Breviary Use of Verdun Winter portion The Breviary

Breviary, Use of Verdun, Winter portion ('The Breviary of Renaud de Bar' or 'The Breviary of Marguerite de Bar')France, between 1302 and 1303 Saul and David

Tree of Vices The Tree is made up of 7 branches, from which hang down clusters of circles with the names of the 7 Vices and 7 Subsiduaries. The owl and moth are creatures of darkness. At the base of the tree is the Fall of Man. On left, the rich miser; with bag of gold coins, and a devil on his back. On the other side is the proud pauper, a peasent in rough clothing. He holds a sickle in his lap, while at the counsel of the devil, he allows his corn to wither in the ground England c. 1310.

Marco Polo, Conditionibus et consuetudinibus orientalium regionum. England; 14 th century- Decorated initial 'L'(ibrum), and upper half of the full border

Queen Mary’s Psalter David capturing Jerusalem and conquering the Philistines England, London, c. 1310 -1320

Valerius Maximus, Facta et dicta memorabilia, with glosses Italy, Lombardy ? 2 nd half of the 14 th century

Holkham Bible This celebrated picture-book tells the Biblical story in Norman French, with the help of copious illustrations of everyday 14 th-century England. Originally intended as a visual aid for popular preachers, it is now a fascinating glimpse of real life in the time of Chaucer. Noah and the Ark

Mamluk Qur’an. Egypt, 14 th century This Qur'an from the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt provides a splendid example of a carpet page in an Islamic manuscript: the rich, ornate, ingeniously interwoven abstract patterns reminiscent of an exotic carpet.

Arabic Gospels This remarkable manuscript is very different to what the casual glance might suggest: despite the Islamic style carpet page, and the Arabic script, this is a Christian document - an account of the Gospels - made in Palestine in the 14 th century.

The Gorleston Psalter, made in the early fourteenth century for the church at Gorleston in Norfolk, rich in marginal illustrations often of animals.

Pseudo-Aristotle: “De Secretis Secretorum” England 1326 -1327 Aristotle and King Alexander exchanging letters

Breviary David playing upon the bells England, Norwich, 14 th century

Breviary A breviary (from Latin brevis, 'short' or 'concise') is a liturgical book of the Latin liturgical rites of the Catholic Church containing the public or canonical prayers, hymns, the Psalms, readings, and notations for everyday use, especially by, bishops, priests, and deacons in the Divine Office (i. e. , at the canonical hours or Liturgy of the Hours, the Christians' daily prayer). The word can also refer to a collection of Christian orders of prayers and readings, such as contained in Anglican or Lutheran resources. In general, the word breviary may be used to refer to an abridged version of any text or a brief account or summary of some subject, but is primarily used to refer to the Catholic liturgical book.

Valerius Maximus, Facta et dicta memorabilia, with glosses. Italy, N. (Lombardy? ); 2 nd half of the 14 th century

Luttrell Psalter England, 1325 -1335 Preparations for a meal.

“Faits des Romans” Hannibal and his elephants crossing the Alps Italy, Naples, about 1340

Book of Hours The Emperor Titus besieging Jerusalem England, London’ c. 1340 -1350

Building the Tower of Babel, with workmen climbing up wattled ladder. The ladder rests on wattled scaffolding supported on brackets. At top, a mason lays ashlar blocks. At foot of tower; two men mix mortar, and Nimrod addresses a group of men. Image taken from Egerton Genesis Picture Book. England; circa 1360.

Leaving the Ark Noah's ark on a mound, beside a row of trees; linking them is the rainbow, with the hand of God above emerging from a cloud. In the ark, Noah is adoring God. The three sons and one of their wives are occupied about the ark. The sons climb down the sides; a dragon leaps off Shem's shoulders, and a monkey clasps his legs. The woman lets down a ram by the hind legs. In the foreground, are animals, including a lion, stag, bear, and butting rams Egerton Genesis Picture Book. England; circa 1360

Sultan Baybars' Qur'an Of all the British Library's collection of Qur'ans, this is the most magnificent. Each of its seven volumes is written in gold, and has a superb frontispiece combining intricate geometric patterns with ornamental script. It was made in Cairo between 1304 and 1306 (704 -5 in the Islamic calendar) for a high-ranking court official called Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Jashnagir, who later became Baybars II, ruler of the Mamluk Sultanate. This manuscript – written, unusually, in the cursive script called thuluth – is the earliest dated Qur'an from the Mamluk period.

