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Category Archives: Illuminated Manuscripts
01 Sunday Jan 2017
Posted by michelinewalker in Feasts, Illuminated Manuscripts
2017, Elina Garanca, Illuminated Manuscripts, Laudate Dominum., Lindisfarne Gospels, Mozart, New Year
The Lindisfarne Gospels
I wish you good health and glorious days.
The year 2016 was somewhat bumpy. It brought Brexit and Donald Trump. Mr Trump may not be a duly-elected President of the United States because Russian President Vladimir Putin meddled in an American election.
Let us hope Mr Trump does not change what has been put into place radically. He does not have a clear mandate and countries need stability and continuity. Moreover, what happens in the United States affects the entire world.
A New Year is a beginning and I hope 2017 will bring us joy and peace.
I am inserting Mozart's Laudate Dominum. It is one of the finest compositions ever.
(See Vesperæ sollenes de confessore, K. 339, Wikipedia)
Elīna Garanča – Wikipedia
Posted by michelinewalker in France, History, Illuminated Manuscripts, Middle Ages
Battle of Crécy, Battle of Poitiers, Charles VI of France, Edward III, Edward the Black Prince, Henry V of England, Hundred Years' War, Jeanne d'Arc, Siege of Orleans, War of Succession
The Battle of Agincourt by Enguerrant de Monstrelet[1] (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Painting, c. 1485. An artist's interpretation, since the only known direct portrait has not survived. (Centre Historique des Archives Nationales, Paris, AE II 2490)
Although it seems difficult to believe, there was a Jeanne d'Arc (6 January c. 1412 – 30 May 1431). She was born to a peasant family in Domrémy in north-east France, and was directed by the Archangel Michael, Saint Margaret, and Saint Catherine to fight the English who claimed France as their realm and lead Charles VII the Dauphin,[2] to Reims cathedral where he would be crowned King of France. Kings of France were crowned at Reims cathedral.
Jeanne, or Jehanne, was nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans," La Pucelle d'Orléans.
I have been trying to tell the story of the Hundred Years' War waged between 1337 and 1453 and must report that it is difficult to fit such a topic in a post.
The Hundred Years' War opposed the French House of Valois and the English House of Plantagenet, but it was an interrupted war. Basically, it was a war of succession. Eleanor of Aquitaine had married English King Edward II, after her marriage to Louis VII of France was annulled. She had failed to produce a heir to the throne of France. Only males could inherit the crown. She did not lose Aquitaine, so her descendants felt they could claim the throne of France.
That's how the military conflicts began.
[I have read that during the Hundred Years' War, it was also proposed that William I, Duke of Normandy having conquered Britain at the Battle of Hastings (1066), Britain could claim the French crown.]
Historians divide the Hundred Years' War into three phases: the Edwardian Era War (1337–1360); the Caroline War (1369–1389), and the Lancastrian War (1415–1453). (See Hundred Years' War, Wikipedia.)
Edward III was the son of Isabella of France and he was married to Philippa of Hainaut.
Phase 1: the Edwardian Wars, 1340 – 1360
claims to the throne of France by the English House of Plantagenet
Edward, the Black Prince of England
In 1337, English monarch Edward III claimed he was heir to the French crown as the grandson of Philip IV of France. His mother, Isabella of France, was the daughter of King Philip IV. His son, Edward the Black Prince, was the great-grandson of Philip IV of France.
Three battles were fought regarding this claim. Edward III fought the Battle of Sluys, a sea battle, on 24 June 1340. It was an English victory. Six years later, on 26 August 1346, he fought the Battle of Crécy, which was also an English victory. On 19 September 1356, Edward, the Black Prince, Edward III's son, fought the Battle of Poitiers. It was also an English victory, but the war was not over. It had just begun.
The Battle of Crécy was followed by the Black Death. The Black Death, the plague, was a pandemics that took the life of an estimated 75 to 200 million Europeans. Poland was spared. The Black Death peaked in the years 1346-1353. (See Black Death, Wikipedia.)
There were other battles, which I must leave aside.
Battle of Sluys, 1340
Battle of Crécy, 1346
Edward, the Black Prince
Battle of Sluys, Chroniques de Jean Froissart
Battle of Crécy, Chroniques de Jean Froissart
Phase 2: the Caroline War, c. 1369 – 1389
Charles VI, of France (crowned in 1380)
regents: the Burgundians
Charles VI dismisses the Burgundians (1388)
truce declared in 1389
During the Caroline War, French King Charles VI (3 December 1368 – 21 October 1422) opposed the Burgundian Dukes. Charles VI of France was 11 years old when his father died (1380). The Dukes of Burgundy therefore ruled France. They were extremely powerful and wanted to reign. In 1388, Charles VI dismissed them all, which was humiliating.
However, in 1392, Charles VI went mad. He nearly killed his brother: Louis I, Duke of Orleans. As of that event, Charles VI the Beloved, le Bien-Aimé, was transformed into King Charles le Fol or le Fou, the Mad. He had long periods of sanity and therefore reigned until his death in 1422, two years after he signed the Treaty of Troyes, discussed below.
1407 – 1435 (Louis d'Orléans is assassinated by a Burgundian = a civil war)
Finally, in 1407, Louis I, Duke of Orleans, a profligate 'prince of the blood,' or possible heir to the kingdom of France, was assassinated by John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, the event that triggered the Armagnac-Burgundian Civil War. The Armagnac-Burgundian Civil War erupted in 1407 and lasted until 1435: 28 years. The Armagnacs were loyal to the House of Valois (Charles VI). When Joan of Arc saved France (1429), the Burgundians fought for England, or the House of Plantagenet, but Scottish troops supported the Armagnacs, the French House of Valois.
Assassination of Louis I, Duke of Orleans (1409)
Assassination of John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy (1419)
Valentine of Milan weeping for the death of her husband, Louis of Orléans by Fleury-François Richard (c. 1802) Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Phase 3: The Lancastrian Wars, 1415 – 1453
the Battle of Agincourt (1415) English victory
Charles, Duke of Orleans captured 1415 (released in 1440)
the Treaty of Troyes (1420) Charles VII is disinherited
Charles VII, of France (crowned in 1429, because of Joan of Arc)
Joan of Arc was active in 1428 – 1429, during the Lancastrian Wars (1415 – 1453), named after John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford. The war continued to oppose members of the French House of Valois and English House of Plantagenet, but the Siege of Orleans, Jeanne d'Arc's victory, destroyed the English Kings' hope to reign over France, but claims did not end. The matter of succession was contentious.
Emboldened by the death, by assassination, of Louis I, Duke of Orleans and by the illness of Charles VI (3 December 1368 – 21 October 1422), King Henry V of England attacked the French at Azincourt (Agincourt). Charles VI, pictured below, did not participate in the Battle of Agincourt, nor did his 12 year-old son, the future Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461). The Battle of Agincourt (25 October 1415), was a decisive English victory. Charles VI avoided capture. However, Charles Duke of Orleans (24 November 1394 – 5 January 1465), was taken into captivity. He was the son of Louis I, Duke of Orleans, an assassinated prince.
Charles VI by le Maître de Boucicault
The Treaty of Troyes
Our starting-point could be the Treaty of Troyes. In 1420, five years after the Battle of Agincourt (25 October 1415), an English victory, French Charles VI (3 December 1368 – 21 October 1422), disinherited his son, Charles VII, and consented to the marriage of his daughter, Catherine de Valois, to Henry V, King of England.
Catherine gave birth to a son, the future King Henry VI of England and France, on 6 December 1421. English King Henry VI never saw his son. He was on a campaign in France and died of dysentery, in 1422. Therefore, when Henry V died, in 1422, Henry VI (b.1421), still an infant, was heir to the throne of France.
Nothing so defies logic as the Treaty of Troyes (1420). French King Charles VI disinherited his son Charles VII, the rightful heir. Henry V, King of England would inherit the French throne and he had a son, Philip VI.
The King of France himself, King Charles VI, gave France to the English in what must have been a moment of delusion. Hence the great pity the Archangel Michael asked Joan of Arc to end. In the eyes of the French, Charles VII was King of France by right of primogeniture, the firstborn, but he had not been crowned and Henry VI of England had been made heir to the kingdom of France. John Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, hence the Lancastrian wars, acted as regent of France for his nephew, King Henry VI.
Siege of Orleans
(Photo credit: Wikipedia & Royaume de France)
The Siege of Orleans, a French Victory
Siege of Orleans: 12 October 1428 – 8 May 1429
Joan of Arc: 22 March 1429 – 8 May 1429
Our story ends with the Siege of Orleans. Given their victory at the Battle of Agincourt and by virtue of the Treaty of Troyes, the British had the upper hand. The Siege began on 12 October 1428 at Orleans, territory belonging to imprisoned Charles, Duke of Orleans. It was a protracted siege, but it was lifted by 8 May 1429.
Jeanne d'Arc entered the Siege late in the conflict, on 22 March 1429, its sixth month, and there were further delays. At first, French officials would not hear her. She was telling a tale that was difficult to believe. She was divinely-ordained to defeat the English and to take Charles VII to Reims. When, at long last, she was allowed to meet the uncrowned King Charles VII, he put own garments that did not suggest he was the King. Yet, she identified him immediately.
The siege of Orleans was lifted by 8 May 1429 and Charles VII was crowned at Reims, on 17 July 1429. Henry VI of England, was crowned King of England on 6 November 1429 and King of France on 16 December 1431, at Notre-Dame de Paris.
Battle of Castillon (1453), a French Victory
The Hundred Years' War did not end until the Battle of Castillon, fought on 17 July 1453, in Gascony. England lost its landholdings in France, except Calais and the Channel Islands. It would also lose Calais in 1558. (See Battle of Castillon, Wikipedia.)
However, the war was lost when French King Charles VII was crowned in Reims and France was again a kingdom. Between 1422 and 1429, it had been two kingdoms.
The House of Plantagenet was not able to claim France as its rightful inheritance. The Hundred Years' War was, to a large extent, a war of succession, but an uncommon war of succession. As unbelievable as it may seem, King Charles VI of France bequeathed France to the King of England, Philip VI, disinheriting his own son, which was treason.
As for Joan of Arc, would that Charles VII, King of France, had saved her. He may have been a coward.
With my kindest regards. ♥
[1] Enguerrand de Monstrelet
[2] The heir to the throne of France was called the Dauphin (dolphin).
Medieval Warfare (Photo credit: Google Images)
Posted by michelinewalker in Bestiaries, Illuminated Manuscripts, Middle Ages
Bestiaries, Book of Kells, Books of Hours, Illuminated Manuscripts, Labours of the Month, Très Riches Heures
January, Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Wishing all of you a very Happy New Year ♥
Illuminated manuscripts are the ancestors of our illustrated books. Famous examples are the Book of Kells, Les Très Riches Heures de Jean de France, Duc de Berry, and Medieval Bestiaries.
