Readers

Intriguing 'topless' illustration next to the tale 'Ivresse' from the Old French verse Vie des Pères Paris, BNF, fr. 20040, f. 89r Reproduced by courtesy of Bibliothèque nationale de France : gallica.bnf.fr/?lang=EN

Intriguing ‘topless’ illustration next to the tale ‘Ivresse’ from the Old French verse Vie des Pères
Paris, BNF, fr. 20040, f. 89r
Reproduced by courtesy of Bibliothèque nationale de France : gallica.bnf.fr/?lang=EN

Medieval (and post-medieval) readers frequently could not resist commenting upon, highlighting or correcting the works in their codex.

Ranging from a simple nota bene (?) to marginal illustrations inspired by the textual content, the traces left behind by readers offer us fascinating insights into the reception of medieval texts as well as a variety of different impulses, both vaguely familiar and utterly bewildering.

Go to one reader comparing the texts of two German manuscripts.

BNF. fr. 12581, f. 357v Reproduced by courtesy of Bibliothèque nationale de France: http://gallica.bnf.fr/?lang=EN

BNF. fr. 12581, f. 357v
Reproduced by courtesy of Bibliothèque nationale de France: http://gallica.bnf.fr/?lang=EN

Or take a look at the variety of reader interventions in the French manuscript BNF, fr. 837.

Interested in learning more about medieval texts?

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