91Èȱ¬

Full of bizarre marginal illustrations, including a giant skate fish and rabbits hunting on the backs of houndsThis fourteenth-century illuminated manuscript is the most important of its kind to be discovered in living memory. A lavishly illustrated setting of the Psalms of David across 250 exquisitely crafted pages embellished with precious pigments and gold, the Psalter offers a glimpse into the Middle Ages; a period from which precious little art survives. The manuscript was produced in East Anglia around 1330, when the region was one of the foremost artistic centres of Europe.

The margins are populated with charming, often bizarre illustrations, combining religious imagery and depictions of everyday life with bawdy humour and grotesque creations. In this fantasy world, men are attacked by giant snails and enormous fish, while rabbits joust, play the organ or ride dogs. These riotous miniatures highlight the place of laughter in the lives of medieval people, even as a part of religious experience.

Full of bizarre marginal illustrations, including a giant skate fish and rabbits hunting on the backs of hounds