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25/4/2015

So this is Guy of Ponthieu?

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The Anglo-Saxon Monk has been cast as Guy of Ponthieu in The Bayeux Tapestry: The Stitches Speak.

Poked fun at in the Bayeux Tapestry and maligned as a half-man, just who was Guy of Ponthieu?  The Anglo-Saxon Monk reluctantly explains.

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Guy of Ponthieu, Bayeux Tapestry. Nice hair, nice clothes, lovely posture.
The Anglo-Saxon Monk is entering the world of theatrical performance in a dramatisation of the Bayeux Tapestry written and directed by Daisy Black – please don’t tell the bishop!   Curiously, I’ve been handed the role of the French count, Guy of Ponthieu.   I assure you, blessed readers, I remonstrated most strongly with Dr Black over her casting decisions, but alas, one has to take what one can get.

So who, you are wondering, was this Guy fellow, and why in the picture above, do I look such a ****? 

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23/4/2015

Apocalyptic nightmare!

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Ever been asked which three books you would save in the event of the apocalypse?   The Anglo-Saxon Monk is not impressed with one person's choices! 

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The Lady of the Bookshelf, Hannah Kate, behind the scenes at North Manchester FM 106.6 (yes, that's 1066!)
So my alter ego, Dr Chris Monk, is a bit of a gad about: no appreciation for the cloistered life I suffer (for the love of God, of course)!

Yes, he's off to be interviewed for Hannah's Bookshelf on North Manchester FM 106.6 this Saturday (April 25), 4-6 p.m.  

What's even more alarming than his chronic wanderlust and complete lack of spiritual sophistication is his choice in books.

Apparently, blessed readers, the other Monk has been asked by Hannah Kate, the lady of the aforementioned bookshelf, to come up with three books to save in the event of a zombie apocalypse.

Leaving aside my bewilderment (like you, I have no idea what a zombie is), I must declare that I am pretty appalled with his choices. 

I have no intent to be a complete spoil-sport, however, so I'm not going to expose his dubious taste in literature, except to say that he has managed to pick one medieval book.  Well, Hallelujah!

In the meantime, by way of spiritual compensation, I'll leave you with a few images of the real apocalypse!

(Click on 'read more' to see the images in full.)


If you feel moved to tell the Anglo-Saxon Monk which three medieval books you would save in the event of an apocalypse, he'd love to hear from you.
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An apocalyptic dragon vomiting a frog! The Welles Apocalypse, British Library, Royal 15, D. II (England, 14th-cent.), folio 174v, detail. PUBLIC DOMAIN image; please click on it to go to the source.
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No zombies, plenty of dragons. The Welles Apocalypse, British Library, Royal 15, D. II (England, 14th-cent.), folio 154v, detail. PUBLIC DOMAIN image; please click on it to go to the source.
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This apocalyptic dragon has seven heads and ten horns, and some killer fireworks in its tail (they're actually the stars of heaven that it's dragged down). The Welles Apocalypse, British Library, Royal 15, D. II (England, 14th-cent.), folio 153r, detail. PUBLIC DOMAIN image; please click on it to go to the source.

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12/4/2015

From Hoopoe to Blue Tit

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No.1 Hoopoe. British Library, Harley 3244 (England, 13th-cent.), folio 57r. PUBLIC DOMAIN: Please click on image to go to source.
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Hoopoe. "Botbotik" by Dûrzan cîrano - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: Botbotik.jpg#/media/File:Botbotik.jpg
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No.2 Eagle-owl. British Library, Harley 3244 (England, 13th-cent.), folio 54v. PUBLIC DOMAIN: Please click on image to go to source.
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No.3 Mallard duck. British Library, Royal 6 E.vi (London c.1360-c.1375), folio 128r. PUBLIC DOMAIN: Please click on image to go to source.
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No.4 Goldfinch (a pair). British Library, Royal 6 E.vi (London, c.1360-c.1375), folio 167v. PUBLIC DOMAIN: Please click on image to go to source.
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No.5 Jay. British Library, Royal 19 B xv (London or East Anglia, 1300-1325), folio 37v. PUBLIC DOMAIN: Please click on image to go to source.
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No.6 Blue Tit. British Library, Royal 3 D vi (London, 1283-1300), folio 116r. PUBLIC DOMAIN: Please click on image to go to source.

The Anglo-Saxon Monk is pleased to announce that at least someone knows their medieval birds...

Well, it was a bit painful, blessed readers, but in the end we found someone who worked out the identity of the six medieval birds from my previous post. 

So a hearty congratulations to @Mwncïod. The Lord is delighted that someone out there knows her/his avian creation.  And Latin names to boot.  Impressive! 

Well done to the others who had a go.  God is inordinately fond of triers, I'm led to believe... or is it beetles?  As for you non-starters, well the least said the better!

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Eurasian Eagle Owl. By Kamil. Corrections: Piotr_J (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons
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Mallard. By Rror (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons
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Goldfinch. By milo bostock from gt yarmouth, norfolk (GOLD FINCH Uploaded by snowmanradio) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.
Answers
1. Hoopoe 
2. Eagle Owl 
3. Mallard Duck 
4. Goldfinch 
5. Jay 
6. Blue Tit
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Jay (Eurasian): the jay sometimes raises his crest, as in the medieval image. AlastairG [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
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Blue Tit. By Robert Dewar (Flickr: Blue Tit) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Hope you all enjoyed the Anglo-Saxon Monk's little foray into ornithology.  Any disputes over the birds' identities will be treated with the upmost monastic patience... so please do leave your comments below. 

