Yes, that manuscript has an interesting history. Two leaves cut out and they show up a few centuries later in private hands and are eventually donated to the Fitzwilliam museum rather than passed down through heirs (guilty conscience?).
It is sadly a common story and there are many similar examples. Plus, it still happens today... people going into libraries with knives, cutting out illuminations and selling them on eBay or abebooks.
But how long has it been going on? Could someone in the Middle Ages have cut them out as reference materials for a clandestine project?
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For a long time I wondered if the four figures might be specific saints, since the chain is sometimes used as an attribute for securing demons, or the Tarasque, or for Ignatius of Antioch, St. Peter, or You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.. Book chains in chained libraries sometimes had very large loops, also. Also I wondered if they might be the cardinal virtues, but those are usually Prudence, Temperance, Iustice and Fortitude (which are not shown with chains).
It is sadly a common story and there are many similar examples. Plus, it still happens today... people going into libraries with knives, cutting out illuminations and selling them on eBay or abebooks.
But how long has it been going on? Could someone in the Middle Ages have cut them out as reference materials for a clandestine project?
.
For a long time I wondered if the four figures might be specific saints, since the chain is sometimes used as an attribute for securing demons, or the Tarasque, or for Ignatius of Antioch, St. Peter, or You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.. Book chains in chained libraries sometimes had very large loops, also. Also I wondered if they might be the cardinal virtues, but those are usually Prudence, Temperance, Iustice and Fortitude (which are not shown with chains).