Marginalia of medieval manuscripts
This is how the Luttrell Psalter looks like, which will be discussed later. As you can see, its pages are full of all sorts of scary fantastic creatures. England, 1325-1340s. british library
"The monster is oblo, mischievous, huge, staring and barking."
Epigraph to the book by Alexander Radishchev "Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow"
Epigraph to the book by Alexander Radishchev "Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow"
History and culture. We have already addressed here more than once the topic of medieval illuminated manuscripts, which we used, first of all, as a source of information about knights and their weapons, as well as on the history of the Middle Ages in general. But our knowledge of them will not be complete if we do not get acquainted with such an interesting phenomenon that occurs on their pages as marginalia (from Latin “extreme” and “frame”).
Richard and Saladin. A typical joust. The drawing at the bottom of the page of the Luttrell Psalter, that is, a typical marginalia. England, 1325-1340s. british library
Moreover, it was so that until some time they were not, but then they appeared in the manuscripts. And the time when this happened is precisely established, as, indeed, the reason for their appearance. Just until a certain time, medieval books were created only in monasteries. Where everything was strict and decent. Therefore, the miniatures that adorned these books were also strict and noble.
And here, in place of the knights, we see monkeys. Book of hours. France, circa 1300-1325. Walters Art Museum
But then came the thirteenth century. Books began to be rewritten and designed not only in monasteries, but also in city workshops. Guilds of illustrators appeared, and with them the marginals - miniatures on the margins of books that did not depict anyone. There were animals, and people, and exquisite patterns - all outside the main text field.
A hunter with a falcon on horseback is... normal. "The Psalter of Luttrell". England, 1325-1340s. british library
And if earlier the fields of medieval books were empty, now many of them are filled almost to the limit. Moreover, very often marginal images did not connect with the plot of the book at all! The artist seems to be telling the readers of the book he has illuminated: “But I wanted to draw like this, and I took it, and painted it!”.
But a monkey with an owl on a goat is already something. "The Psalter of Luttrell". England, 1325-1340s. british library
In what a strange and, one might even say, indecent way, the bishop is depicted here! "The Psalter of Luttrell". England, 1325-1340s. british library
Moreover, very strange images that had never been seen in books before were included in the page decor. So, hybrid creatures became the main characters. In the manuscripts of the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries, absolutely monstrous creatures of incredible designs multiplied along the perimeter of the book sheet: the face of a man turned backwards, with legs, but without a body. Figures with several faces: on the chest, on the back or on the stomach, looking in different directions, hybrids of animals, people and plants. Such decor even received a special name - drolerie (from the French drôle - “funny”, “outlandish”).
Surprisingly, the monkey became the second most popular character of the marginals! On the pages of the manuscripts, monkeys, dressed as bishops, distribute blessings, monkey plowmen plow, fish, fight in tournaments. Monkey doctors... They were depicted examining vials of urine from their human patients. And it must have been funny. Otherwise, it would hardly be depicted. And maybe, to some extent, and instructive. Although it is difficult to find out.
And this is a crossbowman! "The Psalter of Luttrell". England, 1325-1340s. british library
It is believed that the monkey was chosen as a kind of mirror reflecting the actions of people, from peasants to the highest clergy. “Monkey decor” was called “baboon decor” (babuini in Latin or babewynes in Middle English).
Knight and snail. Gorleston Psalter. England, 1310-1324. british library
Another common animal is... the snail! First of all, these are hybrids of people with snails: the upper part belongs to a person, but the lower part belongs to a snail. And what would it mean, especially if we have a hybrid in front of us - a snail-archer? ..
But there are other scenes where knights run from snails or fight with them. This is seen as a clear mockery of chivalry. That is, a hint that not all knights were as brave as it is written in books. There is also such a point of view that the snail just symbolizes the knight, because it wears a shell on its body!
Snail fight. The Rutland Psalter, England, 1260 British Library
It is interesting that such marginalities are very often found in ... books of hours and psalms, that is, books in which frivolity does not seem to be depicted. But it is in them that they just meet literally at every step.
For example, take the well-known Luttrell Psalter*, in which many everyday scenes are depicted on the margins of the pages: peasants plow, a boy climbed a tree to pick cherries, and a watchman with a stick is about to drive him away, a peasant with a sling scares away birds, and King Richard fights Saladin. And right there on the margins of the psalter, a lot of things happen that ... "does not climb into any gates." And it is unlikely that this manuscript was created in complete ignorance of the customer. Far from it. Surely he was shown the intermediate stages of work, and he ... approved them!
Bird musician. There are a lot of such hybrids in the Maastricht Book of Hours manuscript. Belgium, Liege, first quarter of the XNUMXth century. british library
That is, Luttrell saw this invasion of absolutely fantastic hybrids and plots for the design of fields that had nothing to do with the text. But he approved, otherwise, of course, they would not have appeared in the manuscript! But almost the “encyclopedia” of marginals is the “Maastricht Book of Hours”**.
Bishop with the body of a lizard. "Maastricht Hours". Belgium, Liege, first quarter of the XNUMXth century. british library
Bishop with flower tail. "Maastricht Hours". Belgium, Liege, first quarter of the XNUMXth century. british library
After the snail, an important place in the marginals is occupied by ... rabbits and hares. They also don’t do anything: they attack knights with swords, and ride dogs, in a word, they live a very rich and sometimes quite human life. But with this eared and fluffy people, at least a little more clarity. The fact is that because of their tendency to unbridled reproduction, both hares and rabbits symbolized sin. Not necessarily carnal, although his too, but sin in general. That is, a rabbit attacking a knight meant that the poor fellow succumbed to sins! And he does not want to fight off a hare, trying to pull out a sword, but from sin! And a lot of rabbits is a lot of sins! In addition, it was believed that hares and rabbits can change their sex. Hence the hint of the duplicity of a hare or a rabbit. That is, it seems one, but in fact it is something opposite!