During the Middle Ages, le livre d'images (the picture book) was very popular. If one couldn't read, the image must have been a delight. The most popular book of the Middle Ages was the Légende dorée (The Golden Legend), by Jacobus de Voragine. It was a hagiography, lives of saints and martyrs, but it outsold the Bible. The first printed Bible is the Gutenberg Bible, which I have not discussed yet.
The Book of Kells: Details (20 March 2013)
The Book of Kells Revisited (17 March 2013)
Books of Hours, a Rich Legacy (20 February 2013)
Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry Revisited (21 December 2012)
Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry (21 December 2012)
The Fitzwilliam Book of Hours: Comments, Palimpsests (20 November 2011)
The Book of Kells (11 November 2011)
Natural Histories (3 October 2014)
The Ashmole Bestiary (1 March 2013)
The Aberdeen Bestiary: a Medieval Bestiary (27 February 2013)
The Medieval Bestiary: the Background (22 February 2013)
Allegorical Illuminated Manuscripts (20 February 2013)
The Golden Legend Revisited (12 February 2013)
Other Illuminated Manuscripts (9 February 2013)
Jacques de Voragine & The Golden Legend (6 February 2012)
Sources and Resources
Bestiary.ca
Labours of the Month
Muhammad ibn Mustafa Izmiri, Illuminated Double-Page Incipit [first words] (Courtesy Walters Art Museum)
Historiated Letter, Book of Kells Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Natural Histories
Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Beast Literature, Bestiaries, Illuminated Manuscripts
Bibliothèque nationale de France, Books of Hours, Christianity, David Badke, Illuminated Manuscripts, Lists of Historians, Marco Polo, Natural Histories, The Golden Legend, The Physiologus
Livre d'images de madame Marie Hainaut, vers 1285-1290 Paris, BnF, Naf 16251, fol. 22v. La naissance du Christ est annoncée aux bergers, aux humbles. "Et voici qu'un ange du seigneur leur apparut [.]. Ils furent saisis d'une grande frayeur. Mais l'ange leur dit : "Ne craignez point, car je vous annonce une bonne nouvelle [.]" (The Birth of Christ announced to the Shepherds) (Photo credit: the National Library of France [BnF])
I am providing you with a list of natural historians. There are other historians than those I have listed. Moreover, some of the authors of Medieval Bestiaries were historians. My sources are the Medieval Bestiary and Wikipedia.
The Contents of Natural Histories
Nature included not only animals, plants, flowers, but "the moon, stars, and the zodiac, the sun, the planets, the seasons and the calendar[.]" (Vincent de Beauvais). I have already noted that our humble calendars were cultural monuments. Jean de France's Livre d'heures (Book of Hours) is probably the chief example of humanity's need to chronicle its hours and the labours of the months. Les Très Riches Heures de Jean de France, Duc de Berry and the Book of Kells are genuine treasures. The beauty of the Book of Kells never ceases to amaze me. It is always new. As for Jean de France, Duc de Berry's Livre d'heures, it is also an extremely beautiful book and it features the zodiac, thereby attesting to continuity between "paganism" and Christianity.
The Testimonial of Explorers: Marco Polo
The authors of the Natural Histories relied to a large extent on the testimonial of earlier natural historians, which did not make for accuracy, but was acceptable in the Middle Ages. Predecessors were masters one strove to equal. Marco Polo's (15 September, 1254 – 8–9 January, 1324) Book of the Marvels of the World (Le Livre des merveilles du monde), c. 1300, was also a source for natural historians who lived during Marco Polo's lifetime and afterwards.
Marco Polo, however, did not have a camera and it would appear that few artists accompanied him. His descriptions could therefore be edited. Discovering trade routes, the silk road, was a more important mission for him than cataloging animals. Last September (2014), it was suggested that Marco Polo discovered America. (See The Telegraph.)
The Bestseller of the Middle Ages: The Golden Legend
Although Natural Histories listed mythical animals and much lore, I would not dismiss the accounts of the natural historians of Greece, Rome, early Christianity, and the Christian Middle Ages. Their books reveal various steps in our history. For instance, the bestseller of the Middle Ages was Jacobus de Voragine's (c. 1230 – 13 or 16 July 1298) Golden Legend, which contained mostly inaccurate hagiographies (lives of saints). Although it was rather fanciful, it served as a mythology and humans need mythologies. They need to trace their roots.
Claudius Alienus' On the Characteristics of Animals is available in print: Book 1, Book 2. But it may be read online at Internet Archive (Book 1, Book 2, Book 3). So are other books. For my purposes, On the Characteristics of Animals (EN) was extremely useful. It is the natural history I used when I prepared my course on Beast Literature.
Beatus de Saint-Sever. Manuscrit copié à Saint-Sever, XIe siècle, avant 1072 BnF, Manuscrits, Latin 8878 fol. 14 (An "historiated" letter: note the "eternal" knots and Renart standing on its back legs.) (Photo credit: the National Library of France [BnF])
Guillaume de Machaut, Rondeaux. Manuscrit copié à Reims, vers 1373-1377.
BnF, Manuscrits, Français 1584 fol. 478 (Renart sits inside an historiated initial.) (Photo credit: BnF)
Among historians, we can name:
Aelian (Claudius Alieanus) (c. 175 – c. 235 CE);
Æsop's Fables (620 and 560 BCE);
Saint Ambrose (c. 340 – 4 April 397), Bishop of Milan;
Augustine of Hippo or St Augustine (13 November 354 CE – 28 August 430);
John Chrysostom c. 347 – 407);
Gervaise (end of 12th century), Bayeux, a Bestiaire);
Giraldus Cambrensis (Gerald of Wales, Gerald of Wales or Gerald de Barri) (c. 1146 – c. 1223);
Guillaume le Clerc (early 13th century), Anglo-Norman, Bestiaire divin, written around 1210 or 1211);
Hugh of Fouilloy (early 12th century), Anglo-Norman, Livre des Créatures, or Liber de Creatures, c. 1119, De avibus [birds]);
Hugh of Saint Victor
Hrabanus Maurus (c. 780-856), Archbishop of Mainz, De rerum naturis (On the Nature of Things), or De universo, an encyclopedia in 22 books, written between 842 and 847);
Isidore of Seville (St. Isidore) (c. 560 – 4 April 636 CE), Archbishop of Seville, Etymologiæ;
Lambert of Saint-Omer (c. 1061 – 1250), Liber floridus ("book of flowers"), Le Livre fleurissant en fleurs;
Lucan (3 November 39 CE – 20 April 65 CE), Roman, Pharsalia (unfinished);
Jacob van Maerlant (c. 1235 – 1291), greatest Flemish poet of the Middle Ages, Der Naturen Bloeme, a translation in Middle Dutch of Thomas of Cantimpré's Liber de Natura Rerum;
Konrad von Megenberg (early 14th century), Bavaria, studied in Paris, Das Buch der Natur, his source was Thomas of Cantimpré;
Ovid (20 March 43 BC – 17/18 BCE), the author of the Metamorphoses;
Philippe de Thaon (early 13th century), Anglo-Norman writer, Livre des Créatures, or Liber de Creatures;
the author of the anonymous Physiologus;
Pliny the Elder (23 CE – 24 or 25 August 79 CE), Naturalis Historia (mentioned below);
Strabo (63/64 BCE – c. 24 CE), Greek, Geographica;
Theophrastus (c. 370 – 285 BCE), Enquiry into Plants (9 books), On the Causes of Plants (six books) (Theophrastus will be discussed separately);
Thomas of Cantimpré (early 13th century, Brussels), Liber de Natura Rerum (19 books in 1228, 20 books in 1244);
Vincent of Beauvais (c. 1190 – 1264?), a French Dominican friar, Speculum [mirror] naturale (His Speculum Maius was the main encyclopedia used in the Middle Ages.).
My list is the Medieval Bestiary's list. It can be found by clicking on Bestiary.ca. The following authors are fascinating:
Pliny the Elder (23 CE – 79 CE) wrote a Naturalis Historia, a History of Nature. Pliny died in the eruption of Vesuvius, on 24 August 79 CE. Accounts differ. Pliny the Elder may have been studying the eruption, but he was also trying to rescue friends. Pliny the Younger, Pliny the Elder's nephew, wrote two letters on the eruption of Vesuvius that he sent to Tacitus. Pliny the Younger was a witness to the eruption of Vesuvius, but survived. (See Pliny the Elder, Pliny the Younger, and Tacitus, Wikipedia – the free encyclopedia.)
Claudius Alienus (c. 175 – c. 235 CE) known as Aelian, is the author of On the Characteristics of Animals. Aelian, however, used written sources, one of which was Pliny the Elder's Naturalis Historia. Aelian told how beavers castrate themselves to escape hunters. As mentioned above, Aelian's On the Characteristics of Animals is an Internet Archive publication Book 1, Book 2, Book 3. (See Claudius Alienus, Wikipedia – the free encyclopedia.)
Vincent de Beauvais (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Allegorical Illuminated Manuscripts: the Medieval Bestiaries (20 February 2013)
The Book of Kells Revisited (17 March 2013) ♥
Books of Hours, a Rich Legacy (8 February 2013)
The Fitzwilliam Book of Hours (20 November 2011)
The Medieval Bestiary or Bestiary.ca (David Badke)
Beast Index (David Badke) in Bestiary.ca
Dogs, The Medieval Bestiary
Aelian's On the Characteristics of Animals is an Internet Archive publication. (Book 1, Book 2, Book 3).
List of "naturalists" or historians who wrote Natural Histories: Bestiary.ca
My kindest regards to all of you.
Guillaume de Machaut – Complainte: Tels rit au matin qui au soir pleure (Le Remède de Fortune) (He laughs in the morning who cries when evening comes)
The Codex Manesse
Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Illuminated Manuscripts, Songs
≈ Comments Off on The Codex Manesse
140 lyric poets, Anthology of songs, Arany Zoltang, Codex Manesse, illuminated manuscript, Minnesang, Minnesingers, Troubadours & Trouvères, University of Heidelberg, Walther von der Vogelweide
Der Schenke von Limburg, fol. 82v (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Meister des mannessischen Liederhandschrift
Herr Heinrich von Stretlingen, fol. 70v
The Minnesang
trouvère
Minnesanger
illuminated manuscript (handschrift)
Medieval art is always new. It belongs to a collective childhood eager to chronicle every joyous moment of its journey into the future, despite calamities. The plague ended the golden era of the Provençal troubadour (langue d'oc), the trouvères (langue d'oïl) of northern France, and the Minnesingers[i] of German-language lands.
