old_manuscripts

59d

Six centuries of secularism

When the first ‘how-to’ books began to explain the way the world worked, they paved the way for science and secularism

by William Eamon

https://aeon.co/essays/six-centuries-of-secularity-began-with-the-first-how-to-books?utm_source=Aeon+Newsletter&utm_campaign=67079b5b03-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_12_02&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-4ef8a26106-72664972

Secularism at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subject/21793

#books #old_manuscripts #literature

Ramon Llull/Raimundus Lullus (1232? - 1316; Encyclopedist)

This is a historical engraving of Ramon Llull (also known as Raimundus Lullus), a 13th-14th century Majorcan philosopher, theologian, and encyclopedist (1232?-1316), depicted with flowing beard, ornate Renaissance-era clothing, and pipe.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramon_Llull#/media/File:Ramon_Llull.jpg

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112d

How Close Did We Come to Losing Beowulf Forever?

Robert Bartlett on a Vital Work of the Western Canon That Barely Survived Multiple Disasters

https://lithub.com/how-close-did-we-come-to-losing-beowulf-forever/?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=campaign&utm_id=01K79M748M3MD2TD26V5CEP1Y5&_kx=3MZUehzXM-41qlWAMPUiuNZadX2p0SByuNf_t0eMLB0.U5D8ER

Beowulf at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subjects/search/?query=Beowulf

#books #literature #old_manuscripts

The first folio of the heroic epic poem Beowulf, written primarily in the West Saxon dialect of Old English. Part of the Cotton MS Vitellius A XV manuscript currently located within the British Library. This is a digital photographic copy of the folio. Text shown according to https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43521/beowulf-old-english-version:

WE GARDE na in geardagum, þeodcyninga, [129] þrym gefrunon, hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon. Oft Scyld Scefing sceaþena þreatum,monegum mægþum, meodosetla ofteah, egsode eorlas. Then the feast was found, he asked for it, grew under the clouds, the gods, until each of those sitting around him heard the sound of the horn, gomban gyldan. That was a good king. After that, he was remembered, walking in the fields, the good one sent to the king; the fire on the king who had long been dead. His life, the ruler of the people, the lord of the world, was taken away; Beowulf was quick to spring forth, Scyld's son, into the lands of the dead. Thus shall men go forth to good deeds, from pious gifts to their fathers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beowulf#/media/File:Beowulf_Cotton_MS_Vitellius_A_XV_f._132r.jpg

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125d

New research may rewrite origins of the Book of Kells, says academic

Author challenges assumption monks on Iona created manuscript, instead positing its origins are Pictish

By Dalya Alberge

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/sep/26/new-research-may-rewrite-origins-of-the-book-of-kells-says-academic?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

#books #old_manuscripts

Book of Kells, Folio 292r, Incipit to John. In principio erat verbum.

The page opens with the large, elaborately decorated words IN PRINCIPIO. The “I” and “N” are monumental, filled with complex interlace and spiral motifs.

Each letter is not just a character but an artistic composition, heavily ornamented with Celtic knotwork, spirals, animal interlace, and stylized foliage.

Rich tones of red, yellow, green, blue, and black are used.

Within and around the letters, one can find zoomorphic designs.

After the monumental decorated opening, the rest of the text (“erat verbum”) continues in smaller, though still carefully calligraphed, script.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Kells#/media/File:KellsFol292rIncipJohn.jpg

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81d

Tutivillus Is Watching You

For medieval scribes, mistakes couldn’t be easily shrugged off, as Tutivillus, the stickler demon, was always looking over their shoulders.

By: Amelia Soth

https://daily.jstor.org/tutivillus-is-watching-you/

Medieval manuscripts at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subjects/search/?query=medieval+manuscripts

#books #old_manuscripts

Representation of Titivillus (14th century).

The scene shows a scribe seated at a wooden desk, diligently copying a manuscript with a quill pen. He leans over an open book filled with red and black text.

Behind him, Titivillus appears as a small, dark, winged creature with a mischievous face, hairy body, and clawed hands. The demon watches him intently.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Titivillus.jpg

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71d

Break out the calculators: November 23 is Fibonacci Sequence Day

The cornerstone of modern math wouldn’t be possible without the Hindu-Arabic numerical system.

by Andrew Paul

https://www.popsci.com/science/fibonacci-sequence-day-2025/

Fibonacci at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=fibonacci

#books #mathematics #old_manuscripts

A page of Fibonacci's Liber Abaci from the Biblioteca Nazionale di Firenze showing (in box on right) 13 entries of the Fibonacci sequence: the indices from present to XII (months) as Latin ordinals and Roman numerals and the numbers (of rabbit pairs) as Hindu-Arabic numerals starting with 1, 2, 3, 5 and ending with 377.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Liber_abbaci_magliab_f124r.jpg

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73d

Scientists found the key to accurate Maya eclipse tables

Eclipse tables in the Dresden Codex were based on lunar tables and adjusted for slippage over time.

by Jennifer Ouellette

https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/11/study-how-the-maya-created-such-accurate-eclipse-tables/

Original article:
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adt9039

#books #old_manuscripts #astronomy

Pages of the Dresden codex on eclipses .

