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| People, possibly dancing, f. 173v. |
Official name(s): British Library, Royal MS 2 B VII
Date: 1310-1320 (source)
Origin: London/Westminster or East Anglia?, England (source)
Online facsimile available via: British Library Online Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts and British Library full facsimile
This manuscript is thought to have been made for Isabella of France (b. 1295, d. 1358), queen of Edward II, or perhaps for Edward II himself (source). Its colloquial name comes from it having been presented to Mary I (b. 1516, d. 1558), as evidenced by an inscription and the presence of her badge on the cover (source).
This manuscript has two distinct styles of miniatures. There are 223 miniatures in tinted drawings showing the Old Testament cycle (ff. 2v-66v); 464 bas de page scenes in tinted drawing (ff. 85v-318v); a further 128 colour-and-gold miniatures depicting the Ancestors of Christ, Apostles, Prophets, the Zodiac, the life of Christ and various saints (ff. 67v-310); and 23 colour-and-gold historiated initials (ff. 85v-318) (source). Most or all of these are available online.
The bas de page tinted drawings are of particular interest as they show various 'everyday' scenes such as dancing, hunting, monks and nuns, musicians, etc. as well as the usual manuscript stock tropes of monkeys and grotesques.
Basic descriptions of the illustrations are provided by the British Library with the facsimile.
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