogs, 5 of which are illustrated here -- which are your favourites?
Hedgehog number 1, in an Italian gradual (15th century): London, British Library, MS Additional 39636, f. 13.
Hedgehog number 2, in a German manuscript (15th century): London, British Library, MS Egerton 1121, f. 44v.
Hedgehog number 3, in an English miscellany (13th century): London, British Library, MS Harley 3244, f. 49v.
Hedgehog number 4, in Jean de Wavrin's Chronicles (15th century): London, British Library, MS Royal 15 E IV, f. 180r.
Hedgehog number 5, in the Queen Mary Psalter(14th century): London, British Library, MS Royal 2 B VII, f. 97v.
A medieval hedgehog beauty contest, brought to you by courtesy of @BLMedieval -- what more could you want?!
Julian Harrison
23 December 2013
Medieval Top Ten
It’s that time of the year when we all look back at what we have accomplished (and also when we so frequently resort to clichés like ‘it’s that time of year’). It has been a fantastic 12 months for our blog, due in large part to our fabulous readers. We thought we’d take this chance to highlight our ten most popular posts, which were chosen by you (or at least chosen by your clicks!). In true countdown fashion, we’ll start with:
10. Anglo-Saxon Treasures Online: the announcement about our department’s very first uploads to Digitised Manuscripts (it seems so long ago!); we were off to an excellent start with the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Old English Hexateuch.
Beginning of the Gospel of Matthew, from the Lindisfarne Gospels, Cotton MS Nero D IV, f. 27r
9. Hebrew Illuminated Manuscripts Online: an exciting announcement about the inclusion of more than 100 Hebrew manuscripts to our Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts site, with a full list of hyperlinks included!
Initial word panel Shir (‘song’ inhabited by a unicorn and a bear, from the Duke of Sussex’s German Pentateuch, Add MS 15282, f. 296v
8. Robert the Bruce Letter Found at British Library: a post highlighting the exciting discovery by Professor Dauvit Broun, University of Glasgow, of a previously-unknown letter from Robert the Bruce to Edward II.
Detail of the letter from Robert the Bruce to Edward II, Cotton MS Titus A XIX, f. 87r
7. St Cuthbert Gospel Saved for the Nation: a celebration of the British Library’s acquisition of the late 7th century St Cuthbert Gospel after the most successful fundraising campaign in the Library’s history. Now in our collections as Add MS 89000, you can now view the fully-digitised manuscript online.
Front binding of the St Cuthbert Gospel, Add MS 89000
6. White Gloves or Not White Gloves: not to wreck the surprise or anything, but the answer (almost always) is not.
5. Loch Ness Monster Found at British Library: another amazing discovery by our unstoppable research team! We’ll just leave it at that.
Image of the Loch Ness Monster, as recovered using RZS©
4. Hwæt! Beowulf Online: we were thrilled to publicise the digitization of one of the Library’s great treasures, the Beowulf manuscript (Cotton MS Vitellius A XV; click the link for the fully-digitised version). And many of you seemed equally thrilled!
Detail of the opening words of Beowulf: ‘Hwæt!’ (‘Listen!’), Cotton MS Vitellius A XV, f. 132r
3. Lolcats of the Middle Ages: far and away the most popular post from our on-going series on medieval animals – for obvious reasons, we think.
Detail of a miniature of mice laying siege to a castle defended by a cat, from a Book of Hours, Harley MS 6563, f. 72r
2. Knight v Snail: this piece on the prevalence of images of knights fighting snails in the margins of 13th and 14th century manuscripts was great fun to write, and it was even more enjoyable to see the fantastic response it received. It set a British Library record for the most hits in a single day, was picked up by the Guardian, and most gratifying, many of you wrote in with some excellent thoughts on this mysterious marginalia; thank you so much!
Detail of a knight battling a snail in the margins of a 14th century Psalter, Add MS 49622, f. 193v
So now, with no further ado, we come to…
1. Unicorn Cookbook Found at the British Library: the discovery of this gem of a manuscript, shrouded in secrecy for months, met with an amazing reaction when it was finally revealed on 1 April 2012, and it continues to be a perennial favourite.
