Right now the Painted Page exhibition at the new Folio Society Gallery @ the British Library is showing Images of medieval life in the Luttrell Psalter. You can view the original 13th Century illuminated mansuscript in the John Ritblat Gallery also at the BL.
The exhibition uses a mix of facsimile images of the manuscript + technology to make what is usually considered “for antiquarian interests only” an enjoyable, interactive experience and accessible to the public. There are explanatory notes on what the various icons and imagery might have meant + their social significance: providing insight into the 13th century world and how they may have viewed their reality and their life. Which is what”s interesting about illuminated (i.e. illustrated) manuscripts of course. The metaphorical and allegorical nature of medieval imagery and art is particularly interesting to me. Generally I”m interested in the social aspects of history.
The exhibition is free and runs until 7 January 2007. There is some fantastic technology at work here - the “Turning the pages” interactive feature is loads of fun and hopefully will soon be out of the “innovative” bracket into “usual IT bracket” : hmm let”s see.
** The John Ritblat Gallery showcases the “treasures” of the British Library drawn from the millions of items they have in their collection: there”s a new room dedicated to the Magna Carta.
***
Illuminated manuscripts are the most common historical artefacts from the Middle Ages and the best surviving specimens of medieval art. And for some earlier periods of history they often are the only surviving examples of painting.
“An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration or illustration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniatures. In the strictest definition of the term, an illuminated manuscript only refers to manuscripts decorated with gold or silver. However, in both common usage and modern scholarship, the term is now used to refer to any decorated manuscript.”
You can find out more on this fascinating topic on wikipedia and the Koninklijke Bibliotheek - the National Library of the Netherlands
The original Da Vinci Code?
With the international success of the bestselling novel The DaVinci Code, esoteric subjects have been enthusiastically received by a large audience.
The Holy Blood - Holy Grail - Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln (1982)
Written as a follow up to a BBC documentary, this is the book where the authors presented an ‘audacious’ and groundbreaking hypothesis : theories which of course have achieved notoriety in the shape of Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code. It’s funny - on the back cover ( it did cause a fair amount of hoo-ha when it was released) Newsweek said ‘ A brilliant thriller in the making’ - and of course, as we know, some people came along and did just that. Definitely worth a read. Of course for all Templar and Grail enthusiasts but nowadays anyone who wanted to know about where some of the ideas presented in the fictional Da Vinci Code had their roots ( and enough information and bibliography is presented in the text for people to take their own research further and draw their own conclusions about the subject matter) Again - they make it clear that theirs is a startling hypothesis and a set of speculations about historical events.
The Rule of Four - Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason
I am fascinated with ancient and mediaeval texts and a good mystery at the same time so this was right up my street. It’s focus is the mysterious, lengthy, erudite and anonymous Renaissance text - the Hypneromatochia Poliphili
“A mysterious coded manuscript, a violent Ivy League murder, and the secrets of a Renaissance prince collide in a labyrinth of betrayal, obsession, and genius..â€
Book Journal
Next on my reading list:
Robert Richardson : The Unknown Treasure: The Priory of Sion Fraud and the Spiritual Treasure of Rennes-le-Château (Houston, TX: NorthStar, 1998)
omniglot: a guide to written language. An interesting site. I found it while I was browsing for information on the occitan language { Provençal is a dialect of Occitan}
There is a huge area to cover to really get our teeth into the problem with the current economic system, and understanding of economics full stop. there”s the whole minefield of understanding “Economics”, understanding how it is interpreted by policy practitioners, and the epistemological bases of what currently passes as “economics” in academia and the trickle-down. Monetary theory and reform obviously comes into this ( more on this later, I shall be inviting experts in this field to contribute to this) - and later on i shall be commenting on what my personal thoughts are on this area. One of the key things i”ll mention in passing that I”m interested in- is obviously the contribution of social psychology and psychology can make to this critique. At the end of the day, what i”ve observed is that there are so many people who go off and study economics without querying some very basic issues and concepts. And those are to do with some very simple common sense questions.
In the meantime, check out Aaron Swartz”s Understanding Economic Jargon which was inspired by Bigelow”s ” Let There Be Markets:
The Evangelical Roots of Economics”. It”s hilarious, and if nothing else, should make us all think a little bit. Particularly i always think the great thing about science is that it makes you think, question, criticize, re-formulate. all of the things authoritarian leaders/society don”t want you to usually do.
anyhow, enjoy the piece.
the history of halloween is interesting. not least as its ancient roots - derived from ancient celtic traditions - are lost in the mist somewhere.
the pre-christian europeans had four major pagan festivals: candlemas, beltane, lammas and samhain. Samhain which was celebrated on the 31st of october ( or around at that time!) was a fire festival, and represented the end of the year- the final harvest - and the onset of winter. the belief was that during this night, the portal which separates the living from the dead opened and released all sorts of spirits for that one night.
samhain means literally ’summer’s end.’
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