Exempla as a Source of Gothic Marginal Illumination

* The author gratefully acknowledges permission to reproduce photographs of manuscripts in the following collections: Arras, Bibliothèque Municipale; Cambridge (England), Fitzwilliam Museum; Dijon, Bibliothèque Publique; London, British Museum; Malvern, C. W. Dyson Perrins Collection; Munich, Bayerische Nationalbibliothek; Nancy, Bibliothèque Publique; Oxford, Bodleian Library; Paris; Bibliothèque Nationale.

Abstract

THE emergence of full-fledged marginal illumination towards the middle of the thirteenth century has generally been ascribed to the effusive spirit of the times, the renewed interest in naturalism, and the Gothic love for anecdotic detail. While these factors unquestionably exerted considerable influence on manuscript illumination, they do not in themselves suffice to explain the increasing frequency in the margins of themes derived from literary sources such as the Bestiary¹ and the Marvels of the East.²