Mystified by medieval books? I’m very impressed by a new series of online tutorials offering a fun and free introduction to these wonderful objects: how they were made and how they were used. Books and the dissemination of knowledge in medieval Europe was created by medieval book expert Erik Kwakkel.
Any excuse to share an image of one of my favourite medieval books … bit early for Valentine’s Day, but heart-shaped books are a delight any day of the year. This one is a 15th century Book of Hours belonging to the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF, Manuscrits occidentaux, latin 10536). You can find out more about it on its own webpage http://classes.bnf.fr/dossisup/grands/ec060a.htm and see it with some other heart-shapes on Dr Kwakkel’s Tumblr.
The Special Collections Handbook 