The Archimedes Palimpsest is one of the treasures of antiquity. This medieval manuscript, dating the to the 10th century, includes copies of the writings of Archimedes of Syracuse, a Greek mathematician and scientist who laid the foundations of modern calculus, geometry and fundamental physics.
Picture Book of the Life of St John and the Apocalypse is a unique and visually striking example of the picture-book Apocalypse - a distinctive group of medieval manuscripts that present the apocalyptic visions of the Book of Revelation primarily through images. Centred on the visions of St John and often framed by episodes from his legendary life, these manuscripts transform the biblical text into a continuous pictorial narrative.
The news is bleak, the nights are long. Yet somehow... the calendar is still stacked. January is when culture gets weird in the best way; this week, medieval manuscripts emerge from the vault, and camp horror and queer literature come out to play. Plus, artist Elizabeth Knight presents her dog embroideries, and local hardcore shows up to shred. Don't say we didn't warn you!
"We can't escape the language of the internet; it's now our emotional alphabet," Minginowicz says. "Sometimes a hashtag or emoji expresses more than an entire essay." "I don't intentionally insert trends into my paintings... but I also don't filter them out. I absorb the world, I scroll, observe, analyze. So yes, the internet seeps into my work, through color, gesture, distortion, glitches. Humor, or rather, bitter absurdity, emerges from that saturation."
Dr Victoria Whitworth, who will publish evidence in a forthcoming book, said: The Picts were great artists, producing highly sophisticated Christian sculpture, but it has generally been accepted that not a single Pictish manuscript survives. If the Book of Kells was made in Pictland, this rewrites our understanding of early medieval Scotland. Her research has led her to conclude that a monastery in Portmahomack, Easter Ross, north-east of Inverness, is the most likely place for it to have been made.
Part of the reason a lot of people figure nothing much went on during the Middle Ages is because we've lost a whole lot of sources telling us what actually did happen. Through malice and misfortune, medieval manuscripts have been destroyed in their thousands. So, how do we know what may have gone up in smoke? And what can we do to keep our beloved manuscripts safe?
"The Très Riches Heures, commissioned by the Duc de Berry, is an extraordinary manuscript featuring 131 full-page illuminations showcasing life in 15th century France."
This acquisition of five medieval manuscripts enriches our understanding of Jewish-Christian relations and medieval life, showcasing sophisticated collaboration and administrative practices in the period.
A show at the Getty Center titled "Symbols and Signs: Decoding Medieval Manuscripts" aims to illuminate the formerly impenetrable language of medieval texts through familiar codes.
"People today are fascinated by ciphers, puzzles, and secrets... This exhibition explores the clever ways that scribes and artists of the past deliberately and playfully employed such codes to arrest the attention of medieval audiences and engage their minds."
The monks did not know if the books, which included religious scriptures, linguistic analysis, scribbled jokes and a collection of tomes described as the internet of the ancient world, would survive, or ever return.
This integration of the biological sciences into the study of historical manuscripts not only provides a clearer picture of the material culture of medieval Europe, but also illustrates the extensive trade networks that Cistercian monasteries were part of.