the sacred & profane - medieval illuminated manuscripts

a lady bringing the unicorn's head to the table from geoffrey fule's cookbook,  london, england, british library, mid 14th century.

from a book of hours from France, 15th century, beinecke rare book & manuscript library.

dance of death, germany, 16th century

verso: (above unidentified coat of arms: amicus certus in re incerta cernitur/haec scribebat ioanno theodosius/nervius duo charissimo socio.  translation: a true friend is revealed in uncertain times. theodosius nervius wrote this for his dear friend, hans.)

detail of a miniature of mice laying siege to a castle defended by a cat from a book of hours, england (london), c. 1320-c. 1330

detail of a unicorn on the grill in geoffrey fule's cookbook, england, mid-14th century (london, british library) 

detail of a miniature of the allegorical personifications of friendly expression and courteous manner, catching flighty hearts in their net; from pierre sala, petit livre d'amour, france (paris and lyon), ca. 1500.

detail of a marginal scene of a man displaying his hindquarters from the gorleston psalter, "virility" england 14th century.

slaughter of innocents from 'the cloisters apocalypse', normandy, france  ca. 1330. new York, (metropolitan museum of art, new york)

detail of a marginal miniature of a dragon from the luttrell psalter, england, ca. 1325-1340

detail of an historiated initial 'd' (ilexi) with a woman (duchess dionora?) with skull for a face admiring herself in hand mirror, and a partial scatter border with gems and flowers, 'memento homo' in a roundel, from the office of the dead, from a book of hours ('the hours of dionara of urbino'), italy, ca. 1480

nun breastfeeding a monkey, arthurian romances, france ca. 1300.  (john rylands university library, manchester) 

an archangel locks the hellmouth from the winchester psalter, english, 12th century.

saracens defiling a church from chroniques de france ou de st. denis, france 1332-1350

snail vs. nnight, from the smithsfield decretals, decretals of gregory IX, tolouse, france,  ca. 1300 (illuminations were added about forty years later in london).

the crucifixion of christ. chronicle of world history and english john of worcester, 1128-1131, oxford (library of corpus christi college)

detail of a full-page miniature of a memento mori with a banner reading 'memento homo quod sinis es et in sinere reverteris' (remember man, that thou art dust and to dust you will return) from the 'hours of rené d'anjou', france, ca. 1410. 

conception of alexander the great from les faize d'alexandre (a translation of historiae alexandri magni of quintus curtius rufus), Bruges, ca. 1468-1475 (british library).

extinction of endangered species, from a book of hours, france, ca. 1475-1500.

nuns & a penis tree from roman de la rose, france, 14th century (bibliothèque nationale de france, paris).

the thinker monkey, from the breviary of mary of savoy, lombardy, ca. 1430.

the remains of the unicorn from geoffrey fule's cookbook,  london, england, british library, mid 14th century.