The image shows several adjoining pages of the Dresden Codex, an ancient Maya manuscript. The pages are filled with dense Maya hieroglyphs, numbers, and symbols arranged in horizontal rows and vertical columns. Much of the imagery uses black and red ink on a cream-colored, weathered surface.

Across the pages are repeating patterns of dot-and-bar numerals, used in Maya calendrical calculations. Interspersed among the glyph blocks are stylized drawings of deities and serpent-like figures, characteristic of Maya cosmology. These particular pages are known for containing astronomical tables related to eclipses, and the highly structured numerical sequences suggest predictive calculations.

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3d

X-rays from SLAC's synchrotron reveal star maps in a centuries-old manuscript

Pages from the Codex Climaci Rescriptus palimpsest from the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC, were brought to the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource to recover erased astronomical text, especially fragments from Hipparchus' star catalog.

https://www6.slac.stanford.edu/news/2026-01-29-x-rays-slacs-synchrotron-reveal-star-maps-centuries-old-manuscript

Hipparchus at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=Hipparchus

#books #old_manuscripts #astronomy

A leaf from the Codex Climaci Rescriptus in the Green Collection.

This image shows:

Upper layer (darker text): Written in Syriac (a dialect of Aramaic), visible as the black script
Under layer (faint, underlying text): The ghostly traces of an earlier text in Christian Palestinian Aramaic (also called Palestinian Syriac), visible as the fainter, brownish text running underneath
Two layers: You can see both texts overlapping, with the undertext running in a different direction or angle from the overtext

About the Codex Climaci Rescriptus:

Undertext (Christian Palestinian Aramaic): Written in the 6th-8th centuries CE
Overtext (Syriac): Written later, around the 8th-9th centuries CE or later

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Codex_Climaci_Rescriptus.jpg

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46d

Was the Bayeux Tapestry Made for a Monastic Dining Hall?

A new study offers a fresh way of thinking about one of the most famous works of medieval art by asking a deceptively simple question: where was the Bayeux Tapestry originally meant to be seen?

https://www.medievalists.net/2025/12/bayeux-tapestry-monastic-dining-hall/

Original article:
https://academic.oup.com/histres/advance-article/doi/10.1093/hisres/htaf029/8377922?login=false

#books #old_manuscripts #history

This scene from the Bayeux Tapestry shows a banquet held by the Norman leaders before the invasion of England.

At the center is a long, curved table laden with food—round loaves of bread, bowls, and drinking vessels—around which several Norman figures sit and gesture animatedly. One central figure, dressed as a bishop, raises his hand in a gesture of blessing, indicating that the meal is being formally blessed before it begins. The Latin inscription above the scene refers to this act of blessing.

To the sides, attendants prepare and serve food: one cuts meat, another carries dishes, and others hold drinking cups or signal to one another. Beneath the table, a servant hurries forward carrying a large wine vessel, emphasizing the scale of provisioning. Below this register, animals being prepared for food (such as livestock) appear, reinforcing the theme of feasting and supply.

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44d

5 Dazzling Medieval Manuscripts That Have Outlasted Empires

These manuscripts stand out for their artistry, craftsmanship, and historical significance.

by Tim Brinkhof

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/illuminated-medieval-manuscripts-to-know-2710634

Old manuscripts at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=old+manuscripts

#archeology #history #books #old_manuscripts

Book of Kells (an illuminated manuscript), Folio 32v, Christ Enthroned.

Folio 32v from the Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript created circa 800 CE, depicting Christ Enthroned. This masterpiece of Insular art showcases the elaborate Celtic ornamentation, vibrant colors, and intricate geometric patterns characteristic of medieval Irish monastic manuscripts. The page exemplifies the extraordinary artistic achievement of early medieval Ireland.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Kells#/media/File:KellsFol032vChristEnthroned.jpg

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3d

Over 32,000 medieval manuscripts transcribed in four months using AI

Medievalists can now access automated transcriptions of 32,763 digitised medieval manuscripts, produced in just four months as part of a project called CoMMA—a large-scale corpus designed to make manuscript texts searchable and analysable at a scale that would be impossible to tackle by hand.

https://www.medievalists.net/2026/01/32000-medieval-manuscripts-transcribed-using-ai/

Original paper:
https://inria.hal.science/hal-05299220

The CoMMA website:
https://comma.inria.fr/homepage

#books #old_manuscripts

First page of Chronicon Pictum, the "Illuminated Chronicle" from the court of King Louis the Great of Hungary from 1358.

Main illumination shows:

A multi-paneled scene within an elaborate architectural frame
Central figure: A crowned king (likely representing Hungarian royalty) seated on a throne
Left panel: Armed warriors or knights
Right panel: Groups of courtiers or nobles
Rich colors: deep blues, reds, golds, and ochres
Gothic architectural elements including towers and arches

Latin text in two columns
Red lettering (rubrics) for important headings and initial words
Black text for the main chronicle
Beautiful calligraphy in Gothic script

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illuminated_manuscript#/media/File:K%C3%A9pes_kr%C3%B3nika_els%C5%91_lapja.jpg

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