The word "trouvère" applies to all three groups. They were finding ("trouver"), or creating, and they were preserving. The Codex Manesse is a comprehensive collection of German-language songs constituting a most precious and informative testimonial. The codex is an anthology of texts with portraits, but many of its folios are illuminated manuscripts that have survived the test of time. It could well be "the most beautifully illumined German manuscript in centuries." (See Codex Manesse – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.)
collection of Rüdiger II Manesse and his son
The images featured above and below adorn the Codex Manesse, an extensive song book compiled and illumined "between c. 1304 when the main part was completed, and c. 1340." It is "the most important single source of medieval Minnesang poetry [love poetry]." (See Codex Manesse – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.)
The Codex Manesse's main source was the collection of patrician Rüdiger II Manesse and his son. It was produced in Zürich, and was written in Middle High German. (See Codex Manesse – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.)
Emperor (Kaiser)
King (König)
Count (Graf)
The lyric poets who contributed songs to the celebrated Codex Manesse are listed on the website of Cod. Pal. germ. 848 and under the Codex's Wikipedia entry Codex Manesse. Many of its contributors were aristocrats and among these dignitaries are Kaiser [Emperor] Heinrich (fol. 6r), König (King) Konrad der Junge (fol. 7r), König Tyro von Schötten (fol. 8r), König Wenzel von Böhmen (fol. 10r), Herzog Heinrich von Breslau (fol. 11v). Earlier folios feature the more aristocratic lyric poets. (See Codex Manesse.)
The Codex contains 137 miniatures that are a series of "portraits" depicting singers who had contributed a song to the Codex. It consists of 6,000 verses from 140 poets totalling 426 parchment leaves, including 140 blank as well as partially blank pages. There were four illuminators. It lacks musical notation. The Codex Manesse is housed at the University of Heidelberg. (See: http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cpg848; http://www.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/Englisch/)
Herr Kristan von Hamle, fol. 71v
Graf Kraft von Toggenburg, fol. 22v
Folio 124r is a portrait of the most famous Minnesinger, Walther von der Vogelweide (c. 1170 – c. 1230). Walther's main theme was love, but he introduced greater realism in his depiction of love and other topics: political, moral, or religious.[ii]
It appears Walther was born in the Tirol, but learned to sing and speak in Austria. "Ze ôsterriche lernt ich singen unde sagen [sic]." According to Wikipedia, Walther was probably knighted and "was initially a retainer in a wealthy, noble household and had rooms." (See Walther von der Vogelweide – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.)
In about 1224, he settled on the fief given to him by Frederick II, in Würzburg. Walther died on his fief.[iii]
Walther von der Vogelweide, fol. 124r
Konrad von Altstetten, fol. 249v
Codex Manesse, Große Heidelberger Liederhandschrift
Cod. Pal. germ. 848
Zürich, ca. 1300 bis ca. 1340
http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cpg848 ♥
http://www.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/Englisch/
See the List of such codices.
Photo credit: the University of Heidelberg (most)
[i] "minnesinger." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 21 Sep. 2014. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/384329/minnesinger>.
[ii] "Walther von der Vogelweide." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 20 Sep. 2014. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/635145/Walther-von-der-Vogelweide>.
[iii] Ibid.
Arany Zoltán
Kaiser Heinrich, fol. 6r
(Photo credit: Heidelberg)
The Book of Kells: Details
Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Illuminated Manuscripts
Book of Armagh, Book of Kells, Chi Rho, Dublin, Gospel Book, Insular art, Lindisfarne Gospels, Trinity College Library
I am forwarding a little more information on the Book of Kells: calligraphy, the influence of the past, its history, the Chi Rho monogram, etc.
The Book of Columba
First, I should indicate that the Book of Kells is also called The Book of Columba, which presupposes that there was a Columba. Columba means "dove," and there was a St Columba (7 December 521 – 9 June 597). Although the Book of Kells is Irish, according to Britannica, "[i]t is probable that the illumination was begun in the late 8th century at the Irish monastery on the Scottish island of Iona and that after a Viking raid the book was taken to the monastery of Kells in County Meath."[i]
Between the 7th and 9th centuries, many illuminated manuscripts were produced in Irish monasteries. However, illuminated manuscripts were also produced in Scotland and in the North of England (Northumbria). There is a complete list of Hiberno-Saxon illuminated manuscripts on the internet, click on: List of Hiberno-Saxon Illustrated Manuscripts. Here are a few:
the Book of Durrow (7th century), a Gospel Book. (Trinity College Library, MS 57);
the Lindisfarne Gospels (7th or 8th century), presumably the work of one monk, Eadfrith of Lindisfarne. Originally, the Gospels were encased in a fine leather binding covered with jewels and metals made by Billfrith the Anchorite. (London, BL, Cotton MS Nero D. IV);
the Echternach Gospels (8th century) also known as Willibrord Gospels. The manuscript was written by the same scribe who wrote the Durham Gospels. Bibliothèque Nationale (BnF), in Paris (MS Lat. 9389);
the Cathach of St Columba (9th century), a Gospel Book, also known as the Canon of Patrick and the Liber Ar(d)machanus (Trinity College Library, Dublin (MS 52);
the Book of Armagh (9th century), also known as the Cathach of St Columba or Liber Ar(d)machanus, a Gospel Book (Trinity College Library, Dublin, MS 52). A large part of the manuscript is believed to be the work of one monk, a scribe named Ferdomnach of Armagh (died 845 or 846).
Among the above-mentioned books, the Lindisfarne Gospels combine Celtic and Saxon calligraphy. It is, arguably, the finest example of the Hiberno-Saxon style.[ii]
The Chi Rho Monogram
The Book of Kells (a Gospel Book or Evangelion) contains the Chi Rho monogram (folio 34r). In the Wikipedia entry on the Chi Rho, other early Christian symbols are shown.
Book of Kells, f 34r (Chi Rho)
The Chi Rho monogram is an overlapping P and X.
According to Wikipedia,
"The Chi Rho is one of the earliest forms of christogram, and is used by some Christians. It is formed by superimposing the first two (capital) letters chi and rho (ΧΡ) of the Greek word "ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ" =Christ in such a way to produce the monogram. Although not technically a Christian cross, the Chi-Rho invokes the crucifixion of Jesus, as well as symbolizing his status as the Christ." (See Chi Rho, Wikipedia.)
Insular Script
The script used by the calligrapher(s) of the Book of Kells is called Insular Script. It developed in Ireland in the 7th century and was spread to England by the Hiberno-Scottish mission. The Insular Script is a Majuscule Script because only upper case letters are used. In the history of calligraphy, the upper case, the majuscule, precedes the use of lower case letters. (See Insular Script, Wikipedia.)
Although the script used in the Book of Kells is called "insular" and was developed in Ireland, it resembles the Uncial Script used from the 3rd to the 8th centuries AD by Latin and Greek scribes. Uncial letters were used to write Greek, Latin, and Gothic. The uncial script had been brought to England by Augustine of Canterbury. (See Insular Script, Wikipedia.)
As used above, the word Gothic refers to the Germanic tribes that invaded the Roman Empire. It does not refer to medieval Gothic art and architecture, which followed Romanesque art and architecture and precedes Renaissance art and architecture (middle of the 15th century). There is a Gothic font. (See Gothic, Wikipedia)
(please click on smaller images to enlarge them)
Kells, f 309r, Insular Majuscule
Abstract Art: The Celtic Knot
Also important is the abstract art that characterizes Celtic manuscripts. The main motif is the Celtic knot or Eternal knot. (See Celtic knot, Wikipedia.) However, the Book of Kells features representational art, especially fantasized animals. At the bottom of this post, there is a link to a video showing how a Celtic knot is made.
Book of Kells, Celtic Knot
Representational Art
Book of Kells, Historiated Initial
Book of Kells, Monster
There is much more to tell about the Book of Kells, but I believe it is best to stop here or we may not see the forest for the trees.
It is also called the Book of Columba;
It features the Chi Rho symbol;
It uses Insular Script, Majuscule;
Images such as the Celtic Knot are abstract, but some are representational and often depict rather fanciful animals.
I have quoted Wikipedia abundantly. Photo credit: Wikipedia (all). For images contained in the Books of Kells, please click on Book of Kells: images Google.
[i] "Book of Kells". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 19 Mar. 2013
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/314429/Book-of-Kells>.
[ii] "Hiberno-Saxon style". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/264813/Hiberno-Saxon-style>.
The Book of Kells Revisited
17 Sunday Mar 2013
Abbey of Kells, Book of Kells, Dublin, Hiberno-Scottish Mission, Insular art, Trinity College Library, Vetus Latina, Western calligraphy
Book of Kells, folio 34r containing the Chi Rho monogram
I am forwarding a blog I wrote on 18 November 2011. It is about the Book of Kells, a Gospel Book. In order to read it you need simply click on the link below. In order to see the entire book, please click on the link that will take you to Trinity College Library, in Dublin. The Book of Kells is also called the Book of Columba, which means the Book of the Dove and is the name of a beatified monk, St Columba. The calligraphy is magnificent. It is one of the great masterpieces of Western art, and Irish.
You are now familiar with illuminated manuscripts. However I have provided more information.
To see all illuminations go to Book of Kells (Trinity College Library, Dublin) or to explore Irish illuminations, click on Irish.
One may also view the Book of Kells here:
http://digitalcollections.tcd.ie/home/index.php?DRIS_ID=MS58_003v.
Its Irish name is Leabhar Cheanannais
It is a Gospel book
It was made in the early part of the 9th century (c. 800)
It was made by Celtic monks
It is an illuminated manuscript
It is a masterpiece of Western Calligraphy
It is the finest example of Insular Art (See also: Hiberno-Scottish Mission and Anglo-Saxon Mission)
(See Insular Script [majuscule])
Most Insular Art originates in Irish Monasticism
Work on the manuscript was interrupted by Viking raids
The manuscript comprises 340 folios (pages)
It has been bound in four volumes since 1953
The parchment used was vellum (calfskin), the best
The font is Vetus Latina or Vetus Itala (Old Italic)
The ink is Iron Gall Ink
It was kept at the Abbey of Kells (forty miles from Dublin) until 1650
The Manuscript is housed at Dublin's Trinity College Library, MS A. I. (58)
It resembles the Lindisfarne Gospels
(please click on the smaller images to enlarge them)
The Book of Kells, (folio 292r), circa 800, showing the lavishly decorated text that opens the Gospel of John.
Medieval Bestiaries: the Background
Aberdeen Bestiary, Beasts, Book of Kells, British Isles, Insular art, Johannes Gutenberg, Kashefi's Lights of Canopus, La Conduite des Rois, The Panchatantra, Très Riches Heures
The Panchatantra, an illustration from a Syrian edition dated 1354. The rabbit fools the elephant king by showing him the reflection of the moon. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Age of Illuminated Manuscripts
The fall of the Western Roman Empire
The Middle Ages is a period of European History that began in the 5th century CE. On the 4th of September 476, Romulus Augustus, the last Emperor of the Western Roman Empire, was deposed by Odoacer, a Germanic chieftain. The collapse of the Western Roman Empire occurred gradually as nomadic tribes: Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Vikings, Vandals, Franks, Gauls, etc. invaded the various regions the Romans had conquered.