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10/4/2015

Name that bird

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British Library, Harley 3244 (England, 13th-cent.), folio 57r. PUBLIC DOMAIN: Please click on image to go to source.
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When is a bat a bird? In a medieval bestiary! British Library, Harley 3244 (England, 13th-cent.), folio 55v. PUBLIC DOMAIN: Please click on image to go to source.

Do you know your chaffinch from your bullfinch, your tawny owl from your little owl?  The Anglo-Saxon Monk asks if you can identify six of his avian favourites from medieval manuscripts.

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Birds as evil spirits in an Apocalypse manuscript. British Library, Royal 15 D. ii (England, 1300-1325), folio 183r. PUBLIC DOMAIN: Please click on image to go to source.
PictureThe pelican kills its disobedient offspring then restores them to life with its own blood: an allegory for Christ's redemptive sacrifice. British Library, Harley 3244 (England, 13th-cent.), folio 54v. PUBLIC DOMAIN: Please click on image to go to source.
Medieval manuscripts are not particularly well known for their ornithological accuracy.  Just take a look at the pelican here!  And what ever made the compilers of medieval bestiaries decide to lump the bat in with birds?  Well, your guess is as good as mine, blessed readers. 

In the case of the pelican, of course, an English artist would never have seen one, and so it was more important to visually allude to the allegorical significance than go for naturalism.  In case you're wondering, the pelican feeding its young with its own blood represents the redemptive power of Christ's crucifixion.

Quite often the subject matter dictates the way birds are represented.  If an artist just needs volume, then flocking birds quite often look generic.  It's pretty tough going, for example, to find anything other than a generic bird amid Noah's many arks, apart from when the raven and dove enter the story, but even then the rather slipshod approach to ornithological detail would raise an eyebrow from you blessed birders and twitchers out there.    

And if you look at the Apocalypse scene, top right, the artist has not really gone for a particular species to represent these birds-come-evil spirits.  There is something parrot-like about them, true, but their serpentine tails take these birds away from naturalism, though of course this artistic choice may well contribute to the desired feel of malevolence.

Well, beloved, I think it's high time you identified the six birds below and demonstrated how well attuned you are to the Lord's avian creation.  No shabby responses like 'duck' or 'owl', I want full names, though I will let you off from having to provide them in Latin (nothing to do with my own Latin skills, I hasten to add). 

If you feel like slipping into immoderate behaviour, you can have a go at identifying those birds in images 3, 4 and 5 which I have not ringed.  But remember, pride comes before a fall.

My sincere apologies to those of you not from Britain, as these are all birds that live at least part of the year in this lovely land, though I must confess that image 1 is rather tricky even for you natives, so here's a clue: this bird is mentioned in the Bible (generous, I know).

Leave your answers in the comments section, and I may think about offering some kind of prize.  Answers will be provided in a few days' time.

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No. 1: British Library, Harley 3244 (England, 13th-cent.), folio 57r. PUBLIC DOMAIN: Please click on image to go to source.
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No. 3: British Library, Royal 6 E.vi (London c.1360-c.1375), folio 128r. PUBLIC DOMAIN: Please click on image to go to source.
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No. 5: British Library, Royal 19 B xv (London or East Anglia, 1300-1325), folio 37v. PUBLIC DOMAIN: Please click on image to go to source.
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Close-up of No. 5
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No. 2: British Library, Harley 3244 (England, 13th-cent.), folio 54v. PUBLIC DOMAIN: Please click on image to go to source.
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No. 4: British Library, Royal 6 E.vi (London, c.1360-c.1375), folio 167v. PUBLIC DOMAIN: Please click on image to go to source.
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No.6: British Library, Royal 3 D vi (London, 1283-1300), folio 116r. PUBLIC DOMAIN: Please click on image to go to source.

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6/4/2015

What not to eat

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Another Easter, another round of confessions. The Medieval Monk explores five (or six) food related sins that he doesn't want you confessing next Easter...
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A monk devours a plate of pies offered by a devil. Lives of the Saints, British Library, Arundel 91 (Canterbury, 1100-1125), folio 190r, detail from an historiated initial. This image is PUBLIC DOMAIN. Please click on it to go to the source.
I do hope, blessed readers, that you have been enjoying a spiritually uplifting time over the Easter period, and that you haven't just stuffed your face with chocolate bunnies and eggs –  do you know how heathen that is? 
Alright, you chocolate devotees, I know technically that a medieval monk shouldn’t know anything about chocolate confectionary – it wasn’t until 1847 that the chocolate bar was invented in England – but I get to hear about these things.  I have my sources!
Well, since we’re on the subject of food, and since, no doubt, you have just confessed all your sins, including those related to improper eating (we won’t mention your more salacious deeds), I thought I would offer my spiritual services by enlightening you on this most important of matters. 
After all, it gets a bit tiresome for your confessor to hear you grovelling with the same old, Oh, Father, I must confess that I ate a loaf/stew/steak/cheesecake that was consecrated to a devil.  So please, beloved, pay attention to my Top 5 (or 6) Things Not to Eat – ever again!

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    Welcome, blessed readers! This is the blog of the Medieval Monk, the alter ego of Dr Christopher Monk.

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