Detail of a unicorn on the grill in Geoffrey Fule’s cookbook, Additional MS 142012, f. 137r
Thanks from all of us in the Medieval and Earlier Manuscripts section! Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter: @BLMedieval.
- Sarah J Biggs
27 November 2013
Marginali-yeah: Take 2! The Incomparable Luttrell Psalter
It is almost impossible to discuss the fabulous and incomparable Luttrell Psalter (Add MS 42130) without resorting to hyperbole. Produced in Lincolnshire, England c. 1320-1340, for Sir Geoffrey Luttrell, its namesake and patron (please see our earlier blog post for more details), the manuscript is a glorious explosion of visual delights. Besides the illuminated and historiated initials, the Psalter contains hundreds of marginal and bas-de-page images which display a staggering and creative diversity. A very few (compared with the overwhelming numbers in the manuscript!) selected details are below; please have a look at the fully digitised manuscript here for much much more.
A lady with a pet squirrel, Add MS 42130, f. 33r
A monkey riding a goat whilst hawking (except with an owl, so not hawking), Add MS 42130, f. 38r
The martyrdom of Thomas Becket, with a grotesque nearby, and later 'x' marks effacing the painting, Add MS 42130, f. 51r
A dejected, nude, and tonsured man (a winning combination!) with an archer below, Add MS 42130, f. 54r
A man being bled into a bowl while an attentive bird looks on, Add MS 42130, f. 61r
A blue-skinned man (perhaps a Saracen or Ethiopian?) doing battle with a dragon (not a snail in sight), Add MS 42130, f. 83v
Medieval Angry Birds, Add MS 42130, f. 145r
Two grotesques fighting and fighting dirty, Add MS 42130, f. 153r
A monkey being extremely rude, as far as we can tell, Add MS 42130, f. 189v
A cat (of course!), Add MS 42130, f. 190r
Stealing fruit, Add MS 42130, f. 196v
A female grotesque riding, um, herself, Add MS 42130, f. 198v
This grotesque is unimpressed, Add MS 42130, f. 202r
Eeyore-ish, Add MS 42130, f. 208v
Check me out, Add MS 42130, f. 210r
This won't end well, Add MS 42130, f. 211r
Please let us know if you have any other favourites; you can always leave us a note in the comments below, or get in touch with us on Twitter @BLMedieval.
- Sarah J Biggs
14 October 2013
Anglo-Saxon Medicine
Do you suffer from asthma, warts or hiccups? Are you fed up with modern medical remedies? If so, we are pleased to tell you that How to Cure the Plague and Other Curious Remedies, by Julian Walker, has just been published by the British Library. Here the author describes for us the state of Anglo-Saxon medicine.
Bald's Leechbook (London, British Library, Royal MS 12 D XVII, ff. 20v-21r.
Medicine in Anglo-Saxon England was a complex mix of charms, the remnants of classical theories and practice, pragmatic folklore, and faith-healing; despite a longstanding reputation for worthlessness, it was perhaps more based on observation than the reliance on astrology and the theory of humours that marked the medicine of the later medieval period. Sometimes the presence of an odd superstition colours the whole, for example in a fairly accurate account of foetal development, which ends by suggesting that a foetus unborn after the 10th month could be fatal to the mother, but mostly on a Monday night. But there are frequent records of practices which are eminently sensible and probably effective.
The oldest surviving medical documents in Old English are from the 9th century, but there is evidence that older texts were not all in Latin. Bald’s Leechbook, Leechbook III and Lacnunga are the most complete texts, all of them in the British Library. Bald’s Leechbook contains some of the best Mediterranean medicine from the 3rd to the 9th centuries, so the learning was by no means isolated. While some of the herbs mentioned in the texts were only available around the Mediterranean, there are directions for the use of materia medica traded from distant areas, frankincense, pepper, silk, ginger and myrrh.