The new age, known as the Middle Ages and, pejoratively, as the "dark ages," would last until the 15th century CE and was not entirely dark. In Western European countries, it was the golden age of illuminated manuscripts, many of which featured fanciful and even mythical beasts and are called bestiaries.
It would appear that Celtic monks were among the first artists to produce illuminated manuscripts, but the movement spread south and reached a pinnacle in the 15th century, in the current Netherlands, then known as the Franco-Flemish or Burgundian lands.
The Fall of the Byzantine Empire and the invention of the printing press
However, a thousand years after the fall of the Roman Empire, in 1453, the Byzantine Empire fell to the Ottoman Turks and, three years earlier, in 1450, the printing press had been invented. These two events changed the course of history. The fall of the Byzantine Empire brought about a rebirth (Renaissance) in European culture and it so happens that Johannes Gutenberg (c. 1395 – 3 February 1468) invented the printing press as the Greek scholars of the Byzantine Empire fled west, first to Italy, carrying precious Greek manuscripts. So the invasion of the Byzantine Empire, by the Ottoman Turks, the last invasion, ushered in a new age. Europe entered its Renaissance (literally: rebirth) and, as it did, works that had been hand copied mostly by monks in the scriptorium of monasteries would henceforth be printed at a rapid rate, putting an end, however, to the long reign of illuminated manuscripts.
The reign of illuminated manuscripts had, indeed, been a long one. The Book of Kells, a Gospel book in Latin, was created by Celtic Monks in c. 800. The Book of Kells is the finest illuminated manuscript belonging to Insular or Hiberno-Saxon art, the art of the British Isles, and predates the Très Riches Heures de Jean de France, Duc de Berry (c. 1412 and 1416), a Book of Hours. Moreover, the Book of Kells had antecedents. It was a pinnacle.
Süleiman the Magnificent, in a portrait attributed to Titian c. 1530
Titian, Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio (c. 1488/1490 – 27 August 1576)
Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1450. (See Johannes Gutenberg, Wikipedia.) The Pope (1458 – 1464), Pius II (18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464) was delighted because the Bible could be printed quickly and disseminated widely. However, despite the invention of the printing press, illuminated manuscripts had a period of grace. Between 1450 and 1501, books could be printed, but blank spaces were left so the book could be illuminated. Books printed during this fifty-year period are called "incunables."
The Aberdeen Bestiary
Medieval Beast Literature: two traditions
But the Aberdeen Bestiary, one of several medieval bestiaries, was not an incunable and it belonged to one of at least two traditions in beast literature and visual arts. Medieval beast literature includes allegorical bestiaries, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, beast epics and fables originating, to a greater or lesser extent, in India's Panchatantra, written in the 3rd century BCE, if not earlier. The Panchatantra could belong to a learned tradition stemming from an oral, i.e. unwritten, tradition.
Aberdeen Bestiary, The Beaver (F11r)
The Aberdeen Bestiary: an Allegory
The Aberdeen Bestiary (Aberdeen University Library, Univ Lib. MS 24) is a 12th-century English illuminated manuscript bestiary that was first listed in 1542 in the inventory of the Old Royal Library at the Palace of Westminster. Bestiaries[i] are not Gospel books, nor are they Books of Hours. They are allegories, which means that each beast, plant or stone is a symbol. Britannica defines allegories as "a symbolic fictional narrative."[ii] For instance, in Western literature, the Unicorn, a fantastical animal, represents Christ and the Phœnix, an immortal bird, represents the resurrection of Christ. Each animal is a symbol.
Reynard the Fox & Fables
Worldly Wisdom
However, as bestiaries — allegorical texts — flourished, so did various beast epics and fables. As noted above, this tradition is rooted, to a significant extent, in the Sanskrit Pañcatantra, [iii] attributed to Vishnu Sharma, translated into Pahlavi in 570 CE (AD), by Borzūya, and into Arabic, in 750 CE, by Persian scholar Abdullah Ibn al-Muqaffa. Ibn al-Muqaffa's translation is entitled Kalīlah wa Dimnah. A 12th-century version became known as Kalīleh o Demneh and would be the basis of Ḥoseyn Wāʿeẓ-e Kāshefī,[iv] or Kāshefī's 15th century the Lights of Canopus and The Fables of Bidpai (The Morall Philosophie of Doni [English, 1570]. (See Panchatantra, Wikipedia.)
Bidpai is the storyteller. Moreover, several Æsopic fables and the many versions of Reynard the Fox (Le Roman de Renart FR) are associated with that tradition, but not completely. Æsop (c. 620–564 BCE), if indeed there was an Æsop, did borrow from Bidpai, but he also drew from several other sources. In his second volume of fables, Jean de La Fontaine retold fables by Bidpai. His source was, in all likelihood, Kāshefī's Lights of Canopus, translated by Gilbert Gaulmin, a pseudonym, and entitled Le Livre des lumières ou La Conduite des Rois (1644). (See Pañcatantra FR, Wikipedia.)
The Education of the Prince
Interestingly, tales stemming from the five books of the Pañcatantra (pancha: five; tantra: treatises) are, first and foremost, about "the wise conduct of life," i.e. a nītiśāstra, and, consequently, closer to Machiavelli's Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli [3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527]) Prince than to allegorical medieval bestiaries. (See Pañcatantra, Wikipedia.)
Reynard the Fox, first written in the 12th century, is filled with trickster tales and tales pointing to the need to consider the consequences of one's actions, the moral of countless fables. Fables are moralizing, but in a worldly fashion, as befits stories that will guide a prince. As mentioned above, the Panchatantra, or Pañcatantra, has been linked to Machiavelli's Prince. Yet, the Pañcatantra is not unethical, nor, for that matter, is The Prince, if one keeps in mind that the world Machiavelli lived in was factious and that his prince would have to live in that very world. Machiavelli had worked for the Medici family who were bloodthirsty and in whose quest for power "the end justifie[d] the means."
Aberdeen Bestiary, The Yale (F16v)
Animals, Plants and Stones as Symbols
There are, nevertheless, similarities between the allegorical bestiary, where animals are symbols, and beast stories rooted, in part, in the Pañcatantra. In both traditions animals are anthropomorphic. The word anthromorphism is derived from the Greek ánthrōpos, meaning human, and morphē, meaning shape. In other words, literary beast are humans in disguise and, in both traditions, they are also stereotypes. The fox is wily and the phœnix symbolizes the resurrection of Christ.
However, bestiaries differ from Reynard the Fox. In bestiaries, we have zoomorphic animals, or animals that combine human and animal features (satyrs, the Centaur and the Minotaur of Greek mythology) or animals that combine the features of many animals (Pegasus, the winged horse). In other words, our allegorical animals are as fanciful as many of Jacobus de Voragine's saints and martyrs. Strictly rather than poetically speaking, there is no St George. Moreover, strictly rather than poetically speaking, there are no unicorns, griffins, or dragons. Yet, fantastic animals, the phœnix, unicorns, griffins, dragons and others, are the denizens of bestiaries and have a reality of their own, a poetical, symbolic reality.
Fanciful or "Fantastic" Animals
Most of the artists who created illuminated bestiaries had never seen the animals they depicted. In fact, historians themselves relied on the reports of travelers, from ancient Greece down to Marco Polo (15 September 1254 – 9 January 1324). The Travels of Marco Polo (Il Milione and Le Livre des merveilles du monde) and the accounts of other travelers no doubt contained descriptions of animals, but a picture is worth a thousand words. There is a Marco Polo sheep, but it could be that a traveler described an animal with one horn, not two. That animal might have been a rhinoceros, a real animal, but, short of a picture, our animal could take on characteristics that transformed it into a unicorn, a mythical, or fantastical, animal.
The Physiologus: A Source
Therefore, our artists based their illuminations mostly on descriptions found in books. Their most important source was a 2nd-century CE Greek book entitled the Physiologus. In the Physiologus, the pelican feeds her young with her own blood, the phœnix rises from its own ashes, etc. They were symbols before entering bestiaries. Authors of bestiaries also borrowed from Isidore of Seville's (c. 560 – 4 April 636) Etymologiae or Origins. Finally, although they may not have been accurate, there were books on animals written by historians. The main ones are listed in From Bestiaries to… Harry Potter.
I must close, but we have the backdrop. My next post will be on the Aberdeen Bestiary.
Love to everyone. ♥
Allegorical Illuminated Manuscripts: Medieval Bestiaries (22 February 2013)
From Bestiaries to… Harry Potter (29 October 2011)
[i] bestiary". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 21 Feb. 2013
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/63117/bestiary>.
[ii] "allegory". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/16078/allegory>.
[iii] "Panchatantra". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/440899/Panchatantra>.
[iv] "Hoseyn Wa'ez-e Kashefi". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/312873/Hoseyn-Waez-e-Kashefi>.
Kalīlah wa Dimnah
Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry
Books of Hours, calligraphy, Canonical Hours, Illuminated Manuscripts, illuminations, Jean I de France, Limbourg brothers, Months of the Year, Nijmegen, Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry
— Les Très Riches Heures de Jean de France, Duc de Berry: January
Jean de France and the Limbourg brothers
Jean Ier de France, Duc de Berry (Jean de Berry; 30 November 1340 – 15 March 1416) was an avid collector of psalters, breviaries (brief books of liturgical rites), missals, Books of Hours, books honouring saints (hagiography), Bibles, and other objets d'art.
However, if the Duc de Berry's name still lingers in our memory, it is because he commissioned Books of Hours from the Limbourg brothers or Gebroeders van Limburg: Herman, Pol and Johan (fl. 1385 – 1416), the most famous of which is Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. The Limbourg brothers also contributed miniatures to a
Bible moralisée (1402-1404: 184 miniatures and 124 margins) as well as miniatures, to
the Belles Heures du Duc de Berry (1405-1409: 172 miniatures), now located in the Cloisters at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Les Très Belles Heures de Notre-Dame (1410: 3 miniatures);
the Petites Heures du Duc de Berry (1412: 1 miniature);
Valerius Maximus, De dictis factisque mirabilius (1, the frontispiece), located in the Vatican.
Nigmegen
Les Très Riches Heures (1412 – 1416)
We will concentrate on the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, commissioned by Jean Ier de France in 1410 and currently housed at the Musée Condé, in Chantilly, France. All three Limbourg brothers, Herman, Pol (Paul) and Johan (Jean), born in Nijmegen, now in Gelderland, in the Netherlands, worked on Jean de France's famous Très Riches Heures, but all three died in 1416, aged 28 to 31, probably of the plague, which, in all likelihood, also took the life of their patron, the Duc de Berry.
Photo credit: Wikipedia (all images)
(Please click on each picture to enlarge it.)
