Fattening Pigs - 1310-1320
What was this scroll illuminated for?
Kingdom: Atenveldt Barony: Tir Ysgithr Baronial Award: Order of the Boar Vert -
This award honors members who demonstrate excellence in the teaching and practice of the Arts and Sciences.
Original Artwork: Where did it come from?
Psalter This piece is an illuminated page stored in the British Library from a Psalter (a book that contains the Book of Psalms from the Bible). And what a fascinating history it has!
This work was illuminated by a scribe now known as "The Queen Mary Master". The Psalter was created between 1310 and 1320. There are disagreements amongst scholars over where this book resided until a note in the 16th century in the book which indicated that it was owned by an Earl of Rutland, who is thought to be Henry Manners. Henry Manners was imprisoned for treason or heresy in 1553 by Queen Mary, which is how she came to be in posession of it. It was donated by George II to the British Museum via the Old Royal Library.
Why was Henry Manners charged with treason or heresy? It is a result of the aftermath of the 1553 succession crisis. After the Protestant King Edward VI died in 1553, a number of Protestant nobles attempted to keep King Edward VI's older half-sister, Queen Mary, off the throne through a coup- installing the Protestant Lady Jane Grey. How? The 1st Duke of Northumberland, John Dudley, convinced the dying king to name Lady Jane Grey (King Edward's great-grand daughter) as his successor. Queen Mary led an armed rebellion from London with around 6,000 soldiers and reclaimed the throne. She jailed and executed those who had participated in the rebellion as well as any Protestants that refused to convert to Catholicism. Nearly 300 persons were burned at the stake for heresy for refusing to convert when Queen Mary reinstated Catholic practices and Latin Masses.
Medieval Relevance of the Image:
The fattening of pigs is frequently pictured in medieval illuminated Books of Hours for the monthly labor of November. This is due to the common practice of farmers killing and salting their pigs to be able to have meat for the winter in November. This fattening of the pigs was aided by feeding the pigs acorns. This autumn foraging habit was called pannage. Farmers used long poles to knock the acorns from the trees, which is the image depicted.
Very Special Thanks to a scribe in An-Tir!
This linework was traced for this scroll.
Sources: Notes References Davenport 56-57. "Royal", 272 Warner 2. Stanton 172. "Facsimiles." Warner 1-2. Stanton 184-86. Smith 147. Stanton 177. Stanton 183-84. Bibliography Davenport, Cyril (1899). English embroidered bookbindings. The English bookman's library. Vol. 1. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner and Company. "Facsimiles of Illuminated Manuscripts in Special Collections, 14th century: Queen Mary Psalter". University of Arizona. 2006. Archived from the original on 25 May 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2011. Papanicolaou, Linda Morey (1981). "The Iconography of the Genesis Window of the Cathedral of Tours". Gesta. 20 (1): 179–89. doi:10.2307/766840. JSTOR 766840. S2CID 193440105. Smith, Kathryn A. (1993). "History, Typology and Homily: The Joseph Cycle in the Queen Mary Psalter". Gesta. 32 (2): 147–59. doi:10.2307/767172. JSTOR 767172. S2CID 155781985. "Royal": McKendrick, Scott, Lowden, John and Doyle, Kathleen, (eds), Royal Manuscripts, The Genius of Illumination, 2011, British Library, 9780712358156 Stanton, Anne Rudloff (1997). "From Eve to Bathsheba and Beyond: Motherhood in the Queen Mary Psalter". In Jane H. M. Taylor (ed.). Women and the book: assessing the visual evidence. The British Library studies in medieval culture. Lesley Janette Smith. Toronto: U of Toronto P. pp. 172–89. ISBN 978-0-8020-8069-1. Warner, George (1912). Queen Mary's Psalter Miniatures and Drawings by an English Artist of the 14th Century Reproduced from Royal Ms. 2 B. Vii in the British Museum (PDF). London: British Museum. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-05-23. Retrieved 07-19-2026.
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