500 years after the collapse of the Roman Empire in the west, medical practice relied less on the theories of Galen and Hippocrates, but there remained the process of diagnosis by urine-examination and the therapy of balancing the humours by bleeding. Bloodletting was widely used, sometimes causing infection itself, which was treated by herbal poultices; if the bleeding got out of control it could be stopped with horse-dung. A practical side to the control of infection is seen in the injunction not to let blood in summer, when infection would be most likely. There are warnings against taking too much blood, for example ‘if you let too much blood then there is no hope for his life’; presumably this happened on occasion.
Anglo-Saxon medical recipes corresponding to Book 2, Chapter 59 of Bald's Leechbook (London, British Library Harley MS 55, f. 1r)
There is little documentation of surgery, compared to other forms of healing, though the archaeological record indicates some successful trepanation, and later there are some gruesome images of how to treat haemorrhoids. The use of splints for broken limbs is mentioned only twice, texts offering salves and poultices as treatment for fractures. Wounds are to be sewn up with silk, which would gradually dissolve – there is even a description of surgery to correct a harelip. Poultices that had antiseptic effects were applied over sutured wounds, with herbs such as lesser centaury used to help healing.
The use of herbs, individually or together, was of great importance in medicine at this time; though there are difficulties in finding exactly corresponding names in the modern flora, many common native plants found some use in medicine. Imported plant matter was often added, so that a recipe in the Lacnunga for a wen salve includes pepper and ginger as well as radish, chervil, fennel, garlic and sage, in a list of 16 plants. Tested through the centuries, herbal remedies connect the past to the present – Bald’s Leechbook contains a recipe for a nettle-based ointment for muscular pain, similar ointments being commercially available now. Leechbook III contains a large number of remedies using only native ingredients; their names are not Anglicised Latin names, implying that this reflects a largely home-grown practice.
Materials other than herbs were also in use. One recipe, quoted in How to Cure the Plague, recommends eating buck’s liver for night vision loss, and indeed the Vitamin A in liver would help this condition. Unlike in Mediterranean medical practice, the use of animal faeces is recommended only rarely, but spittle, snails, urine, worms, weevils and ants are called for, as well as the less startling pigeon’s blood, lard and ale. On occasions the improbable and the feasible were combined, one recipe for a burn including silver filings, bear’s grease, thyme, rose petals and verbena.
Detail of Bald's Leechbook (London, British Library, Royal MS 12 D XVII, f. 20v).
Though learning was largely connected to the church, not all physicians were clerics. Prayers and charms were both used, but possibly the charms were less likely to be adminstered by priests. No doubt many charms worked through assurance and faith. One area that has interested me for a long time is the process of healing by touch at a remove. Bede, writing in the 8th century, tells the story of the death in battle of the Christian king Oswald, whose body was mutilated and set on a stake; people took soil from the place, put it in water, and used this to relieve the sick. While raising questions about the nature of touch and its continuing relevance (the desire to touch celebrities, the fascination of the possessions of the famous), this also provides an exact mirror to germ theory, and a model for both contagion and healing.
In our world of healthcare systems in crisis and general reliance on prescription or non-prescription medicines and a variety of alternative therapies, we are not so far from the charms and prayers, the herbal folklore and amulets of the Anglo-Saxons. Their frequent use of the number nine in healing rituals (charms or prayers are directed to be repeated nine times) may have been a way of marking the period of time for a salve to take effect or a mixture to boil, or may have been a ritual. A shadow of the ritualistic element perhaps survives in directions for antibiotics to be taken ‘three times a day for seven days’.
How to Cure the Plague and Other Curious Remedies is available from the British Library Shop, priced £10 (ISBN 9780712357012).
Julian Walker
26 September 2013
Knight v Snail
Recently a group of us went into our manuscripts store to have a look at some medieval genealogical rolls. We were examining Royal MS 14 B V, an English roll from the last part of the 13th century that contains quite a lot of marginalia, when one of our post-medieval colleagues noticed a painting of a knight engaging in combat with a snail.