Tsar Ivan Alexander's Gospels This triumph of late medieval manuscript art was commissioned in 1355 by Tsar Ivan Alexander, the ruler of Bulgaria who presided over a period of a spiritual and artistic revival. Probably reserved for use in the Tsar's church on high feast days, 367 fine illuminated miniatures, executed in colours and gold. The manuscript, which is preserved in near perfect condition, is a remarkable survival and the most celebrated work of art produced in Bulgaria before it fell to the Turks. The Royal Family. Trnovo, 1355 -56

Smithfield Decretals List of contents England, London, c. 1330 -1340

Dante Alighieri: “Divina Comedia” Scenes from the Inferno: Minos Judging; the condemnation of the carnal sinners; Dante in a faint

Book of Hours Calendar page for August: the zodiac sign ; a cooper at work Italia, Bologna, end of the 14 th century

Luttrell Psalter This celebrated manuscript, the first half of the 14 th century, is one of the most striking to survive from the Middle Ages. Painted in rich colours embellished with gold and silver, with vitality and sometimes bizarre inventiveness of decoration, this manuscript is unlike virtually any other.

Pseudo-Aurelius Victor, De viris illustribus Italy 3 rd quarter of the 15 th century

Together with 19 other leaves, this page forms part of a picture book of Genesis. The relative size of the illumination makes it a clear example of the primacy of image over text. In certain cases the captions in French written by an English scribe do not correspond with the scenes depicted. On this page the upper scenes illustrate an apocryphal account apparently derived from the Historia Scholastica. The blind Lamech, guided by his son Tubal-cain, shoots Cain with an arrow by accident, and then kills his guide. Lamech killing Cain, Tubal-cain, Noah’s Ark, The Egerton Genesis, Southern England, 14 th century

Historiated initial 'V'at the beginning of Petrarch's Il Canzoniere, shown before a lectern with an open book before him in the bowl of the initial, and a miniature on the right-hand side of the page of Petrarch's muse, Laura, beside a laurel tree, framed with a three-sided border made up of foliate scrolls and gold balls. Italy Petrarch , Il Canzoniere. Italy, N. E. (Venice); 1400

“Le Canarien” France, Paris, after 1404. The Expedition to the Canary Islands at sea.

Moses and people beside Jordan Opening of the Book of Deuteronomy: initial 'H' shows Moses addressing the people beside the River Jordan. London? 1405 -1415.

“Les Libres des Histoires” France, beginning of the 15 th century. The siege of Troy

Ruth gleaning Opening of the Book of Ruth: initial 'I' shows Ruth gleaning, three other people scything and collecting the crop, with Boaz and his servant watching. Image taken from Great Bible England 1405 -1415.

Titus Livius , translated by Pierre Bersuire, Ab Urbe Condita, the first decade only. France, c. 1415 - c. 1420

Building of the Tower of Babel Old Testament miniature. The Building of the Tower of Babel. Building works include stones being raised on pulleys, wooden platforms, from which a man falls, and mixing mortar. Stone being carried by a camel. In foreground, stonemasons working with their tools Bedford Hours. 1414 -1423.

Bedford Hours The Building of Noah’s Ark France, Paris, c. 1423 The Bedford Book of Hours is an outstanding work of late medieval manuscript art. It was produced for the wedding of John, Duke of Bedford, to Anne of Burgundy on 13 May 1423. Portraits of the bride and groom, dressed in their elegant court clothes, appear in its pages. The couple's royal status and their taste for luxury are reflected in the superb quality of the manuscript, which is lavishly decorated with many miniature paintings.

John Hardyng, Chronicle of Britian to Henry VI -England c. 1440 -1450 - Map of Scotland

“Le Livre de la Fleur des Histoires de la Terre d’Orient” The Tartars seen installing and honouring their leader. France c. 1440

Jean de Wavrin: Chroniques d’Angleterre The camp of Brutus on the river Loire Flanders, Bruges, 1470 s.

Antiphoner Netherlands, N. ; 2 nd half of the 15 th century Puzzle initial 'D'(uem) with penwork decoration.