Completing the Manuscript
The Limbourg brothers had nearly completed their assignment before their death, but not quite. Later in the fifteenth century, an anonymous artist worked on the manuscript. It would appear this anonymous artist was Barthélemy d'Eyck, or van Eyck (FR) (c. 1420 – after 1470), called the Master of the Shadows. If indeed Barthélemy d'Eyck, or van Eyck (FR), worked on the Très Riches Heures, he did so after 1444.[i] His extremely generous patron was René d'Anjou (16 January 1409 – 10 July 1480).
However, completion of the manuscript is attributed to Jean Colombe (b. Bourges c. 1430; d. c. 1493) who was commissioned to complete Jean de France's book by Charles Ier, Duc de Savoie. He worked between 1485 and 1489. The Très Riches Heures was imitated by Flemish artists in the 16th century and then disappeared for three centuries until it was found by Spinola of Genoa and later bought, in 1856, by the Condé Museum in Chantilly, France, where it is held.[ii]
The Très Riches Heures: a Calendar
However, Jean de France, duc de Berry's Très Riches Heures differs from other Books of Hours because of the prominence of its calendar, a lay calendar. Each month of the year is depicted on a full page and these depictions constitute a remarkable record of the monthly labour of men and women, from shearing lamb to cutting wood and the brothers depicted them in minute details and astonishing accuracy. In the background, of each monthly, page we can see one of Jean de France's many castles and hôtels. For instance, the image inserted at the top of this post shows the Château de Vincennes. In the front, dogs are eating a boar. The Limburg brothers
were among the first illuminators to render specific landscape scenes (such as the environs and appearance of their patron's castles) with great accuracy and sensitivity.[iii]
The Limbourg Brothers: Biographical notes
The Limbourg brothers were born to artistic parents. Their grandfather had lived in Limburg, hence their name. But he had moved to Nigmegen. His son Arnold (1355-1360 – 1395-1399) was a wood-carver. Their mother, Mchtel Maelwael (Malouel) belonged to a family of heraldic painters. However, the most prominent artist in the brothers' family was their uncle Jean Malouel, or Jan Maelwael in Dutch, who was court painter for Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. It should be noted that between 1032 and 1477, Burgundy was an enlarged Duchy of Burgundy, also called the Franco-Flemish lands.
As for the brothers themselves, Herman and Johan were sent to Paris to learn the craft of goldsmithing and upon the death of Philip the Bold, in 1604, they were hired by his brother, Jean de France. They worked in a style called International Gothic. As Jean de France, Duc de Berry's artists, the Limbourg brothers were first assigned a long project, a Book of Hours entitled Belles Heures du Duc de Berry, containing 158 miniatures, currently housed in the Cloisters at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York.
Jean de France was obviously very pleased with his Belles Heures du Duc de Berry. He showered the Limbourg brothers with gifts, the most substantial being a very large house for Paul in Bourges, France, where the three brothers resided. Johan seems to have combined a career as goldsmith and painter, at least temporarily, but he was definitely one of the three miniaturists who worked on the miniatures comprised in Jean de France's Très Riches Heures, commissioned in 1410 or 1411. There have been attempts to attribute certain pages to a particular brother, but uncertainty lingers. I should think that Wikipedia's list is probably mostly accurate.[iv]
A Wider Symbolism
You will notice that Les Très Riches Heures contains paintings above which there is a semicircle, the folio for each month shows the twelve Zodiac signs, the ecclesiastical lunar calendar as well as heraldic emblems and other relevant elements. Many Books of Hours are also characterized by the mille-fleurs motif borrowed from Oriental rugs brought to Europe by returning Crusaders. In Books of Hours, artists drew from elements preceding Christianity as well as Christian ones, not to mention personal elements. "Their range includes coats of arms, initials, monograms, mottoes, and personal emblems, which are used singly or in all combinations possible."[v]
Artistic Elements
Painted in gouache on parchment (vellum), the Tr[è]s Riches Heures includes
416 pages, 131 of which have large miniatures, while many more are decorated
with border illustrations or large historiated initials, as well as 300 ornamented capital letters [also called "historiated" letters]."[vi]
As for the colors, fine pigments were used and blended by the brothers themselves into a form of gouache and, at times, they crushed lapis lazuli, a semi-precious stone into a "liant," a binding agent. They also used gold leaf. It was a delicate process done step by step on a relatively small piece of vellum (vélin), the skin of a calf (veau).
The Limburg brothers and Jean de France died before the age of thirty. Yet, their legacy is an exceptional depiction of their life and times. I am certain Jean de France marvelled at the consummate artistry of the Limburg brothers. They worked at a moment in history when perspective had not yet entered their world, except simple linear perspective.[vii] Yet their folios show the degree of dimensionality that could be achieved in the Burgundian 15th century. Therefore, their art has its own finality and it is love for what it is.
I especially like the serenity of the folios constituting the twelve months of the Calendar. The Labours of the Months do not seem an imposition but the natural activity of simple human beings reaping food and comfort from a rich land and hoping in an age were an epidemic could be devastating. Their faces and gestures do not show fear. On the contrary, they show faith. They are working so that months will grow into seasons and seasons into years that will return until they enter peacefully into the timelessness of life eternal.
To view the pages corresponding to each month of the year, click on Très Riches Heures.
N.B. Several illuminations painted for Berry's Book of Hours inspired some of the backdrops to sets used by Laurence Olivier in his film of Shakespeare's play Henry V which he made in 1944 on the eve of the Normandy invasion.
Also very informative is the WebMuseum, Paris or the Web Gallery of Art
"Book of hours". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 12 Dec. 2012 <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/73409/book-of-hours>.
"Book of Hours" http://www.medievalbooksofhours.com/advancedtutorial/tutorial_advanced_boh.html
"Les Très Riches Heures de Jean de France, Duc de Berry" http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-paintings/tres-riches-heures-duc-de-berry.htm
"Les Enluminures" EN http://www.lesenluminures.com/index.php
[i] See the Barthélemy van Eyck entry in Wikipedia. EN
[ii] See the "Très Riches Heures" entry in Wikipedia.
"Très Riches Heures" entry in Wikipedia.
[iii] "Limbourg brothers". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 13 Dec. 2012 <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1475265/Limbourg-brothers>.
[iv] See the "Très Riches Heures" entry in Wikipedia & Les Très Riches Heures
[v] "Book of Hours". http://www.medievalbooksofhours.com/advancedtutorial/tutorial_advanced_boh.html
[vi] "Très Riches Heures".
http://www.visual-art-cork.com/famous-paintings/tres-riches-heures-duc-de-berry.htm
[vii] "High Point of Courtly International Gothic".
Replaces post published on 17 November 2011.
The second video features the Ensemble Planeta.
The Fitzwilliam Book of Hours, Comments, Palimpsests
Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Illuminated Manuscripts, Literature
≈ Comments Off on The Fitzwilliam Book of Hours, Comments, Palimpsests
Book of Hours, Bruges, Byzantine art, Fitzwilliam Book of Hours, Fitzwilliam Museum, Gregorian Calendar, intertextualité, motifs, palimpsests, Zodiac
A detail from the Macclesfield Psalter, England, East Anglia, c.1330 MS.1-2005 f.193v (Photo credit: Fitzwilliam Museum)
There is more to say on every subject I have discussed regarding feasts and the seasons. For instance, we haven't looked at the Fitzwilliam Book of Hours, a sixteenth-century masterpiece, preserved at the University of Cambridge. With respect to the Fitzwilliam Book of Hours (Bruges, 1510), the Folio Society has published a limited number of copies of this extraordinary Franco-Flemish manuscript. In fact, a visit to the Fitzwilliam Museum site will reveal the existence of other illuminated manuscripts.
The Fitzwilliam Book of Hours is particularly interesting in that it represents, among other topics, the agony of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, which, as I have noted elsewhere, albeit tentatively, underlies the concept of keeping hours: we keep Vigil. As well, the narrator mentions the incorporation into Books of Hours of pre-Christian elements. Books of Hours are
a daily Vigil (the Canonical Hours);
an account of the Seasons (the Solstices and the Equinoxes, marked by feasts);
an account of the labours of each months;
a Gregorian calendar showing feasts, dates on which saints are remembered, etc.;
a compendium of psalms, prayers, chants, etc.;
a Zodiac calendar also including mythological references predating Christianity;
But, perhaps more importantly, Books of Hours also point to oneness in diversity. The degree of darkness and light has been celebrated in most cultures. And if the dragon is menacing to Europeans and friendly in China, it is nevertheless a universal zoomorphic animal. So is the Unicorn.
Moreover, although the degree of darkness and light is a scientific truth and a demonstration of heliocentrism, it is also a cultural marker.
And we have also seen the twofold dimension of time, the vertical and the horizonal: kairos and chronos. To a large extent, our celebrations are a manifestation of the moment (kairos) as opposed to time infinite.
As for the texts we have glimpsed, one of my readers pointed out that they are palimpsests. There is a text underneath the text, and a text underneath the second text, as well as a text underneath the third text. Yet the texts, mostly similar texts, thus unveiled may have originated in one culture.
The story within the story structure reflects a deeper level of intertextualité than can exist between texts. So intertextualité does not happen only between texts, but there are instances of text(s) within texts, or play(s) within the play.
And we also have motifs: the mille-fleurs motif, the Bizantine leaf and grape motif, the Greek key motif, variations on the Celtic eternal or endless knot motif.
In short, there is an abundance of similarities, yet originality and uniqueness remain. Text, graphic art, including anonymous art and decorative art, and music all stem from one mold, the human mind and the human senses, yet there is constant newness and youthfulness to things eternal.
Byzantine leaf motif
(please click on the image to enlarge it)


That's one of the more unimpressive sequences I've ever seen.
I kinda thought the same thing. Looked like a guy overthrowing to light up the gun to me.
Clv...who in the h3ll said Riley's defense hasn't improved or is legitimate? From Rome to Gwinnett he worked his azz off and is above average at minimum. I have concerns about his strikeouts...that's it.
There are plenty of posters who've had doubts about whether his defense has improved as much as the reports say. I don't recall singling anyone out.
BA has him as a 60 defender. Pipeline has him as a 50 defender. There doesn't seem to be a consensus about any of Riley's tools other than his arm and his power. Pretty typical of most prospects - some scouts/reports see them one way, some see them differently. I completely buy those that have mentioned the improvement, but since I don't see him regularly I'm also not short-sighted enough to believe he's a slam-dunk to stay over there. If he was, I don't think AA would've spent $23 million on Donaldson rather than spending that money elsewhere to improve multiple areas when he could've bought a month at 3B with Camargo and Culberson to game Riley's clock.
Based on the limited number of times I've seen him, I think he'll be just fine over there - that said, if the organization felt there was no doubt he will, it wouldn't likely consider moving him to LF would it?
Ok. I feel there is a lot wrong here but I'll give you my take. The Braves spent money on Donaldson to get a proven bat. It wasn't an indictment on Riley's ability to stay at 3B. That's absurd. Putting him in LF or trying him there doesn't mean the Braves don't think he will be there long term. If the Braves think that Donaldson has made Riley's future as a 3B bleak I'd think they are dumber than this off-season thus far.
