One of my favourite sentences is ‘Have you read …?’, either because a good book can be recommended to a friend/colleague/family member or because following a positive response the result is an interesting discussion. I am referring to works of fiction but being a librarian this obviously spills over into work. As Special Collections Librarian I am seconded to Lincoln Cathedral Library two days a week, working in Exchequer Gate home of medieval manuscripts, early printed books, modern reference and archival material, available for staff and students.
Toni Watts was Lincoln Cathedral’s Artist in Residence 2015-2016, during which time she spent many hours looking through the illuminations in Lincoln Cathedral Library’s medieval manuscripts. Not wanting to lose her exquisite skill set the Cathedral has retained the connection with her position as Cathedral Illuminator. Find out more about Toni’s work – A Medieval Scribe in the Modern Day: the Illuminations of Toni Watts
Last month I came across a catalogue record in Lincoln Cathedral’s library catalogue for Mark Clarke’s Early English Text Society’s 2016 volume 347.
I emailed Toni with the ‘Have you read’ sentence and during her subsequent visit to Exchequer Gate, where the journal is located, Toni found a recipe for pink. A proper pink, not an orangey pink, which required brazilwood and an artist’s eye to transform from the page into paint. This pink will be used in Toni’s future classes, as she said “The benefit of access to a good book”.
The following week I collected a bumper crop of oak galls from oak trees in Silica Country Park, which Toni uses to make the iron gall ink and will be used to make her black ink.
Observations on Prince Rupert’s White Dog Called Boy
Last year I did a week’s work experience in the University Library and Lincoln Cathedral Library’s Exchequer Gate. During this time, I was lucky enough to view some original civil war material from the Wren Library and one item that particularly stood out to me was about Prince Rupert’s dog.
The English Civil War (1642-1660) split the country in half, Parliamentarians and Royalists fighting over the governing of their country.
Prince Rupert began his military career at the age of thirteen. He was born during the Thirty Years War, which tore his nation apart, therefore conflict was all many people of the time knew, including Rupert. He was a strong military leader until an unfortunate failed expedition, which landed him in prison in Austria. Due to his high status and romantic affiliation with his captor’s daughter, he received special treatment, such as books and then most notably the gift of his white hunting poodle ‘Boy’.
Upon returning to England, there was initial fear and superstition surrounding the dog, who was said to accompany Rupert everywhere, including into battle. Descriptions of their close relationship can be found in this pamphlet, which suggests ‘they lie perpetually in one bed’,
although the descriptions of the dog as a bullet proof witch may seem humorous to a modern audience, it reveals the superstition of the time.
Furthermore, this fear was not only of the supernatural but is intrinsically linked to the fear of women, who were blamed for all manner of failures. The words ‘woman’ and ‘witch’ are used interchangeably as explanations as to why Prince Rupert’s dog is working for the devil, revealing to us the ideologies of the time surrounding women and witchcraft.
Ultimately Boy was not weapon-proof as the pamphlet describes, as he died after being shot on the battlefield of Marston Moor, leaving a bereft Prince Rupert to mourn his loss.
The Wren Library is undergoing ceiling repairs, so the Civil War tracts are not currently available. However, Newark’s Civil War Museum is currently open see National Civil War Centre, Newark.
In 2022 during a Fake News exhibition a replica of Boy’s collar, ID tag, lead and paw print were on display.
For last year’s Women’s History Month I wrote a blog called ‘Murderous Millinery’, about the beginnings of the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) and the campaigns against using feathers in fashion. This postscript refers to the long overdue installation in Manchester, at Didsbury’s Fletcher Moss Park, of a statue to one of the founders, Emily Williamson, which will take place on 17th April 2023.
This fact emerged from a Christmas present, perfectly chosen and brimming with information on exceptional women, from poet Enheduanna (2885-2250 BCE) to current day Greta Thunberg.
For Black History Month 2022, the Library has two great activities for you to join in with! Everyone is invited to join in with these events.
Connected Heritage & Reimagining Lincolnshire: Black History Month Wikithon (in collaboration with the Library)
Reimagining Lincolnshire: Black History Month Wikithon logo used above was designed by Oonagh Monaghan and features art created by ‘Ccrow Illustration’ (Kes Whyte), University of Lincoln graduate, 2022 and photos from Reimagining Lincolnshire’s collection.
