Naamloos

Bestiaire de la version transitionnelle, England, 12th century, Saint Petersburg, National Library, ms. lat. Q. v. V, 1, 20 x 14,5 cm, f. 39.

Known to the Western world through ancient Greek sources, the manticore is first mentioned by Ctesias in Indica, written in the fifth century BCE, and is subsequently referenced by several authors, including Pliny the Elder in his Natural History.

The manticore is often described as having the face of a man, the body of a lion, and the tail of a scorpion, as well as red skin and blue eyes. In manuscripts, it is also often depicted as gray, and wearing a Phrygian cap on its head as a sign of its Eastern origin.

The manticore was considered dangerous and nearly impossible to hunt due to the venom in its tail, and its description influenced the depiction of the hellish locusts from the Book of Revelation and of harpies.

From a letter by Sir Thomas Spinelly to King Henry VIII, written at the court of Marguerite of Austria in Brussels, dated 1st August 1514.

Crozier of Bishop Conor O'Dea of Limerick, Ireland, 15th century

Churches of the Scilly Isles: All Saints Church, Bryher, replaced a small eighteenth century chapel of 'God and All Saints' which itself had replaced a now-lost medieval chapel.

Inferno, circa 1410. Painted by Giovanni da Modena (1379–1455).

Self-Portrait at the Age of Twenty Eight, Oil on Panel(1500) Renaissance artists painted self-portraits as professional advertisements of their skills and social standing to potential patrons. Northern Renaissance master Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) painted this self-portrait in 1500, fusing German naturalism with the humanist ideals he had embraced in Italy. By adopting a rigid, frontal pose and a fur-lined coat, he deliberately modeled his likeness after traditional depictions of Christ. This was a philosophical declaration rather than vanity, asserting the artist as a divinely inspired creator rather than a mere artisan. Loc. Alte Pinakothek, Munich, Germany, since 1805. Dim. 67.1 cm H x 48.9 cm W (26.4 x 19.3 in.).

I've added subtitles to this video posted by the duo Alosa singing the song "Si fóssim gavines". This is a valset mariner (sailor's little waltz), which is a popular music genre in the Catalan Countries usually grouped together with havaneres. I wanted to share this one because it has very sweet lyrics by the Menorcan poet Tòful Mus.

The song also has another stanza they didn't sing here, which says this:

Escolta'm, amiga, escolta'm, companya, / si fóssim gavines, gavinetes blanques / sentint sa carícia des vent quan mos toca /descansant tranquil·les damunt d'una roca.

Faríem des riure un so musical, / es niu penjaríem damunt d'un penyal, / volant dalt ses barques quan surten des port, / dibuixant corones desitjant-li sort!

Listen to me, friend; listen to me, companion, if we were seagulls, white little seagulls feeling the caress of the wind when it touches us, resting calmly on a rock

Belgium, probably in Tournai, ca. 1345-1350