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Medieval illuminations of strawberry8/9/2023 Newberry Library, Chicago, IL, Case MS 43 fol. Whether French or Flemish, fourteenth- or fifteenth-century, and moderately or lavishly decorated, it seemed as though strawberries were everywhere. Although I set out trying to locate images of food and dining in books of hours, strawberries kept attracting my attention. The images can be a feast of information for scholars, incorporating medieval clothing, table settings, and room décor with familiar Biblical imagery. Containing colorful images and frequent goldleaf, these manuscripts allow us to see the beautiful, opulent life of the wealthiest nobles and royals in the late Middle Ages. Scribes created copies for readers of varying socioeconomic levels, and the most expensive books of hours were lavishly illuminated. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, these books were enormously popular. The Hours of the Virgin are an abbreviated form of the Liturgy of the Hours, also dedicated to the Virgin Mary. 27rīooks of hours are books for Christians that provide prayers and devotions, particularly the Hours of the Virgin. The berries usually appear alongside colorful flowers while obviously decorative, I began to wonder why this food was so prolific in imagery, yet relatively more obscure in contemporary recipes. copyright law, they are Public Domain and are used under a Creative Commons license.While looking through the Newberry Library’s extraordinary collection of medieval books of hours, I was surprised to see how frequently strawberries dotted the marginal illuminations. NB: All Luttrell Psalter images in this post ©British Library. They've also recently added an iPad app of the complete Luttrell Psalter. The British Library has a few selections from the Luttrell Psalter viewable for free on their "Turning the Pages" site, here. This labor of love brings beautifully to life scenes from the Psalter: WAG Screen shot the film over the span of a year, with little budget and a cast and crew of volunteers. In 2006, Lincolnshire film director, Nick Loven, had the idea of making a short film based on the Luttrell Psalter. The manuscript features activities ranging from plowing and sowing the fields to playing games, cooking, and dining: (Click to enlarge images) Plowing the field with oxen. "bottom of the page") illustrations of everyday life in the Middle Ages. Unlike typical books of psalms, its wonder does not rest on illuminations of biblical figures and events, but on its wealth of marginal and bas-de-page (lit. One of the loveliest Medieval manuscripts must be the Luttrell Psalter, made between 13 for Sir Geoffrey Luttrell, a Lincolnshire knight. copyright law, it is Public Domain and is used under a Creative Commons license. NB: The MS image in this post ©British Library. Abraham Cowley, Spring (1647) April is the cruellest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain. When e'er then you come hither, that shall be The time, which this to others is, to Me. Robert Southwell, Love's Servile Lot (late 16th c.) How could it be so fair, and you away? How could the Trees be beauteous, Flowers so gay?. Chaucer, General Prologue, Canterbury Tales (late 14th c.) Spring, the sweet Spring, is the year's pleasant king Then blooms each thing, then maids dance in a ring, Cold doth not sting, the pretty birds do sing, Cuckoo, jug, jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo! -Thomas Nashe, Spring (c1590) May never was the month of love,įor love is full of showers. Anonymous Medieval Lyric (c1310) Whan that Aprille with his showres sote The droght of Marche had perced to the rote. Don't miss out on the beautiful song audio file for the first! Lenten ys come with love to toune, With blosmen & with briddes roune, That al this blisse bryngeth Dayes eyes in this dales, Notes suete of nyhtegales Uch foul song singeth. They are linked to their full versions (and in the case of the Middle English ones, the translations). Here are extracts from some of my favorite spring poems. Poets have always written about spring, and no surprise-even in our cynical world, spring inspires a sense of wonder, a sense of hope and possibilities.
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