You are invited to learn Wikipedia basics and make some edits to highlight some of the stories and people with connections to Lincolnshire uncovered by the research team at Reimagining Lincolnshire. This event is a part of Wikimedia UK Connected Heritage project, which is funded by DCMS and The National Lottery through The Heritage Fund’s Digital Skills for Heritage initiative.
Editathons aim to address the underrepresentation of people from the Global South, women, people of colour, LGBTQ+ people in Wikipedia entries and among contributors.
The event will take place on Thursday 20th October 1pm-4.30pm online via Zoom and there will also be email communication before the event for all those registered to make sure attendees are prepared.
The Library Subject Librarians Hope Williard and Oonagh Monaghan have been active in researching decolonising initiatives at other Higher Education libraries. Attendance at conferences and liaison with librarians across the sector has enabled us to produce our own University of Lincoln decolonising guide for academic staff and students. The next step is to make the work we are already doing more visible. The aim is to embed decoloniality into the physical space of the library. The prospective projects have been grouped into the following four areas:
Revealing coloniality of existing collections
Challenging coloniality
Researching decoloniality
Embracing and extending decoloniality
In addition to new resources, sinage and use of the winning design in the recent competition, a permanent space in the Library has been allocated and we are now at the stage where we have the plans in place and materials ordered or arrived and we hope that the space will develop over the first term of 2022.
Winning design by Cherry Wright (Ccrow Illustration) Instagram@worldofccrow
We want to reveal coloniality with the aim to share with our students, staff, and library community the ways that our practices of organising, displaying, and sharing information are shaped by colonial worldviews and outlooks.
We want to challenge coloniality by drawing on existing resources and highlightingnew developments in the library, this strand aimsto spotlight information and resources which challenge the colonial worldviews, allowing those who interact with it to broaden their knowledge and perspectives.
We want to research coloniality and collaborate, support, and promote research within the university relating to decolonisation. A particular focus of this area is the emerging project on zines, and efforts to actively engage with the university’s student as producer initiatives and internal funding schemes.
In the final strand we want to embrace and extend decolonialityand propose initiatives which would allow library staff and the wider university community to extend their knowledge of decoloniality and apply this knowledge in the workplace and beyond.
Part of this work is about developing awareness in the physical space of the Library and developing a dedicated Decolonisation and EDI area for display and promotion. Oonagh Monaghan has collaborated with two Interior Architecture academics, Raymund Konigk and Zakkiya Khan on the design of the area to showcase:
resources in the Library that show the diverse range of voices already in the collection.
Reveal and raise awareness of historical and colonial injustices which are embedded in the Library systems
Provide a space for materials that highlight issues of social justice and underrepresented voices.
showcase the new zines collection
Any questions, please email omonaghan@lincoln.ac.uk
By Joshua Sewell (volunteer in the University Library)
Lincoln Cathedral holds a lot of history for a structure composed mostly of stone and glass, a history that goes back nearly a thousand years. Once the tallest structure in the world and formerly one of the resting places of an original copy of the Magna Carta, the building is no stranger to events and possessions of historical importance. But those stories have been told forever and evermore. What we want to find are those tales that are less well known, but still of high value. One such tale finds its home in the Russell Chantry area of the Cathedral, and its events took place not so long ago. Inside the Chantry can be found a set of murals that adorn the walls and hold a significance that many may not be aware of. The murals have been open to public viewing since 1990, but their existence predates this by more than 3 decades. Here a question of great interest presents itself, why were the murals hidden from public view for all that time?
Welcome to a visual feast of the king of the beasts, as seen in manuscripts and printed books of Lincoln Cathedral Library. Some of the images are realistic and some less so but still evidence of our long term fascination with the magnificent animal found at the top of the food chain.
Oldest Lions
Lincoln Cathedral MS 147 f.96r
One of our oldest lion’s is the 12th century decorated initial in a manuscript of Peter Lombard’s Sentences (specifically, Psalm 52), described by Rodney Thomson as ‘white lions on square, coloured grounds edged with green’. Can you see them? Look closely!
