Shining a light on a buried past, Dr Janina Ramirez unlocks the secrets of illuminated manuscripts, and explores the medieval world they reveal in The Private Lives Of Medieval Manuscripts (Tuesday 22nd-Thursday 24th at 6.15pm).
Beginning her journey with the first Anglo-Saxon rulers to create a united England, she discovers books in the British Library’s Royal Manuscripts collection that are over a thousand years old, and reads a wedding gift for a ten-year-old prince. Later, she learns how childhood manuscripts helped Edward III to victory at Crecy, and reveals how a new national identity bloomed during the 100 Years War with France. Finally, she uncovers manuscripts from the Tudor court, including astrological texts and Henry VII’s will, and reads love notes between Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, found written in the margins of a prayer book.
