In many of the 41 illustrations, John the Divine is peeking at the apocalyptic scene from an opening in the frame. We like to imagine that the artist had a lot of fun while depicting the apostle’s awe.
Once upon a time, there was a… snake with two heads? A Yale on a golden background? This week, I discovered that a masterpiece of the English Gothic can entertain my kids better than any videogame.
If you are curious to know how books were decorated in the high Middle Ages, take a look at the various stages of completion of the miniatures in this English Apocalypse.
The Parker Library at Corpus Christi College in Cambridge holds a treasure of the English Gothic style, made in medieval London and shimmering with tooled gold and kaleidoscopic colors.
You don’t need to understand Anglo-French biblical verses to read this bible: written and illuminated in the 14th century, the codex features dozens of powerful illustrations.
Stilt walkers, acrobats, human-animal hybrids… This is not a fantasy novel: it is a world-famous Late Medieval manuscript made in Lincolnshire, England.
Selected excerpts from the commentary by Kristine Edmondson Haney on the Winchester Psalter and its famous miniature cycle, a true masterpiece of English Romanesque illumination.
Altough tremendously distinct from all other bestiaries, the five manuscripts of the Third Family (England; 13th century) have received much less scholarly attention than the bestiaries of other families. Ilya Dines discusses their features and origin.