Manning tells us what we now know about strange medieval marginalia and what it means at Collectors Weekly. We’ll probably never understand all the symbolism used in marginalia, but what have we learned about medieval life through these absurd images? Though the meaning of specific images is still hotly debated, scholars conjecture that marginalia allowed artists to highlight important passages (or insert text that was accidentally left out), to poke fun at the religious establishment, or to make pop-culture references medieval readers could relate to. “I loved the idea that marginalia was such an overlooked part of the medieval experience,” says Manning, “so much that up until 20 or 30 years ago, scholars were completely uninterested and wrote it off as trivial or not meaning anything.” Manning was first drawn to marginalia while studying at the Courtauld Institute in London, where she was able to work with some of the most significant illuminated-manuscript collections in the world, including those at the British Library. (Illuminated simply means decorated with gold or silver foil.) “I think it’s such a shock when you have this idea in your head of what medieval society was like,” says Manning, “and then you see these bizarre images that make you question your assumptions.” The wild mixture of illustrations is a challenge to our contemporary desire to compartmentalize topics like sex, religion, humor, and mythology. For example, few Monty Python fans realize that the comedy group’s silly animations are direct references to artwork in illuminated manuscripts. Kaitlin Manning, an associate at B & L Rootenberg Rare Books and Manuscripts, says part of the reason why modern viewers are so captivated by marginalia is because we expect this era to be so conservative. These artworks are a study all their own, and have became quite popular as a glimpse into the medieval mind. The illustrations, decorations, and marginalia often have nothing to do with the text, and are often much weirder and more vulgar than anything else in the book.
Those original manuscripts are rare now, and hard to read, but for the diligent student, they have a bonus. Read more on this subject at Medium, and you'll see some funny cats.Before the printing press, books were copied by hand, often by monks who worked for years on one volume. Altogether, medieval artists may have something in common with modern meme makers- as funny as cats are, we love to make them funnier. As one author complains, they will go to whoever gives them food.” So that’s one reason cats probably got such an unflattering edit.īut it's not the only reason. “Unlike dogs, cats cannot be trained to be loyal and obedient. “Sources emphasize the rather unruly nature of cats,” Kempf said.
1320 the british library, ms harley 6563, f. “Even though animals were believed to be irrational beings, they were given human traits and characteristics.” Dogs, for example, were lauded for being loyal companions, created to guard the house and assist in the hunt. mice storming cat castle book of hours, c. “In the Medieval period, animals were understood to be the mirror of human society,” historian Damien Kempf, who is writing a book on Medieval depictions of animals, told me. The Splendor of the Word: Medieval and Renaissance Illuminated Manuscripts at the New York Public Library, exh. And they all look goofy, as if they were cartoon drawings plopped down in the middle of careful portraits of people and dogs (and rabbits). Despite their ups and down in popularity, cats have often been prized by intellectuals and those who value independence. We laugh at the ridiculous use of snails and rabbits, but there are oh, so many cats. We've often posted about medieval art and imagery, particularly illuminations and marginalia that scribes used to decorate manuscripts.
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