MLB Pipeline's new top 100 comes out tonight, more rankings.
Regarding Riley's defense, I still have concerns based on the available info. As recently as 12-18 months ago, there were reports from multiple evaluators that questioned whether he could stick at 3B and adjusted their valuation on him accordingly as a possible corner outfielder. The publicly available takes on his defense from the 2018 season seem noticeably better, which is awesome news for him and the Braves. While I'm cautiously optimistic and happy to see the trend line pointing up, his ability to play 3b at an average MLB level (a high bar) is still a concern for me personally. That coupled with the strikeouts has led me to be at least a little surprised at how well he's showing on the top 100 lists.
I don't know if you've seen the games but I can tell you he can play 3b. I'm not sure what publications you're referring to, but from the 30 I've seen of him at least, he's much improved and CAN be a long time plug-in even with his warts for a long time.
The Braves could have spent significantly less to "get a proven bat" than the $23 million they spent on Donaldson and his injury concerns - they didn't have to spend it putting someone in Riley's way for the enitrety of 2019. No, that doesn't mean they plan on moving Riley, but they chose to make a "win now" move like bringing Josh in and have followed it up with absolutely nothing other than a downgrade behind the plate and re-signing Markakis - and both of those moves seem more than curious after a go for it signing of a guy like Donaldson.
None of us - myself at the top of that list - has any idea what the plan is, but blocking Riley at 3B for at least another year has to give one slight pause since they've had absolutely no problem with moving Acuna and Albies so fast. As a big Riley believer, I hope the Donaldson/Markakis moves signal nothing other than an opportunity to give Riley another full season to hone his defense and that he'll be the Opening Day 3B in 2020. Camargo and Duvall should get plenty of ABs spelling the two of them, so there should be no need to push Austin to the OF unless they're strictly trying to enhance his versatility OR they feel he may have to move off the position - not leaving the possibility that they're going to move him is just not being realistic about the situation.
Not questioning what you've seen - but I saw a lot of Albies before he was moved off of SS too, and saw little reason to move him until they brought in a better option.
Last edited by clvclv; 01-26-2019 at 06:25 PM.
In any post, any first hand thoughts I've given have been about right. Albies, Pache (still lots to prove), a few others. I'll never claim to be smarter than a scout but I have a good thought about what I see. I think AA played himself early. But it simply doesn't take anything away from Riley. Flaws and all he's the best 3B prospect we've had in some time.
From what I've seen, the Braves only had Drew Waters and Bryse Wilson as top 51-100 guys. They are going through the top 50 right now and they've named Touki, Riley, and Pache in that order so far. I still expect to see Soroka, Wright, and Anderson to give us 8 overall. They are down to the top 33 so I'm gonna guess that Wright is 31, Anderson is at 26, and Soroka is at 23.
Five in the top 38 is quite a haul.
Seems about right, guys like Vlad Jr, Robles, Tucker, Whitley, and Rodgers will probably come up once the arb clock situation is over after a couple weeks.
Last edited by Heyward; 01-26-2019 at 08:50 PM.
Total agreement here. I sure as hell wouldn't want him in a high leverage situation at this point... but when he gets better command of the change - looks like he tried a circle maybe- watch out.
That video is not the totality of training that he's getting. I'm no fan of all out throwing he's doing, but they have him working on body alignment, balance, etc. I'm pretty sure this was about velocity...I don't think you take anything away from it other than I wouldn't have put this particular video out there.
Not sure Contreras will, the 9th pick should provided he'll get signed. Maybe a guy like Wentz/Muller could.
donaldson may be the best bat on the market. no one as proven was coming for much cheaper.
My prediction for next year is that Soroka, Wright, Touissaint, Wilson and Riley graduate. Pache and Anderson stay in relatively the same spot while Waters shoots up the list to a top ~35 ranking. We add our number 9 pick, Contreras, and Wentz to end up with 6 on the top 100 list for 2020.
I also prefer Waters to Pache. I see him as an Eaton type (in terms of all around contributor if not quite that good), while Paches offense is still too risky.
Last edited by Enscheff; 01-27-2019 at 12:18 PM.
Pache swing looks long to me for a guy not generating alot of power, I know hes very young (has room for growth and adjustments) but I prefer Waters as well just seems like a safer floor.


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ARTIST: The Association
1. Along Comes Mary
http://vocalgroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Along-Comes-Mary.mp3
2. Cherish
http://vocalgroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Cherish.mp3
3. Never My Love
http://vocalgroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Never-My-Love.mp3
4. No Fair At All
http://vocalgroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/No-Fair-At-All.mp3
5. Windy
http://vocalgroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Windy.mp3
assoc_hdr
Alongcomestheassociation
associationharmony
Although many bands of the late '60s and early '70s emphasized instruments over vocal harmonies, The Association came across more as a vocal group than a band, even though they were both.
The Association began with the break-up of an 11 man group "The Men" in 1965. The Men was the first of what was called folk-rock, drums, electric guitar, electric bass, plus the usual banjo, 12 and 6 string acoustic guitars.
Five of the six members of The Association , Jules (Gary) Alexander (tenor, lead guitar), Ted Bluechel (baritone, drums), Brian Cole (bass, bass), Russ Giguere (baritone, percussion, rhythm guitar) and Terry Kirkman (baritone, recorder, brass, saxophone), brought in Jim Yester (tenor, rhythm guitar) to replace Bob Page.
All the band members wrote songs at one point or another, Jules, Jim and Terry being the most prolific.
Jim, Ted, Russ and Jules lived in a 3 bedroom house on Ardmore, just south of Melrose. Brian was married with children and had his own place. Terry was living with his future wife in West Hollywood. Ted's drums, the bass amp and guitar amps were kept set up in the living room and that's where they rehearsed for the next 5 months.
In the first year they worked the Los Angeles area, they spent 6 months of that time at one or the other Ice Houses, Pasadena and the newer Glendale Ice House. The Glendale club was the larger of the two and they held 2 attendance records there, the highest and the lowest. They also worked Los Angeles folk clubs, high schools, jr. highs, colleges, jr. colleges, rock clubs, proms and parties like no one ever had. By the time they released their first single on Valiant Records, a Bob Dylan song "One too Many Mornings" (the vocal arrangement was by Clark Burroughs, the HI in the "Hi-Los"), their fan club had over 10,000 members, so they had a local hit and people began to take notice.
In 1966 the band's first big hit "Along Comes Mary" was actually the B side of "Your Own Love", a Jim Yester composition. Once the D.J.s started playing "Mary", it just took off. They followed with "Cherish" by Terry Kirkman which went to #1.
In two years The Association had released 2 chart albums, "Along Comes The Association" and "Renaissance", had 2 major hits, "Along Comes Mary" and "Cherish" , 2 minor chart singles "Pandora's Golden Heebie Jeebies" and "No Fair at All". (In 1983 they played the Philippines for the first time and discovered "No Fair at All" had been a #1 hit there.) They guested on Ed Sullivan, The Andy Williams Show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The Hollywood Palace, The Dean Martin Show and all the rock & roll TV shows, Dick Clark's American Bandstand, Hullabaloo, Shindig, and many more. They were touring extensively.
Jules left the band in '67 and was replaced by Larry Ramos who had recently left "The New Christy Minstrels". Larry had been playing professionally since age 5, ukelele at first, then banjo, guitar and bass. Larry was an excellent tenor and a formidable lead guitarist. Warner Bros. acquired their contract from Valiant and they began their next album. Larry sang lead with Russ on "Windy" and "Never My Love" with Terry. The group had two more giant hits in a row and their second Gold album, "Insight Out". By this time, "Cherish", "Along Comes Mary" and the album "Along Comes The Association" had also gone Gold.
They were now one of the top concert acts in the world. They continued doing concerts and playing venues that had never been open to rock & roll bands, the Greek Theatre (Los Angeles), the Coconut Grove (Los Angeles), Saratoga Performing Arts Festival (Saratoga, NY), Ravinia (Chicago), Wolftrap (Vienna, VA), Blossom Music Festival (Cleveland), Tanglewood (NJ) and many more. They opened the Monterey Pop Festival (with "Enter the Young" one of Terry's thematic muthas) and played the Rome Pop Festival.
There were a lot of TV variety shows and they all wanted the group. So they did TV constantly, the Carson Show, the Cavett Show, a Carol Channing Special, Joey Bishop with Regis Philbin as side-kick, the Steve Allen Show, a couple more Hollywood Palaces, 2 more Ed Sullivans, several more Smothers Brothers, and as always, more Dick Clark.
They recorded their next album, "Birthday". Terry Kirkman's "Everything That Touches You" hits Top 10, the album and Jim's "Birthday Morning" and "Time for Livin" all chart.
"Six Man Band" is released as a single and charts. They released "The Association Greatest Hits" which went Gold immediately and soon Platinum (Double Platinum in'93)
Jules returned to the group in '69. They were now 7. They wrote and recorded the music for "Goodbye Columbus" (movie, album and single), recorded "The Association" (Stonehenge cover), "The Association Live" (recorded in Salt Lake City) and a number of singles. Russ left the band in '71. Brian Cole died in '72. Between '72 and '75 the group recorded the albums "Stop Your Motor" and "Waterbeds in Trinidad" and several singles. By '75 the band had pretty much suffered meltdown.
Even though the group broke up, the music had a life of its own and in the late '70s they were still getting a tremendous amount of airplay. Terry Kirkman was an associate producer for HBO. They were planning a special called "Then and Now" and asked if he thought the band would get together and do the show. HBO made a generous offer and they could rehearse weekends and tape the show on a weekend so they did the show. From the top they were all moved by the music. There were tears, laughter and they loved it. They had a great time, taped the show, went back to their lives and that was it. The show aired and soon they were approached by a major talent agency telling them they could book them all over the country. By 1980 they were back on the road. Early in 1981 they had their first chart record in eight years on Elektra with "Dreamer".
By late 1984, Jim, Terry, Ted, and keyboard player and bass singer, Ric Ulsky, left the band. Larry, Russ and Jules brought in new guys and finished the "Happy Together " tour (160 concerts) and continued on. Jules left in 1989. That year they did Dick Clark's American Bandstand Concert Tour (90 days on the road).
The current members of The Association are Larry Ramos (tenor, lead guitar), Russ Giguere (baritone, percussion), Jim Yester (tenor, lead guitar), Larry's brother Del (baritone, bass and plays bass), Jordan Cole, Brian's son (tenor-bass, keyboards) and Bruce Pictor (baritone, drums). They perform 50 to 70 concerts a year with no plans to retire.
As of this new millennium, 3 of the 100 most played tunes of all time on the radio are Association songs. "Never My Love" #2 with 8 million+, "Cherish" #22 with 5million+, "Windy" #61 with 4 million+.
