Bibliothèque nationale de France, Français 403, detail of f. 40r. Apocalypse glosée. Illuminator: Master of Sarum. Salisbury, c. 1240-1250.
Weird Medieval Guys: “An 800 year old prayer book that’s decorated with puns”
Of course, there is still some ambiguity as to the purpose these puns served in relation to the text. Michael Camille seemed to favour a rather antagonistic interpretation, suggesting that the crudeness and irreverence of these illustrations were the artist’s way of hitting back at the scribe and even at the scripture itself and undermining … Read more