Remarkable Manuscripts

 The Annunciation; Archangel Gabriel greeting Mary.
From the opulent 12th century Copenhagen Psalter in the
Kongelige Bibliotek, Copenhagen.

 Christopher de Hamel

 As a displacement activity in view of the appalling news re the Presidency in America, I think it is an opportune time to flag up a marvellous book I have just read. 'Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts' by Christopher de Hamel, Fellow Librarian at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge before which he had a long and distinguished career at Sotheby's handling and cataloguing illuminated manuscripts. His scholarship is extraordinary but so is his delightfully modest ability to make his intellectual exploration of twelve mediaeval manuscripts, exciting and accessible to the lay person. It is one of the most thrilling books I have ever read. Neil MacGregor calls it 'the intellectual expedition of a lifetime' as de Hamel explores twelve incomparable mediaeval manuscript codices from the sixth to the sixteenth centuries, all carefully guarded in university and other prestigious libraries in Europe and America, most after amazing journeys of ownership and sanctuary over centuries.



His book is part conversation with the manuscript under study, and part with the reader In fact, I like his preferred title of Interviews with Remarkable Manuscripts; it neatly fits his style. He describes in detail the often gorgeous illustrations, often with a background story of the illuminator, but he

 St Luke, from St Augustine's Gospel kept at
Corpus Christi. A.D. 597
This venerable volume is now used for the swearing of
the oaths of office at the enthronement of each new
Archbishop of Canterbury.

also examines the structure of the book, any erasures, the sewing holes, the over-paintings and the bindings. There is more detective work too as he strives to decide, for example, whether the 1400 year old vellum-paged book of the four Gospels, kept at Corpus Christi, is really the very one which belonged to St Augustine of Canterbury, given to him by Pope Gregory when he came to convert the Anglo-Saxons in 597. He considers various aspects of history and evidence and concludes that it is a 'virtual certainty.'



The modest and talented Hugo Pictor,
Hugh the Painter, 11th century

  



My favourite person [apart from Dear Christopher himself, who is not just in the book, but of it] in this splendid narrative is Hugo Pictor, Hugh the Painter. De Hamel discovers where  Hugo lived, who he worked for and what he did. The normal practice in making mediaeval manuscripts involved a division of labour between the scribe who wrote out the text and the illuminator who painted the pictures and the ornamentation. But this manuscript, de Hamel proves, was written and illustrated in the latter part, by the same man, Hugo Pictor. The manuscript is tenth century, the commentary in Latin, on the Book of Isaiah by Saint Jerome, an honourable commission indeed, but Hugo couldn't resist adding a small and delicate self-portrait on the last page with his name written around his head. Endearing and achingly personal. Can that really have been over a millennium ago?
 

But the most exciting discovery for me was in the twelfth codex, the Spinola Hours, c 1515-20 and now kept in the J. Paul Getty Museum near Los Angeles. De Hamel talks of opening the Spinola and plunging straight into the late Middle Ages and of the 'exceptionally rich' and innovative decoration. The many illustrations in the book are breath-taking miniature masterpieces and, de Hamel marvels,  in exceptional condition. What particularly thrilled me, living as I now do in Brugge, was the discovery that this book is Flemish; the beautifully decorated, incredibly wide margins of the text pages, we learn, are in the Ghent-Bruges' style of Renaissance Flanders.

 A typical wide border in The Spinola Hours,
illustrative of the Ghent/Brugge style
of naturalistic illumination.

 'The 'extraordinary layers of illusion in Ghent-Bruges manuscripts' is praised and De Hamel refers to panels of text being turned into three-dimensional illusions with scrolls fallen on to the page, and text pinned to the page.  He describes the naturalistic flowers and berries scattered across the golden grounds of the wide borders, apparently attracting life-like  snails and insects to settle there.

De Hamel does extensive and amazing detective work on the artists behind the luxurious decoration of the Spinola Hours and also on its relationship to two other first class mediaeval manuscripts but readers of my modest tribute must buy or borrow this book to discover his conclusions. Or put it on your Christmas list if you have someone who really wants to please you!

Another glorious Spinola page 1515-20



Drinkt God Duvel?