Warner Bros./Rhino Records has released a new double CD "Just the Right Sound THE ASSOCIATION Anthology" , 50 tunes, 40 page biographical booklet , lots of pictures. The Association Greatest Hits, one of the longest selling albums in Warner Bros. history, is and always will be available.
– The Association

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The first of the new village gateway signs has been erected. It is to the West side of the village which previously had no sign. We are delighted with it and think it gives the village a proud announcement which is fitting and appropriate.
The sign will be further enhanced by limestone chippings which are to be provided by BFL at Cavendish Mill. It would be further enhanced with a few plants and flowers planted around the stones, if anyone has anything please let us know.


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Character Development Series – Romance
Posted on February 27, 2020 by Wendy Schardein
Even if you're not writing a romance, it's possible one of your characters may be involved in a romance, or at least a flirtation. As an extension, if your character is in a romantic situation, chances are you're going to write a love scene at some point. It could be something as tame as a first or last kiss or as graphic as porn. I've done both, but I usually stay somewhere in between and try to keep it PG-13. Usually. Again, I turn to real people here for inspiration (REMINDER: I won't use names here, but if you want to know who I'm referring to, send me a private message, and I'll be glad to share). If you have visuals of your character, study them and use them. If that person has been in a romantic situation, study it. No, I don't mean Pornhub, unless, of course, you're writing about a porn star. In that case, knock yourself out (18 and over ONLY).
A couple of reminders: "He" is my go-to pronoun because it's easier than switching back and forth and using "they" or "their" grates on me. I also use the term "alternative lifestyle" as a catch-all for non-heterosexual interactions because I'm never sure what the current politically correct terms are. That said: Everyone should be able to love how he sees fit. There are no judgments here, and I expect none from my readers. If you're offended by something, don't read it. But don't complain because someone is not offended.
I'm currently working on someone based on a certain actor. I've had his concept hammered out for months, so when I started developing him, I started just with his looks (he's one of those vampires of a specific bloodline and a particular look I mentioned in a previous article). Even before I realized I was going to give him a love interest, I was researching him. He's a cast member in a current TV series I watch, and I've been watching it a lot to get to know him. I wrote a scene as a catalyst for a big change in the book that involved him and an enemy combatant, who just happens to be a woman. She was a character in The Order of the White Guard (OWG), so she's already well developed, and knowing the characters the way I do, it didn't take much to realize I needed to ship these two.
On the TV show, this guy is in a long, drawn-out, well-developed romance that spans at least ten seasons. You know how TV ships are. They tease you forever and ever, and if they actually pull the trigger, the show is over. So far, this one hasn't bitten the dust because it is only one of the elements that make the show great. YouTube is a great resource for this one because the ship has inspired a lot of videos dedicated solely to that particular romance. There are dozens (I hear there is fanfiction, too, but I haven't read any yet). Not only am I able to watch his general mannerisms, tiny flaws in his looks, and the way he talks, but I'm able to watch him with his on-screen love interest–how he looks at her, how he speaks to her, how it's different from the way he treats the other characters. It's network TV, so their love scenes are the ones that amount to kisses and general interactions. The rest is where the imagination comes in. I take those actions and pair them up with my character and his love interest, and then let nature take its course.
That said, it didn't take long to figure out that his general personality is nothing like that of my vampire's, but that isn't relevant here, so just forget I said anything.
Draw from Experience
It is extremely important to write what you know–always, not just in love scenes. The reader will know if you have no idea what you're talking about. Never had a threesome? Think twice before you write it. Chances are, any fantasies you have are probably off the mark somewhere. If you want to write something you're not familiar with, talk to someone who is familiar with it and make sure you understand what you're writing about. I'm not saying you have to do it; just talk to someone who has.
Furthermore, write what you're comfortable with. If you try to force something you're not comfortable with, it will show on the page. When I was younger, I couldn't write a steamy love scene because I was afraid my dad would read it. I've gotten bolder, but I still don't always go with explicit language, at least in what I publish. I may write something in private that would end up on Pornhub, and I have been known to publish snippets with some pretty explicit love scenes, but I put them somewhere that people who aren't comfortable with that don't have to see it.
Here's something very important to keep in mind. If you are in a committed, loving relationship, writing what you know should take a back seat to your partner's feelings. Interactions with your partner are personal–intimate interactions even more so–so be sure to clear anything you write based on those interactions with him. And even if he does approve, you should still be careful to be sensitive to his feelings on the subject.
It doesn't matter whether you're writing tame kisses or porn. It's the feeling that's important. Whether you want these characters to love each other, tease each other, or just hump like bunnies, make it real. Remember, the more real you picture it, the more the reader will.
As with everything else in character development, don't forget the why. Why are these two people attracted to each other? Is the relationship awkward, tense, steamy? Brutal? Is one of them distracted, angry? Are they falling in or out of love? Is a fetish involved? How will their past experiences and daily lives affect things? Is it same sex, trans, or some other alternative lifestyle? Write it, and explain it. Fill love scenes with emotion, and be sure to keep your characters true to their concept. If they're acting out of character, there needs to be a good reason for it, and make sure the reader knows it. If the ship doesn't work out and there's a break up, why? What led to the breakup? Is it bitter? Friendly? Is there a chance they will get back together? How do their lives change afterward?
As always in your work, you want to show rather than tell. You want the mechanics, yes, but the reactions and feelings are just as important. "They kissed," is okay, but it's dry. Why did they kiss? What did it feel like? Were her lips soft? Did he brush his lips across hers, or was it a deep, wet kiss that made her toes curl? Likewise, "She moaned," is fine, but you might want to go into more detail. Why did she moan? Is there a better description of the moan than just those two words? What was she thinking? Be sure to describe it for both characters. Even if the scene is from the point of view of only one of them, you can still write the actions and reactions of the other.
He leaned in and pressed his lips against hers gingerly, and her breath caught in her throat. She trembled as he touched her cheek, trying desperately not to react too strongly. This moment had been coming for so long, and she didn't want to scare him away, but his lips were softer than she had imagined. His rough hand also trembled as he cupped her cheek. When he pulled away, he averted his eyes with an embarrassed chuckle.
"Well, that just happened," he muttered. "It was a bit awkward, wasn't it?"
She took his hand. "Maybe we can try again."
He blushed as he turned back to her. "I'd like that."
Watch your terminology. Look up some synonyms to give your prose more depth. And for God's sake, don't use the words "manhood" or "secret flower." Nobody talks like that.
The Fantasy Realm
Depending on the world you build in your fiction, your characters might view sex and relationships differently than the real-life world. Example: I write preternaturals: vampires, werewolves, werepanthers, witches, and one or two other supernatural species; and they have different rules than the mundane world has. I have certain characters I call "soul siblings," and their rules are even farther afield. Blood is a very important aspect of interactions between my characters, and I work it into the exchanges in lots of ways, including sex and love. This is a perfectly valid plot point, and if your characters don't live in the world as we know it, or on Earth at all, embellishment is not only okay, but I would encourage it. If they don't live in our world, they're not going to have our rules, so make some up. But be reasonable. If you want to create a man with three penises, that's up to you. But can you write it so that it sounds plausible? Suspension of disbelief is important with any fiction, but you don't want to have people saying, "That would never happen," in relation to the world you created. There's a difference between suspending disbelief and hanging it by the neck until dead.
The Sensitive Stuff
When I was growing up, I saw a lot of TV shows and movies containing what came to be known as the "token black guy." African Americans were finally starting to get the respect they deserved, and for producers, that meant making sure there were minorities in a show, even if the fact that they were a minority made no difference in the plot–or worse, made no sense at all. These days, race has pretty much become a non-issue (thank God), and it's same sex or alternative lifestyles. If it doesn't add to the story, leave it alone. If you want to make a point of putting something in, be sure it makes sense.
We have a certain type of character in our books called a "soul sibling." Soul siblings are two people who share a soul. They also share pretty much everything else, including a mate. These characters aren't homosexual, but they do have certain aspects of homosexuality to their personalities. I write what I'm comfortable with, gloss over the parts I'm not comfortable with. I also explain how and why they came to be soul siblings, along with a basic description of "soul sibling rules" so the reader will understand them better. The soul sibling concept goes way beyond sex, by the way, and I make sure to include those ideas throughout the stories.
Let's take a minute to talk about sexual assault. I can't stress enough how sensitive this subject is. It's not okay, it's never okay, and in my opinion, those who commit sexual assault should be strung up by their private parts. That said, it doesn't mean I'm not going to write it. If you write a sexual assault, please treat it VERY CAREFULLY. Think about your readers. Who is going to read this? How will they react? How do I keep from triggering people? How do I write it so people won't stop reading my work because they're offended? If you have the opportunity to do so harmlessly, talk to someone who has gone through it. Find out what happened, how they felt, what the reactions of the people around them were. But do not go too far with your questions. These people have been through enough.
When it comes down to writing it, as with everything else, ask why. Why are these two people in this situation? What are their moods? What is the act itself? How explicit do you want to write it? What are their reactions afterward? How does the victim get on with his or her life? What about the assailant?
NOTE: I will never, ever advocate writing a pro-rape scene. If you want to write that, you're on your own.
Let's Put This to Bed.
The main theme here is "write what you know." This goes for everything from a sentence about kissing to an epic romance. Because honestly, even a sentence about kissing can be an epic romance. And as I'm fond of saying in these articles, the better you know your characters, the better the reader will.
This entry was posted in Whisper Writes and tagged character development, fiction, fiction writing, literature, romance, romances, tutorial, writing, writing advice, writing tutorial by Wendy Schardein. Bookmark the permalink.


Phnom Penh – Child-centric standards & procedures are a very important tool to increase the protection of the rights of children who have suffered from sexual abuse and exploitation. APLE has been working with child victims for fifteen years, and understands well about their needs, difficulties and obstacles that they encounter during the investigation and court proceeding processes. The victims suffer great impact on their physical and psychological health from the abuse. Furthermore, various social problems can emerge if professional treatment is not provided. At the same time, the participation of the victim in the investigation and the court proceeding to seek justice is a traumatic experience which requires support.
Cambodia has legal instruments to fight against child sexual abuse and exploitation such as Law on Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation, the minimum standard for the protection of the victim and the guideline on the identification of the victims. However, there is no specific legal procedure or guideline for working with the victim and witnesses from beginning to end which cares for the protection of the victims in the future. In the court process, the protection of the victim's rights has not been well implemented; nonetheless, the child-friendly interview principle is being increasingly adopted.
APLE's role is helping to motivate and encourage national law enforcement personnel to become increasingly child-centered, which is extremely important during the course of their investigation, especially during interviews with the child victim.
Experience tell us that some victims change their statement at the court stage but if the national enforcement agencies implement the child-friendly interview model, the victims will gain more confidence. It is important to work patiently with the victims, who are often children who live on the street and who have different attitudes compared with those with often more structured lives. APLE is currently working on a guideline to allow standards of practices among national law enforcement agencies dealing with sexual abuse crime, especially when involving minor age victims.