An Antiphonary, Antiphonal, or Antiphoner liber, is one of the present Catholic liturgical books. It is intended for use in choro and originally characterized, as its name implies, by the assignment to it principally of the antiphons used in various parts of the Roman liturgy.

Poems of Charles of Orleans and other works Flanders, Bruges, c. 1450 -1460. A lover addressing three ladies

Valerius Maximus: “Memorabilia” The author at work. Flanders, Bruges 1479

Leaf from a Gradual Netherlands, c. 1480 Miniature of David kneeling in prayer

Old Testament Picture book Northern Italy, Padua, late 14 th century. Scenes from the Book of Joshua.

Medical miscellany, including an astronomical calendar. England. London? 1490 or 1491 Miniature of a Zodiac man, with signs of the Zodiac signs marked on his body.

Johann Gutenberg's Bible Probably the most famous Bible in the world, Gutenberg's 42 -line Bible is the earliest full-scale work printed in Europe using movable type. It was made in Mainz, Germany by Johann Gutenberg and associates. Fewer than 50 copies of the original now survive, in public and private collections around the world.

Astronomical treatises (ff. 1 v-266 v), including the Almagest; Chillingworth Canons and Tables according to the Use of the University of Oxford. England. (London); 1490

Virgil: “Eclogues, Georgics and Aeneid” Italy, Rome, c. 1490. The wooden horse entering the gates of Troy; Anchises carried from the city by Aeneas

Temptation; Mirror of Conscience The Temptation of Adam and Eve, in landscape with serpant and apples; the Expulsion from the Garden of Eden. The Mirror of Conscience, with borders with trompe l'oeil decoration of flowers, strawberries, snail, and insects Image taken from Hours of Joanna of Castile. S. Netherlands : between 1496 and 1506.

Travels of Sir John Mandeville Bohemia, 15 century One of the most popular books of the late Middle Ages was the story of the exotic travel adventures of Sir John Mandeville.

Genesis in Pictures Joseph interpreting the dreams of Pharaoh’s butler and baker Netherlands, second half of the 15 th century.

Moses and the Burning Bush; in an architectural framework. From the Hours of the Virgin. Image taken from Book of Hours. Netherlands 1500

Sherborne Missal This early 15 th-century manuscript is probably the largest and most lavishly decorated English medieval service book to survive from the Middle Ages. Such books were mostly destroyed or defaced during the Reformation in the 16 th century, or else discarded as useless in subsequent centuries, but this one has somehow survived 500 years in wonderfully fresh condition.

Hajj certificate This beautiful scroll from the 15 th century commemorates the hajj - the pilgrimage to Mecca - by a woman called Maymunah. Illustrated with images of Mecca and other places of interest en route, it is a fascinating document that combines both religious and geographical information.

An early fifteenth-century Bohemian manuscript of illustrations (without text) to the Travels of Sir John Mandeville. A popular book in the late Middle Ages was the story of the travel adventures of Sir John Mandeville. Although Mandeville was said to be an Englishman, the text incorporates a wide range of earlier material, and is focused on the Near East. The story was translated into Czech, and the framed images in this manuscript illustrate the first thirteen chapters of the Czech text. The illustrations were painted on an unusual green preparatory colour, probably in Prague in the second decade of the fifteenth century. This one represents faithfully activities in a Bohemian glassmaker’s workshop.

: מקורות http: //www. bl. uk/onlinegallery/hightours/index. html http: //www. bl. uk/onlinegallery/sacredtexts/sacredthemesall. html http: //www. bl. uk/reshelp/findhelprestype/manuscripts/msscatalog http: //idp. bl. uk/archives/news 29/idpnews_29. a 4 d http: //www. imagesonline. bl. uk/gallery. asp http: //www. bl. uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/Tour. Intro. Gen. asp http: //dunhuang. mtak. hu/index-en. html http: //londonist. com/2008/08/into_the_bowels_of_the_british_libr. php http: //www. bl. uk/treasures/gutenberg/homepage. html http: //www. british-library. uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts http: //www. imagesonline. bl. uk/results. asp? W=4&F=0001&Step=1 http: //bestiary. ca/ http: //www. bl. uk/ramayana http: //www. imagesonline. bl. uk/results. asp