The title of this week's blog is absolutely nothing to do with me; it is the title of a performance sometime this week of what I take to be some satirical theatrical event. It is just such a marvellous title that I cannot resist using it though won't be going to see the play as it will be in Dutch of course. In fact, currently, I go nowhere much and certainly not in the evening, in the dark, as confidence is lower than normal in my ability NOT to trip up!! Careful, compulsory daytime walks are sufficient and will help recovery of both health and confidence, I hope! At least that is my self-narrative.

Apropos my wonderful title, 'Does God Drink Duvel?' I should mention to non-aficionados that Duvel is one of the numerous Wonderful Belgian Beers and one of my three current favourites; namely Leffe Blonde, Brugse Zot and the aforementioned Duvel. Part of my self-medication to aid recovery is to prescribe a beer a day and I just hope not to put on weight though think my present entirely liquid diet probably ensures that I won't. I won't bore with the details of my incredibly healthy diet; suffice it to say that I dream of bacon sandwiches! And of salted nuts. Separately.

Because of my temporary isolation I treat myself to a newspaper, more often than the usual one a week as a reward for my suffering! Reading a newspaper [not online] remains a thoroughly delightful and indulgent activity and it is more than usually appreciated at present. Since living in Brugge, I have become a real fan of the International New York Times, thus reversing my poor opinion of most American newspapers. So that, together with a Saturday Daily Telegraph forms my staple current affairs diet.
 This means that I am pretty up to speed on things political in the U.S. and the U.K. and have become slightly obsessed with the ghastly charade in America as E day draws close. It really does look as if American society has a collective death wish. One hoped that the Republican Top Brass could have found a way to de-rail Trump but unnervingly, respectable Republicans like Paul Ryan, Speaker of the House and originally a Refusenik over Trump, now disdainfully endorses him, seeming not to recognise the utter stupidity and self-harm of such an act, stupidly harmful to the fate of the Republican Party that is. And why would he do that when there ARE Republicans who will hold their noses and vote for Hilary? To accommodate Party donors, presumably by helping to provide a conduit for tax reduction for the wealthy. And to be in a position to repeal or privatise Obamacare perhaps, a cause mysteriously dear to the caring, sharing right wing. Cynicism personified even for a politician.

This year, unusually, I have needed health care over two periods and I am SO grateful to be living in Belgium where I pay 8 euros a month to my Mutualiteit for health cover plus, at my age, 52 euros a month to cover all hospital expenses. [voluntary but sensible!] When I visit the G.P. each visit costs 24 euros 50 and I am repaid about three quarters of that by the Mutualiteit,
the insurer. In Britain there are no such charges but the low cost system here has considerable advantages. Little or no waiting; choice of hospital if one feels the need; immediate accessibility to consultant appointments. If people are paying, even a little, to go to the GP, then missed/forgotten appointments are vanishingly rare. The flip side of this health care system is high taxation. The Americans would call this socialism, I believe; whatever the name, it benefits millions of less-than-wealthy, and poor, tax-paying [and non tax-paying] citizens.

Back to the U.S. I was astonished, not to say aghast, at the action of the FBI chief, Comey. Although most public appointments over there seem to be political, I had assumed that the Head of the F.B.I. must be apolitical but not so. Mr Comey is more a Republican and less a public servant, it seems. So almost on the eve of the election, he wrote to Congress about a further cache of emails connected with Hilary, the contents of which he claimed to know little but felt an urgent need to publicise. The background to all of this election hysteria, hype and misinformation, is populism. All populism needs to take a real stranglehold is a person in the public eye willing, nay anxious, to manipulate facts, non-facts, opinion and truth; someone to stoke the flames of resentment and feelings of exclusion. And populism found Trump, a man without integrity, empathy, conscience, morality. A combustible combination indeed. Apparently there is still about 45% of the U.S. population which believes Obama is not American or Christian; that he was born in Africa and is a Muslim. Looks ridiculous when written down. And it rather reassures a person that Europe is a saner place to live.

A post script to the above; F.B.I. chief, James Comey, has indicated that there is nothing criminal in the emails and no action against Hilary Clinton will be undertaken. That's this morning's news. i.e.
on Monday 7th November, the day before the election. I imagine it is a little too late to undo any damage but I hope Hilary wins and sentences him to be hung, drawn and quartered. A public duty, no less!

 I do feel shabby, choosing this photograph of The Donald
but somehow it portrays his ridiculous and self-regarding
personality.