Minor Medieval News 2018

Ever so often we stumble on some minor medieval news which does not merit a full article, but nevertheless, deserves a short notice.

Invade… immigrate… integrate… inspire.

This virtual museum tells a regional story of Viking culture with artefacts and designs from the Viking Age in the East Midlands, and information about local place-names which were given at the time in the Scandinavian language of the Vikings. We also highlight some Viking personal names from the region and how to write them in runes.

 

Monty Python Archive Unveils Unused ‘Holy Grail’ Sketches 

A “Pink Knight” who demands that King Arthur give him a kiss and an entirely different, and more expensive, ending have been unearthed in Michael Palin’s script notes that are part of his archive.

 

The Codex Eyckensis, an 8th-century Gospel Book, now online

The Codex Eyckensis, an eighth-century Gospel Book from the treasury of Saint Catherine’s church in Maaseik, is an exceptional testimonial to the particular status of the written word, one of the earliest artistic creations in manuscript form and in the religious culture of the Low Countries.

J. Paul Getty Museum announces the landmark Acquisition of a Medieval Hebrew Manuscript, the Rothschild Pentateuch

The Rothschild Pentateuch is one of the most elaborate illuminated Hebrew Bibles to survive from the Middle Ages. The manuscript (Ms. 116 (2018.43) dates from 1296 and is one of the most spectacular Hebrew manuscripts to become available in more than a century.

Created by an unknown artist and dated 1296, the manuscript’s pages are filled with lively decorative motifs, hybrid animals and humanoid figures, and astonishing examples of micrography–virtuosic displays of tiny calligraphy in elaborate patterns and designs. The vibrant colours and gleaming gold distinguish this manuscript from most medieval Hebrew book production, which followed a largely textual tradition. It stands apart from other medieval examples through the appeal and extent of its illustrated program. The text contains features that indicate it may have been written in France for Jewish emigres who had been expelled from England in 1290. The illumination was likely completed in France or Germany…

Research brings medieval pilgrimage back to life

Medieval scholars at the University of Southampton are helping visitors to the Welsh borders follow in the footsteps of a medieval outlaw and explore the historic route of a remarkable pilgrimage. A new trail is being launched, inspired by the journey made by William Cragh, who was hanged in 1290 but seemingly, miraculously came back to life and then went on a pilgrimage, accompanied by the Norman Lord who’d tried to execute him…