Knight v Snail (from a genealogical roll of the kings of England, England, 4th quarter of the 13th century, Royal MS 14 B V, membrane 3)
This struck him as odd, which struck the medievalists in the group as odd; surely everyone has seen this sort of thing before, right? As anyone who is familiar with 13th and 14th century illuminated manuscripts can attest, images of armed knights fighting snails are common, especially in marginalia. But the ubiquity of these depictions doesn’t make them any less strange, and we had a long discussion about what such pictures might mean.
Knight v Snail II: Battle in the Margins (from the Gorleston Psalter, England (Suffolk), 1310-1324, Add MS 49622, f. 193v. Read more on the gorgeous Gorleston marginalia, in our previous posts.)
There has been much scholarly debate about the significance of these depictions of snail combat. As early as 1850, the magnificently-named bibliophile the Comte de Bastard theorised that a particular marginal image of a snail was intended to represent the Resurrection, since he discovered it in two manuscripts close to miniatures of the Raising of Lazarus. In her famous survey of the subject, Lilian Randall proposed that the snail was a symbol of the Lombards, a group vilified in the early middle ages for treasonous behaviour, the sin of usury, and ‘non-chivalrous comportment in general.’ This interpretation accounts for why the snail is so frequently seen antagonising a knight in armour, but does not explain why the knight is often depicted on the losing end of this battle, or why this particular image became so popular in the margins of non-historical texts such as Psalters or Books of Hours.
Knight v Snail III: Extreme Jousting (from Brunetto Latini's Li Livres dou Tresor, France (Picardy), c. 1315-1325, Yates Thompson MS 19, f. 65r)
Other scholars have variously described the ‘knight v snail’ motif as a representation of the struggles of the poor against an oppressive aristocracy, a straightforward statement of the snail’s troublesome reputation as a garden pest, a commentary on social climbers, or even as a saucy symbol of female sexuality. It is possible that these images could have meant all these things and more at one time or another; it is important to remember, as Michael Camille, who devoted a number of pages to this subject, once wrote: ‘marginal imagery lacks the iconographic stability of a religious narrative or icon’. This motif was part of a rich visual tradition that we can understand only imperfectly today – not that this will stop us from trying!
Knight v Snail IV: The Snails Attack (from the Queen Mary Psalter, England, 1310-1320, Royal MS 2 B VII, f. 148r)
Some more of our favourite British Library images are below, and please let us know what you think. You can leave a comment below, or we can always be reached on Twitter at @BLMedieval.
Knight v Snail V: Revenge of the Snail (from the Smithfield Decretals, southern France (probably Toulouse), with marginal scenes added in England (London), c. 1300-c. 1340, Royal MS 10 E IV, f. 107r)
Knight v Snail VI: The Gastropod Conqueror (from the Gorleston Psalter, England (Suffolk), 1310-1324, Add MS 49622, f. 162v)
Knight v Snail VII: A Pretty Comprehensive Defeat (from a fragmentary Book of Hours, England (London), c. 1320-c. 1330, Harley MS 6563, ff. 62v-63r)
Knight v Snail VIII: Switcheroo! It's a Monkey This Time (from the Gorleston Psalter, England (Suffolk), 1310-1324, Add MS 49622, f. 210v)
Knight v Snail IX: Just for Fun: A Rabbit, Monkeys, and a Snail Jousting (from the Harley Froissart, Netherlands (Bruges), c. 1470-1472, Harley MS 4379, f. 23v)
Further Reading
Lilian Randall, ‘The Snail in Gothic Marginal Warfare’ Speculum 37, no. 6 (June 1962), pp. 358-367.
Michael Camille, Image on the Edge (Reaktion Books: London, 1992), pp. 31-36.
Carl Prydum, What’s So Funny about Knights and Snails?, http://www.gotmedieval.com/2009/07/whats-so-funny-about-knights-and-snails.html
Visit our Medieval England and France website to discover how to make a medieval manuscript, to read beastly tales from the medieval bestiary, and to learn about medieval science, medicine and monastic libraries.
- Sarah J Biggs
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