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Since everyone tells me that I'm leaving in less than a month, I thought I'd showcase some of the more amazing things I've seen this summer. We'll get to how I'm feeling about leaving London later, when I've figured it out. For now, have some pretty pictures.

This manuscript is Harley 2278. (Harley was a collector of manuscripts in the 18th century; his collection topped 6,000, most of which now reside in the British Library's collection. It's also the collection that I'm helping to catalogue this summer.) Harley 2278 is a mid 15th century manuscript of the Life of Saint Edmund. (To read more about this manuscript, click on the link.) This was one of the manuscripts I considered as I chose a few for public exhibition. As it turns out, since people can't get close to the manuscript, the images from this book lose some of their power, since they are so detailed.

The illuminations in this manuscript are some of my favorite that I've seen this summer. Instead of using really saturated colors, the artist chose subdued colors and gave the figures amazing facial expressions. There are many, many miniatures in this manuscript, which was given to Henry VI, who happens to be the king in the image below. I also love the border, which not only has birds, but also peas! I have never seen another border with pea pods -- it makes me smile just to think of it. Click on the image to embiggen!