Category: Illuminated manuscripts

Artists of Northern Europe, Illuminated manuscripts, Renaissance, The Hapsburgs

Of Parrots, kings and other things!

Melanie V Taylor

Parrots emerged as symbols of status in Europe after Alexander the Great brought them from India. Initially viewed as divine for their speech, their trade was primarily controlled by Arab merchants. Subsequent explorations expanded knowledge of various parrot species, including those from the New World, which became prized possessions among the elite.

Illuminated manuscripts, portrait miniature, Portraiture, Renaissance, Subjects for discussion, Tudor portraiture

Monkey business at 16th century royal courts

Melanie V Taylor

In 1492 Christopher Columbus (1451 – 1506) sailed under the Spanish flag and discovered a whole new land. Six years later the Portuguese explorer, Vasco de Gama (1460 – 1524) reached India’s Malabar coast, which had been a centre of trade between Arab and far eastern merchants for at least fifteen hundred years.  Columbus’s voyage west… Continue reading Monkey business at 16th century royal courts

Artists of Northern Europe, Illuminated manuscripts, Illumination of legal documents, portrait miniature, Portraiture, Renaissance, Royal Portraits, Symbols and emblems, Tudor portraiture

The origins of the Tudor portrait miniature

Melanie V Taylor

For those not familiar with the genre of the portrait miniature, let us first consider why and when these portraits became popular in England, and the various artists creating these images for the Tudor court. The half millennium saw a marked change from the religious themes of the medieval period to secular subjects inspired by… Continue reading The origins of the Tudor portrait miniature

Artists of Northern Europe, Flemish primitives, Illuminated manuscripts, Illumination of legal documents, portrait miniature, Portraiture, Royal Portraits, short stories, Tudor portraiture

Another Execution! – MV Taylor

Melanie V Taylor

This is a work of fiction, but the images referred to all exist as did all the characters and the executions to which they refer. Like other writers of historical fiction, I have taken events as my skeleton and dressed it with the clothes of a possible event, placing imagined words into the mouths of… Continue reading Another Execution! – MV Taylor

Artists of Northern Europe, Flemish primitives, Illuminated manuscripts, portrait miniature, Symbols and emblems

Easter Day and Mary Magdalene Sees the Risen Lord

Melanie V Taylor

Mary Magdalene, grieving at Jesus' tomb, encounters two angels and later sees Jesus, initially mistaking Him for a gardener. After recognizing Him, He instructs her to share His resurrection with others. The author also discusses significant illuminated manuscripts linked to the Poncher family and their artistic contributions to devotional literature.