Related
Four people from BL Royal 2 B VII, f. 178v
Four people from BL Royal 2 B VII, f. 181v
Four people from BL Royal 2 B VII, f. 181v
People from BL Royal 2 B VII, f. 173v
People from BL Royal 2 B VII, f. 173v
Four men from BL Royal 2 B VII, f. 196v
Four men from BL Royal 2 B VII, f. 196v
Four apes from BL Royal 2 B VII, f. 179v
Four apes from BL Royal 2 B VII, f. 179v
Four people from BL Royal 2 B VII, f. 178v
Summary
Detail of a bas-de-page scene of two men and two women in a row, holding ribbons. Image taken from f. 178v of Psalter ('The Queen Mary Psalter'). Written in Latin, with French image captions.
The BL Royal Manuscript Collection, also known as the Royal Collection, consists of over 2,000 manuscripts that were once owned by the British monarchs, including English and later British kings and queens from the late 12th to the 19th centuries. These manuscripts are notable for their historical and artistic value.
The collection was initially stored in various royal libraries and palaces, such as the Tower of London and Westminster Palace. During the English Civil War in the 17th century and the subsequent Interregnum, many royal treasures, including manuscripts, were dispersed and sold. Some manuscripts were lost, destroyed, or ended up in private hands.
In 1757, King George II donated the Old Royal Library to the British Museum (which later became the British Library), where the manuscripts were integrated into the museum's collections. This marked the formal establishment of the Royal Manuscript Collection within the British Museum.
In medieval illuminated manuscripts, bas-de-page scenes are unframed, sometimes whimsical images that appear below the written text and may or may not refer to it.
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