20 Bizarre Examples Of Medieval Marginalia

Yo, medieval scribes: no one’s going to read the text you so painstakingly lettered if you continue to draw weird and dirty pictures in the margins.

1. A penis tree

From a 14th century copy of Romance of the Rose.

Source: culture-et-debats.over-blog.com  /  via: gotmedieval.com

2. A monkey with an arrow stuck in its butt

From Bibliothèque Mazarine MS 520.

Source: gotmedieval.com  /  via: gotmedieval.com

3. Ass arrows, again

From the Rutland Psalter, c. 1260.

Via: laphamsquarterly.org

4. An inappropriate rabbit

From Breviary, Use of Verdun c. 1302-1305.

Source:   /  via: kardiologn.livejournal.com

5. Another inappropriate rabbit

From Bodleian Library’s MS Douce 5.

Source: gotmedieval.com  /  via: bigshoediaries.blogspot.com

6. This obviously boneless individual

Source: tonyynot  /  via: mediumaevum.tumblr.com

7. An ape bludgeoning a man with an axe

Via: mediumaevum.tumblr.com

8. Whatever’s going on here

Via: janiek.wordpress.com

9. Creative, naked nose picking?

From Book of Hours, Walters Manuscript W.102, fol. 92v.

Source: farm9.staticflickr.com  /  via: medmss

10. A man voiding his bowels

Via: andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com

11. An amputee brawl

From Bodleian Alexander (MS Bodl. 264).

Source: gotmedieval.com  /  via: gotmedieval.com

12. Ape sodomy

From Bodleian MS Douce 6.

Source: gotmedieval.com  /  via: gotmedieval.com

13. The guy on the left

From The Vows of the Peacock c. 1350.

Source: img.gawkerassets.com  /  via: io9.com

14. Ass trumpets

From The Vows of the Peacock c. 1350.

Via: io9.com

15. Man riding a head toward a naked woman

Via: janiek.wordpress.com

16. Hellbarrows

From The Taymouth Hours.

Source: 2.bp.blogspot.com  /  via: gotmedieval.com

17. Nom nom nom

From The Taymouth Hours.

Source: 2.bp.blogspot.com  /  via: gotmedieval.com

18. THIS GUY

From Codex, with gloss of Accursius, MS Canon. Misc. 495.

Source: tinyurl.com  /  via: bodleian.ox.ac.uk

19. Babies torturing a naked man

From Breviary, Carthusian use. MS. Canon. Liturg. 410.

Source: tinyurl.com  /  via: bodleian.ox.ac.uk

20. A snake man playing the bagpipes with his anus

From Pierpont Morgan Library’s MS G24.

Source: gotmedieval.com

21.

LINK

For more amazing marginalia, check out Got Medieval.

gotmedieval.com