The king, the queen, and the hanged man.
From a 13th-century glossed copy of the Book of Esther, once in the possession of the cathedral chapter of Notre-Dame de Laon.
(BM Laon MS 53, fol. 1v)
Rummaging back through my research notes led me to rediscover this beautiful, meticulous hand-written and -illustrated land survey made in the 1780s for the Fontevrist nuns of the priory of Moreaucourt in northern France. So many months of work must have gone into this!
(AD Somme, 78 H1/1)
How amazing to walk into Hodges Figgis—a bookshop I spent a lot of time in as an undergraduate—and right there on the front table see a book you contributed to! There are still some copies of “Christmas and the Irish” signed by @salvadorryan available!
Happy New Year! In his City of God, Augustine of Hippo wrote that "the beginnings of accomplishments belong to Janus", the double-headed Roman god of endings and beginnings.
Like this medieval depiction of Janus, here's hoping that we can remember the best of the past, look forward to a better future, and doubly enjoy the present.
(Image from the 12th-c. Fécamp Psalter, now Koninklijke Bibliotheek, MS 76F 13, fol. 1v.)
"The Roottrees are Dead" is an ideal holiday game for a historian—or at least, it is for me! You've got to use your research skills and ability to make connections/deductions to piece together a sprawling family tree and unearth the Roottrees' secrets. Scratches the research itch!
(Free to play in-browser.)
I finished and framed my Christmas week relaxation project: a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle of the island monastery of Skellig Michael, complete with puffins and St Fionán himself, because of course I'd find a way to give a medieval theme even to some down time.
Happy Christmas to those celebrating, and a peaceful Monday to all.
Image from an early 15th-century German Weltchronik, illustrated by Brother Philipp. Now Getty Museum, Ms. 33, fol. 245r.
My contributor’s copy of “Christmas and the Irish” arrived this morning! Wordwell Books has produced a very handsome book, out now, with 70+ articles on everything from Santa’s Kilkenny grave to the history of the Late Late Toy Show to Nollaig na mBan. Looking forward to dipping into it!
This Book of Hours was made in northeastern France around 1340, possibly for the marriage that year of Louis II, count of Blois, and Jeanne of Hainault, countess of Soissons.
The manuscript brought the marriage beauty but not much luck: Louis died at the Battle of Crécy in 1346, Jeanne just four years later of plague.
Now Walters Museum of Art, MS. W 104.
Once I've finished grading, my plan is to spend the rest of the year on the couch with a bunch of novels. If you're planning to do something similar, and you're looking out for some good reads set in the Middle Ages, check out the recs in my latest blog post.
https://yvonneseale.org/blog/2023/12/15/immersive-historical-fiction-set-in-the-middle-ages/
I'll definitely be sharing this short piece with students next time they side-eye any attempt of mine to defend/explain #medieval art on its own terms!
https://hyperallergic.com/860671/whats-with-those-hilarious-medieval-portrayals-of-animals/
Over on RTÉ Brainstorm today, I'm talking about Christmases in #medieval Ireland, and how they could be filled with even more hospitality-related drama than whether there's any fancy biscuits left.
https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2023/1212/1421490-christmas-medieval-ireland-christmas-day-1351/
I love the gorgeous colours of this #medieval manuscript leaf, particularly those blues—still so vivid even after all these centuries.
From a late 15th c. antiphonary, originally at the #Premonstratensian house of Magdeburg. Now Czech National Library, Teplá MS.E.11A, fol. 1r.
#CfP: "Shifting Paradigms: Women, Rhetoric, & Power, c. 700-1300 CE" (London, Feb. 2024).
This conference is the kick-off event for an international research network of the same name. The organisers invite papers that broadly explore the question ‘What was power for medieval women?’ through the lens of exemplarity and exempla, that is the framing of individuals in the past as models for the behaviour of men and women in the present.
Abstract deadline: Jan. 8, 2024.
I'm enthralled by this stained glass from the cathedral at Le Mans showing the Virgin Mary whacking a man over the head with a hammer.
Henry Adams' "Mont-St-Michel and Chartres" says it depicts a miracle story told in the Maine about Mary, but I haven't been able to trace the story any further—anyone know? #medieval
Une nouvelle ressource à explorer pour les médiévistes: ARCA, résultant de la fusion des deux bases historiques de l’IRHT (Medium et la BVMM) et destinée à les remplacer.
Of course Santa's not dead—but if he were, might he be buried in a #medieval Irish ghost town? Irish people say yes!
I'm so pleased that I (with @hgwacha) will be getting to talk about the cartulary of Prémontré (and monastic cartularies in general) at next year's Leeds IMC! 📚