A monkey doctor examines the urine of a nun's patient. "Maastricht Hours". Belgium, Liege, first quarter of the XNUMXth century. british library
An extremely popular topic of marginalia is everything related to the “call of nature” and the corresponding organs. Marginal characters constantly show each other and the reader their asses and anus. Bishops bless the asses of parishioners; abbots confess monks' asses; archers and crossbowmen shoot at the rear, as at a target; monkeys blow into the anus through pipes, and birds insert their beaks into the same place.
Blowing in the ass ... "Maastricht Book of Hours". Belgium, Liege, first quarter of the XNUMXth century. british library
Further more. Marginals show us a real cycle of feces: the monkey relieves itself in the dragon's mouth, and the man, having collected his waste in a basket, brings it to the lady, and everything else of the same kind. That is, in this case, there is a very cynical attitude towards natural departures. And the fact that they deserved to get into an expensive book says a lot. That is, this is most likely an evil satire, understandable to the people of that era, and so topical that it was impossible to resist the image of its images!
The archer shoots ... And where does he shoot? "Maastricht Hours". Belgium, Liege, first quarter of the XNUMXth century. british library
There were historians who proposed not to attach importance to these drawings, since they considered them a mere manifestation of the imagination of their authors, nothing more. However, it is difficult not to notice in many of them a clear mockery of the priesthood. And how else does it relate to the drawing, in which the bishop blesses the monk with a woman's face on his backside, and the cleric with a naked backside, kneeling before the again naked prelate, lets out gases. There is a clear ridicule of the sexual intemperance of the clergy of that time. Or, for example, such a miniature from The Romance of Lancelot of Lakes: a Dominican monk with a spear rushes at a nun who is also armed with a spear. A duel like this was impossible in principle. But it was drawn. So it meant something, didn't it? Most likely, this "duel" meant something completely different, often taking place between men and women, regardless of the cassocks.
And he shoots at this strange man! "Maastricht Hours". Belgium, Liege, first quarter of the XNUMXth century. british library
In the manuscripts of the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries, there are entire galleries of animal clerics and hybrid clerics, for example, a wolf bishop, a snail bishop growing from a decorative shoot, a church procession in which rabbits walk. Moreover, it is funny that such scenes are found not only in the manuscripts of secular lords, which would be understandable as a desire to laugh at the clergy, but also in books ordered by bishops, abbots and other clergy. So it was a mockery of yourself? Or since they also came from noble families, then ... "the place of service did not play a role"? More important were intra-family relations, and who are you, a knight or a prelate - does it matter?
Fox Renard. Decretals of Pope Gregory IX (Smithfield Decretals). Southern France, circa 1340. british library
One of the favorite personalities of the Middle Ages is Renard the fox, the main character, or rather, the anti-hero of the "Novel of the Fox" (XII-XIII centuries). And it is not surprising that this popular character has found refuge in the margins. He is constantly found on the margins of manuscripts, sometimes in a miter and with a staff, sometimes in the form of a monk, from which we can conclude that here, firstly, there is a warning about human deceit, and secondly, more specifically, about that priests are as rogues as foxes!
There is a funny episode in "The Romance of the Fox" connected with Renard's funeral. He allegedly died, after which the animals and mass were celebrated for him, and with crosses, censers and candles they went with the coffin to the cemetery. But on the way, Renard resurrected and laughed at everyone. And the popularity of this plot turned out to be so great that they began to carve it in stone. And even on the walls of monasteries and temples. In particular, in the XNUMXth century it was carved on two capitals in the Strasbourg Cathedral, but then it was nevertheless destroyed during the Counter-Reformation.
Funeral of Fox Renard. Gorleston Psalter. England, 1310-1324. british library
In general, if we take a closer look at the sacred texts of medieval manuscripts, we will see something mundane, funny, and even simply obscene. In the center of the page in the miniature, Christ gives bread to the traitor Judas - and here, next to it, in the margins, there is a donkey in the papal tiara. Not only that, he has a forked tail, from which protrudes ... a musician. Here the warriors of King Herod kill the unfortunate babies of Bethlehem, and jesters in caps jump around in the fields in the thickets. In the initial (the first letter of the line), three kings are preparing to bring gifts to the baby Jesus - and below, two monkeys on horseback are preparing to converge in a mock knightly fight. In another initial, the executioners flay the skin alive from the Apostle Bartholomew - but in the fields the bishop, and even half-dressed, for some reason walks on stilts.
Funny conversation of funny characters, isn't it? "Maastricht Hours". Belgium, Liege, first quarter of the XNUMXth century. british library
Among the marginalia, one can also see such a bird as an owl, and even in the episcopal tiara. However, it was difficult to expect something good from an owl, so in the Middle Ages it had a bad reputation. In bestiaries and various allegorical images, she was associated with heretics and Jews, as she did her work at night. But both heretics and Jews were like her, because they rejected the light of Christ's truth. In addition, jesters were often depicted with an owl in their hands, which emphasized their buffoonery.
So, looking at the marginalia in the margins of medieval manuscripts, we can see a lot of things that seem to be hidden from our eyes!
* The Luttrell Psalter was created in England sometime between 1320 and 1345, commissioned by Sir Geoffrey Luttrell (1276–1345), Lord of Irnham Manor in Lincolnshire.
** The Maastricht Book of Hours is an outstanding illuminated manuscript. It was made in the first quarter of the 9,5th century in the Netherlands, in Liege and was used in the Dutch Maastricht. Today it is kept in the British Library. Its size, according to the official description, is only 7 × 5 cm, the text is 3 × XNUMX cm.
His page...
Information