SJLahey , to Medievodons group
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Decorated initials: notorious site of interspecies struggle since the 11th century. 😱
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Detail of a medieval manuscript leaf: folio 56 recto in Cambridge, University Library, manuscript Ff.3.9. The parchment page bears a 2 line Latin heading in red ink, followed by a dozen more lines of Latin in black ink. The red and first 8 black lines have been indented to accommodate a huge painted initial ‘Q’. The counter (or rounded space) of the letter is built up of entwined blue vines against a background of scarlet. Lush leaves of sage green, orange, and pink curl from the ends of the vines. Gambolling amidst the vines are small strange creatures: a green raptor with apricot wings; a rose and tangerine foxlike beast with olive–azure wings, legs, and tail; and a salmon-hued cat or rabbit with orange ears and sage-green face. At right, forming the tail of the ‘Q’, an indigo-coated wolf crouches between the lines of text. Grasping 1 of the cat–rabbit’s hind legs in its jaws, it strives to pull the scrabbling creature out from the vines. Hold on tight, critter!
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    • SJLahey , to Medievodons group
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    On Thursday, I had the honour of introducing a Girton College student to Cambridge University Library and giving her a crash-course in handling . Here’s a highlight from one of them.
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    Detail of a leaf in a medieval manuscript: folio 3 recto in Cambridge, University Library, manuscript Kk.1.23. Across the very top sprawls a 3 line annotation added by a modern hand in black ink. Below this, the original contents open with 3 lines of Latin copied in alternating red and green ink; following this are 9 lines of Latin copied in black ink. The first 7 black ink lines are indented to accommodate an enlarged decorative initial ‘T’ rendered in black, red, and green ink. The stylized initial takes the form of a demonic creature clad in human garb: a scarlet cape over a grass green tunic, with a scarlet headband. Although he has the body of a man, one of his feet is a ruminant’s hoof; the other, a bird’s foot. His head is that of a goat with long, faintly spiralling horns. Standing upright, he spreads his arms out at shoulder level, grasping a sword in one hand and a panic-stricken rabbit in the other, while sounding the hunting horn protruding from his grinning mouth.
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    • SJLahey , to histodons group
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    A in one of the of Pembroke College, Cambridge (now held at Cambridge University Library).
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    Detail of a leaf in a medieval manuscript: folio 44 verso in Cambridge, Pembroke College manuscript 301. The gold-haloed head of an evangelist peeks up from the lower edge of the image. Above this curve 2 concentric arches linked together by a decorative rosette, all rendered in shiny gold leaf with burgundy, pine, and cobalt paints. In front of the arches, springing across the page, stretches a yellow lion sporting green and red wings and a glittering halo of burnished gold. Rearing up on hind legs, the beast grasps a golden book in its front paws, and throws back its head to sound the long blue trumpet extending from its mouth.
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