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So this is Guy of Ponthieu?

25/4/2015

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.

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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Apocalyptic nightmare!

23/4/2015

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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!

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.

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.

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.

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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From Hoopoe to Blue Tit

12/4/2015

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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.

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

No.2 Eagle-owl. British Library, Harley 3244 (England, 13th-cent.), folio 54v. PUBLIC DOMAIN: Please click on image to go to source.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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

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

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

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

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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So this is Guy of Ponthieu?

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.

Apocalyptic nightmare!

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!

From Hoopoe to Blue Tit

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

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