Here are some of the identifiable advantages of the child-centric procedures which could add value to police investigation: gain trust from the survivor, obtain reliable information/statement, children are less traumatized/depressed, no more harm, faster recovery, save time in the legal proceeding, no contra-accusation against the law enforcement, more prosecution/conviction of offenders both nationally & internationally, and justice for the survivor.
Your participation really matters……Please join us to further protect all children by reporting suspicious activity and take positive action to protect them.


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The Nature-Positive Race To Zero
Posted on June 29, 2022 | ICSI |
Our relationship with nature will make or break the race to a resilient zero-emission future.
The faster we degrade and lose biodiversity, the worse climate change, and the food crisis, will grow. The sooner we act to protect, conserve, sustainably use and regenerate nature within the 2020s, the stronger our chances of reaching net zero emissions before 2050 and becoming resilient to impacts we can't hold back.
Yet, the majority of businesses and investors have yet to adequately tackle their impact on deforestation and nature.
Even in the food, land and agriculture sector, which relies heavily on nature for its business, most big businesses are lagging behind, according to an analysis commissioned by the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions and partners and released today.
It finds that out of 148 major food, land and agriculture companies committed to net zero emissions by 2050, only nine – or 6% – are making strong progress to end deforestation. Over 90% risk missing their net-zero commitments because of a lack of action on deforestation. Those making strong progress include Race to Zero members Nestlé, PepsiCo, Unilever, Mars and Colgate-Palmolive and Suzano.
Leadership in finance is similarly slim, although we expect it to grow before COP27. Only 33 financial institutions, out of 500-plus members of the UN-backed Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, have committed to tackle the deforestation driven by agricultural commodities in their portfolios by 2025. This will significantly boost their commitment to halve emissions between 2020 and 2030 en route to net zero before 2050, and more should be joining soon.
The Climate Champions and partners are hosting a high-level London Climate Action Week event – Nature Positive for a Net Zero Future, today, 29 June, from 9:00-11:30 BST. The event features business and investment leaders including Peter Harrison, CEO of Schroders, indigenous advocate Txai Suruí, and Jose Pugas, partner and head of ESG at Brazil's JGP. You can register to watch it online here.
The challenge of driving a nature-positive economy may be significant, but so are the economic opportunities: worth around US$10.1 trillion per year and 395 million jobs by 2030, according to the World Economic Forum.
We will therefore be working with partners across the private sector, civil society and governments to raise understanding of the benefits of nature-positive and kick-start action this year.
RaceTo Zero Raises The Bar
Nature takes centre stage in the Race to Zero campaign's updated criteria, following an international consultation with over 200 experts and civil society groups. The annual review is designed to ensure that commitments made under the Race to Zero by businesses, investors, cities and regions are robust and credible, and based on the latest science.
The campaign requires, firstly, that members pledge to reach (net) zero greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible and by 2050 at the latest – recognizing that this requires a phase down and out of all unabated fossil fuels as part of a just transition.
The targets must include all direct and indirect emissions, all territorial emissions for cities and regions, all portfolio/ financed/ facilitated/ insured emissions for financial entities, and all land-based emissions.
Starting pledges must include a goal to halt deforestation and protect biodiversity, making activities and finance consistent with climate-resilient development. They must also include sectoral targets in line with, or more ambitious than, the Race to Zero's 2030 Breakthroughs; set twin targets for the reduction and removal of emissions; and set targets to reduce methane by at least 34% by 2030 and cut other short-lived greenhouse gas emissions.
Members have a year from when they join to publicly disclose a plan for meeting all the Race to Zero criteria, including work undertaken within the first one to three years and by 2030. These should include the conservation and sustainable use of nature; support a just transition for communities affected by climate impacts and the shift to zero emissions; and empower stakeholders to achieve their own targets. Members should report their progress publicly at least every year through the UNFCCC Global Climate Action Portal.
A new criterion also calls on members to, within a year of joining, align their lobbying and advocacy work, including through membership associations, with the Race to Zero goals.
The Finance Blue Print for Net Zero
The Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero this month released guidance to help financial firms set actional transition plans to halve emissions within the 2020s and reach net zero emissions before 2050 – recognizing the links between climate change and nature loss.
It sets out four approaches that financial institutions should take to support the shift to net-zero: 1) Finance the development and scaling of net-zero technologies and services to replace high-emitting sources; 2) Increase support for companies aligned with a 1.5C temperature limit; 3) Enable high- and low-emitting companies to align their business with a 1.5C pathway; 4) Accelerate the managed phaseout of high-emitting assets through early retirement.
The guidance also provides good practices for deforestation policies in the finance sector. Steps include setting a clear, overarching goal on deforestation; a description of the type of company asset, project and/or activity the policy applies to; criteria or conditions for products and services covered by the policy; and a science-based timeline.
GFANZ now includes over 500 financial firms with more than US$135 trillion in assets committed to net zero by 2050, covering 45 countries and 40% of global private financial assets.
A direct and compelling headline
The Bonn Climate Change Conference closed after two weeks of intensive work on issues and preparation for the COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh. This was the first opportunity for all Parties to the UNFCCC to meet since COP26 at Glasgow.
One major topic during the meeting was the first technical dialogue of the Global Stocktake, where Parties and non-Party stakeholders discussed collective progress on the Paris Agreement's goal to limit global warming to 1.5°C through various roundtables. The co-facilitators organized a "World Café", where Parties and non-Party stakeholders gathered to explore topics across the scope of the Global Stocktake at small tables.
Ahead of the second dialogue to be held at COP27, Parties and non-Party stakeholders are encouraged to hold events at the local, national, regional and international level in support of the Global Stocktake.
The High-Level Champions actively engaged with the conference, including convening events on the Global Stocktake and on resilience and action after impacts. They met with Party groups such as the G77 and China, the African Group, the Least Developed Countries, the Alliance of Small Island States, the Independent Alliance of Latin America and the Caribbean, and the European Union to listen and gather feedback on their plans ahead of COP27, as well as Marrakech Partnership stakeholders and other non-Party stakeholders.
The UNFCCC also held the first annual Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue during the conference, highlighting the importance of oceans to livelihoods and biodiversity and the need for more ocean-related climate action. UN Secretary-General António Guterres outlined four recommendations to protect and preserve oceans: invest in sustainable ocean economies, replicate ocean success, protect the people, and provide more science and innovation.
This article was authored by Nigel Topping and was first published here.


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Green Car Reports - Prototype Natural-Gas Vehicles Use Gasoline as Range Extender
Green Car Reports - Prototype Natural-Gas Vehicles Use Gasoline as Range Extender – Thursday, October 03, 2013
To date, natural-gas vehicles have come with significant compromises.
The high-pressure tanks that hold enough compressed natural gas to run 200 miles or more take up many cubic feet of space in the trunk, load bay, or pickup bed.
But what if you could design a vehicle that had just enough natural gas to run 50 to 75 miles--without any change to its cargo space?
That's just what vehicle-development consultant Carlab designed--four of them, in fact--and we drove the prototypes last month.
The concept is identical to that of a Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric car: Run the vehicle's first miles on a cheaper energy source that can be provided at home, then switch to gasoline for those occasions where longer continuous range is needed.
Overnight home fueling
In this case, though, the primary fuel is natural gas rather than electricity, and it powers the combustion engine--meaning no electric motors, battery packs, or electronics are needed.
These cars are best suited, Carlab said, to those regions where natural gas is plentiful, cheap, and already installed in a large numbers of homes for heating or hot water.
For home fueling, the vision is that a small compressor fills the natural-gas tank to its maximum pressure of 3600 psi overnight.
Major appliance makers, including some who attended the drive event, view such a compressor as an opportunity to launch a new category of home appliance sales.
This article was first published by Green Car Reports - Prototype Natural-Gas Vehicles Use Gasoline as Range Extender.


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New York|Bar Cars May Return to Metro-North Trains Serving Connecticut
Bar Cars May Return to Metro-North Trains Serving Connecticut
Commuters drinking inside a bar car at Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan in May 2014. The service was ended that year on the Metro-North Railroad's New Haven line.CreditCreditBryan Thomas for The New York Times
By Patrick McGeehan
The last of the bar cars on commuter trains in the New York metropolitan area made their final runs more than two years ago. But rolling cocktail service may be returning to the rails in Connecticut.
A longtime advocate for riders of the Metro-North Railroad said on Monday that Gov. Dannel P. Malloy planned to announce this week that he intends to bring back the bar cars. Jim Cameron, founder of the Commuter Action Group, said 10 of the 60 train cars the state is ordering would be "cafe cars" that serve drinks.
A spokesman for the Connecticut Transportation Department said he could not confirm what Mr. Cameron said. But a spokesman for the governor sent an advisory — when asked for confirmation about the return of the bar cars — stating that a news conference with Mr. Malloy is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon at the New Haven rail yard.
Mr. Cameron said he heard that the announcement had been scheduled for later in the week but was moved up after word of the plan leaked out. The Connecticut Post reported the news about the bar cars on Sunday.
The Transportation Department plans to spend $200 million on the 60 cars, said Mr. Cameron, who is a former chairman of the Connecticut Commuter Rail Council. He said the cars would be models known as M8s, which the state first ordered from Kawasaki a decade ago. They should help to alleviate the crowded conditions that leave some passengers standing throughout their commutes during rush hours on the Metro-North New Haven line, he said.
Mr. Cameron said he was not certain why state officials had decided to bring back bar cars, but he pointed out that the announcement would coincide with public hearings on a proposed fare increase. Connecticut, which controls the operation of the New Haven line beyond the New York state border, plans to raise fares by 6 percent on Dec. 1.
"I've had nobody come to me in the last few years and say, 'Gee, we don't have bar cars anymore,'" Mr. Cameron said. "But hardly a week goes by when someone doesn't say, 'Why am I paying $300 or $400 a month when I don't get a seat on the train?'"
Mr. Malloy, a Democrat, may alleviate anger about rising fares — some of which would increase by $25 a month — by demonstrating that he is enhancing service, Mr. Cameron said. Still, he said he was anticipating a "large, vocal, angry turnout" at the hearings this week.
If the bar cars return, they will be unique among the country's commuter rail systems. Amtrak still operates cafes that sell food and drinks on some of its trains, but the final four bar cars on the New Haven line were the last of their breed when they went out of service in May 2014.
"I've been commuting for over 12 years," said Terri Cronin, a vocal proponent of the bar cars who commutes to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan from East Norwalk. "The bar cars made it palatable, made it fun. It is very much the opposite of a quiet car."
A version of this article appears in print on , Section A, Page 24 of the New York edition with the headline: Bar Cars May Return to Metro-North Trains Serving Connecticut. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe