![]() ![]() Philippe de Vitry: Vos quid admiramini / Gratissima (Musica Nova)Īs part of the images of animals in the marginalia being a vision of the world turned upside down, this funerary procession is also backwards. Kyward the Hare tolling church bells, detail from fol. On the first page of the manuscript we can see not only lavish use of red and black ink but also blue, grey and white ink in the initials and the decoration. These books of prayers for the canonical hours were often lavishly illustrated, and this one is no exception. The book is incomplete and, over time, has been misbound, with sections out of order. 102 was created in England at the end of the 13th century for a now-unknown patron. What’s of interest to us is that his animal associates are all playing musical instruments as they process across the bottom of the pages. ![]() In the marginalia of a 13th-century Book of Hours held in the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, there’s a procession of Reynard’s friends and enemies going to his funeral. ![]() The enemies deliver funeral orations full of insincerity that are then acted upon by the not-so-dead Reynard as he takes his revenge. When his time for trickery is up, one of the standard situations in the stories would be an elaborate funeral, attended by friends and enemies. The situations in the stories are set up such that people reading or hearing them can make parallels with their own lives. Reynard is treated in the tales as though he is human and lives in a world with other talking animals. The stories that came out starting in the 12th century place him in medieval literature as a parody of the courtly love stories. Their first mention comes in the fables of Aesop, in 4 BC, and these are carried forward through the 12th century when the character of Reynard emerges. Sometimes he’s evil, but most often he’s a trickster, known for being cunning, wily, and resourceful. The character of the trickster fox is everywhere in folktales from around the world. ![]()
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