The Illuminated Medieval manuscripts contained asides, jokes, barbs and revelations as to what a monk was thinking as he sat, head bowed over a book, his being, soul and genitals lashed with dread warnings about sex, demons and the the hellish hereafter.
(circumcision of Abraham, Genesis 17-23-26) Bible of Jean de Sy, Paris ca. 1355-1357 BnF, Français 15397, fol. 22v
ibook of hours, England ca. 1300 Baltimore, Walters Art Museum, Ms. W.102, fol. 75v
book of hours, England ca. 1300 Baltimore, Walters Art Museum, Ms. W.102, fol. 75v
Luttrell Psalter, England ca. 1325-1340 British Library, Add 42130, fol. 185r
‘Hours of Joanna the Mad’, Bruges 1486-1506 BL, Add 18852, fol. 203r
‘Le livre de Lancelot du Lac’, France ca. 1401-1425 Paris, Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal 3480, p. 33
Revelation 18:1-2 ‘And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.’
Apocalypse, Normandy ca. 1330
pontifical, Avignon ca. 1330-1340 Tours, Bibliothèque municipale, ms. Diocèse 8, fol. 59r
Beatus of Liébana, Commentarius in Apocalypsin, Burgos ca. 1180 NY, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1991.232.6
Matfre Ermengau, Breviari d’amor, Occitania 14th century BnF, Français 857, fol. 197v
Jacob van Maerlant, Der Naturen Bloeme, Flanders ca. 1350 Den Haag, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, KA 16, fol. 108v
Thomas de Kent, Le roman d’Alexandre ou Le roman de toute chevalerie, London ca. 1308-1312 BnF, Français 24364, fol. 67r
caab, a legendary marine animal Petrus Candidus Decembrius, De animantium naturis, Italy ca. 1515 Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Urb.lat.276, fol. 128v
Speculum Humanae Salvationis, Germany 14th century Karlsruhe, Badische Landesbibliothek, Cod. 3378, p. 96
Antithesis Christi et Antichristi (Jenský kodex:Jena Codex), Bohemia ca. 1490-1510. Praha, Knihovna Národního muzea, IV.B.24, fol. 80r
‘The Maastricht Hours’, Liège 14th century British Library, Stowe 17, fol. 197v
Pontifical of Guillaume Durand, Avignon, before 1390 Paris, Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève, ms. 143, fol. 165r
lizard girl ‘Breviary of Queen Isabella of Castile’, Bruges ca. 1497
crowd of the damned Pamplona Bible, Navarre 1197 Amiens, Bibliothèque municipale, ms. 108, fol. 254r
‘The Maastricht Hours’, Liège 14th century British Library, Stowe 17, fol. 8r
Maqamat al-Hariri (Maqāma 32), Syria or Iraq ca. 1240 BnF, Arabe 3929, fol. 122r
reviary, Rouen before 1498 Besançon, bibliothèque municipale, ms. 69, p. 269
Froissart’s Chronicles, Bruges ca. 1470-1475 Paris, BnF, Français 2643, fol. 72r
Bestiary:Liber de natura bestiarum, England after 1236. British Library, Harley 3244, fol. 55v
Histoire de Merlin, France (Poitiers), 1450-1455. BnF, Français 96, fol. 62v
Roman de la Rose, France 14th century. Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Français 25526, fols. 106v, 160r
Conception of Alexander the Great, Les faize d’Alexandre (translation of Historiae Alexandri Magni of Quintus Curtius Rufus), Bruges ca. 1468-1475. British Library, Burney 169, fol. 14r
Pontifical of Guillaume Durand, Avignon, before 1390. Paris, Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève, ms. 143, fol. 165r
Luttrell Psalter, England ca. 1325-1340. British Library, Add 42130, fol. 186r
John Arderne, De arte phisicali et de cirurgia, England ca. 1425. Stockholm, Kungliga biblioteket, X 118
Luttrell Psalter, England ca. 1325-1340. British Library, Add 42130, fol. 62v
Decretum Gratiani with the commentary of Bartolomeo da Brescia, Italy 1340-1345. Lyon, BM, Ms 5128, fol. 100r
Roman d’Alexandre, Tournai 1338-1344. Bodleian Library, MS. Bodl. 264, fol. 56r
Ars bene moriendi, France 1470-1480. Marseille, Bibliothèque municipale, ms. 89, fol. 63r
sweeping the letters book of hours (Hours of Marguerite d’Orléans), Rennes ca. 1430.
bat in a hat book of hours, Picardy 15th century Abbeville, Bibliothèque municipale, ms. 16, fol. 31v
Cat playing a bagpipe in a Book of Hours, Paris, c. 1460
MEDIEVAL KAMASUTRA Book of Hours, France 15th century. Bibliothèque de Genève, Ms. lat. 33, fol. 79v
THE CAT & THE FIDDLE Book of Hours, England, 1320-1330. BL, Harley 6563, fol. 40r
The Annunciation to the Shepherds; Follower of the Egerton Master (French / Netherlandish active about 1405 – 1420); Paris, France; about 1410; Tempera colors, gold leaf, gold paint, and ink on parchment; Leaf: 19.1 x 14 cm (7 1/2 x 5 1/2 in.); Ms. Ludwig IX 5, fol. 64v
Foxes vs. Monkeys from a 13th-century Bible
Walking Fish from a 13th-century English Bible
Snail vs. Knight, from The Smithsfield Decretals, decretals of Gregory IX, Tolouse, c. 1300. Illuminations were added about forty years later in London.
Rabbits killing men in The Smithfield Decretals, c. 1300
Cats vs. rabbits, headless people, and a lion playing the violin in the Breviary of Renaud de Bar, France, 1302-1303
Long Neck, from Book Of Hours, England, early 14th century
The Thinker Monkey, from the Breviary of Mary of Savoy, Lombardy, c. 1430
Aliens with a to-do list and a whip, in Livres du roi Modus et de la reine Ratio, France, 15th century
A Dalmatian Sea Monster, an illustration by Poggio Bracciolini, added to a copy of Le Miroir du Monde, mid-15th century
An illustration from Les faize d’Alexandre (a translation of Historiae Alexandri Magni of Quintus Curtius Rufus), Bruges, c. 1468-1475
Cosmographie universelle, 1555
Nürnberger Schembart-Buch, 17th century
rabbit warrior
Vincent of Beauvais, Speculum historiale, France ca. 1294-1297
Boulogne-sur-Mer, Bibliothèque municipale, ms. 130II, fol. 319v
Spotter: Disgarding Images, i09,
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