![]() ![]() What is perhaps more striking about this object is its dimensions: the pages are unusually tall and narrow. This is why the book is fitted in a box, which was removed when the pages were used to sing from. It concerns a hymnal, which was carried through the church during processions (Fig. This book is unusual in more than one way. 4 – St Gall, Stiftsbibliothek, MS 360 (c. Moreover, judging from this added marginal note, the life of the individual who read the book was far removed from the comforts of court: “May God end and turn my misery into a good and happy ending.” He sounds heartbroken.Ĥ. ![]() In fact, with its scruffy script and mishmash layout, the heart book is far removed from the high-end manuscripts presented so far. ![]() The contents may be royal, the appearance of the manuscript certainly is not. It contains 83 of them, all composed at the court of King Christian III. Copied in the sixteenth century, this particular one from the Danish National Library is the oldest manuscript with love ballads in Danish vernacular (more information here). Medieval paintings show actual readers prominently showcasing their heart-shaped books, suggesting it must have been a tradition (an example is found here). It kind of makes sense to put love poetry in a heart-shaped book (Fig. The page design came with its own challenges for the binder, however, who had to add no less than three clasps to keep it closed.ģ. #Late medieval manuscripts book of hours portableThe pages are only 90 mm in diameter, which means this manuscript was designed as a true portable item, perhaps to be brought to church during journeys away from court. Adolf was the nephew of Phillip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, which puts this book in a courtly environment, like the previous item. Currently kept in the Dombibliothek at Hildesheim as MS 728 (more here), it was originally made in a Bruges workshop for Adolf of Cleves, whose monogram is engraved on the clasps. Like the previous item, it concerns a Book of Hours, an instrument used for private devotion. While you’d expect to see some corners on a page, the Codex Rotundus lacks any at all. This is one of the most peculiar medieval book formats out there (Fig. Evidently, even during private devotion Henry II was treated like a king.Ģ. The manuscript handles extremely well: it measures only 182×80 mm and has a limited number of pages (129 leaves), which means it is light and easy to hold for a long time. Not only does the very shape of the pages testify to the object’s royal patron, so too does the high quality of the decoration (more images here). In fact, we know it was made for king Henry II of France, who used it for private devotion – the Book of Hours contained prayers and other short texts, which were read at set times during the day. Such Fleurs-de-Lis were a symbol for French royalty, which puts this special book in a particular setting right away. ![]() 1): its pages resemble lily leaves (the yellow background is a paper sheet used for contrast). This Book of Hours has the most peculiar shape (Fig. 1 – Amiens, Bibliothèque municipale, Fonds Lescalopier MS 22 (c. Scribes, especially those that were paid for their work, would accommodate any quirky wish – why on earth not? Here is a selection of five striking manuscripts that are literally outstanding as they are shaped unlike the bulk of surviving medieval manuscripts.ġ. This principle of one-on-one (of scribe-reader and reader-manuscript) explains why we come across some very strange medieval books. Consequently, while printed books were shaped generically and according to the printer’s perception of what the (anonymous) “market” preferred, the medieval scribe designed a book according to the explicit instructions of its user. This is the only way the scribe could ensure the expensive product he was about to make was in sync with what the reader wanted. In fact, medieval books, especially those made commercially, came to be after a detailed conversation between scribe and reader, a talk that covered all aspects of the manuscript’s production. While printed books were produced in batches of a thousand or more, handwritten copies were made one at the time. One difference in particular is important for our understanding of manuscripts. Written by hand, medieval manuscripts are very different from printed books, which started to appear after Gutenberg’s mid-fifteenth-century invention of moving type. ![]()
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