Lincoln Cathedral MS 193 f.27v
This lonely lion in a 13th century initial from Ivo of Chartres’ Decretum is much easier to spot!
Another 12th century depiction illustrates genealogies of the Counts of Flanders and Kings of France with a lion rampant.
Lincoln Cathedral MS 98 f.120r
It’s interesting to compare the medieval lions to each other!
Early Modern Lions
Conrad Gesener, Historiae Animalium (1551-1558)
Swiss physician Conrad Gesner is often considered to be the father of modern zoology. His three volume History of Animals was the first comprehensive reference work on the subject, covering quadrupeds, fish, and birds. Illustrated throughout with fine hand-coloured woodcuts, this work attempted to include all the available information on each animal. Although it was intended to be factual, there are many wondrous and mythical creatures scattered throughout each book, including a unicorn. This was the first attempt by anyone to describe the animals and their habitats accurately. If you are visiting Lincoln please do not miss the new exhibition space at the Cathedral. An animated version of Gesner’s rhinoceros will be there in 2022!
Illustration of St Jerome and the lion (undated drawing)
The story of the church father Jerome and the lion is a delightful story of a saintly scholar coming to the rescue of a limping lion, removing a thorn from his paw. The lion repaid his kindness by remaining by his side until his death around 420 CE and appears in many paintings with St Jerome. The cathedral owns a beautiful drawing of this story, a hand-coloured illustration with no provenance but visible pin holes where it has been displayed in the past.
The earliest printed book held in the Cathedral Library is a copy of Jerome’s Epistles printed in 1468.
Lions of the Nineteenth Century
Oliver Goldsmith, A History of the Earth and Animated Nature (1857)
Oliver Goldsmith’s History of the Earth and Animated Nature was first published in 1774, describing the history of the earth, geographical features and many species of animals in eight volumes. The Cathedral has a two volume abridged version, which appeared in 1853. It is mentioned in George Eliot’s The Mill on the Floss, read and enjoyed by Maggie Tulliver.
David Livingstone, Missionary travels and researches in South Africa (1857)
Scottish missionary and explorer David Livingstone (1813-1873) was not enamoured of the artist’s impression of him being attacked in by a lion, which was published in ‘Missionary travels and researches in South Africa; including a sketch of sixteen years’ residence in the interior of Africa’ in 1857 and tried to have it banned. The attack took place in 1844 during a journey to Mabotsa, Livingstone survived the encounter but the lion did not.
The cathedral library also holds a letter from Livingstone addressed to Col Winyard in 1862, detailing the trials and tribulations of travel in Africa at that time, which featured in Lincoln’s Black History Trail in October’s Black History Month, as part of the University of Lincoln’s Reimagining Lincolnshire project. You can learn more at https://reimagininglincs.blogs.lincoln.ac.uk
Lions Today
Throughout the cathedral’s history, lions have sparked the imagination and interest of the people who illustrated, wrote, and collected its books. We hope you have enjoyed getting to know the lions of Lincoln Cathedral Library.
Images shared with the permission of the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln Cathedral. Blog written by Claire Arrand with help from Hope Williard.
Library staff are participating in History Day 2020, a set of interactive events which allow students, researchers, and lovers of history to explore archival, museum, and library collections that tell us more about the past. Our contribution takes the form of two blog posts–links and more details below!
MS 95 f.6v – a fragment of a 15th century antiphoner (a book of the responses sung at different parts of a Catholic church service. The manuscript was subsequently used to cover other manuscripts)
In ‘Silencing the Music‘, Special Collections Librarian Claire Arrand and music librarian Hope Williard reflect on the delay coronavirus has caused for a joint research project with two undergraduate students, Valerie Arinda and Megan Lomas. Our project, ‘Distant Music: Uncovering the Music of Lincoln Cathedral Library’, will involve investigating Lincoln Cathedral’s incompletely catalogued manuscript and printed sacred music. Due to the pandemic, and the impossibility of conducting socially distanced or online research, the project has been put on hold, but we hope you enjoy reading about it, and getting a sneak peek at some of the cathedral’s musical treasures.
The vellum chart covers the North Atlantic and adjacent coastlines from the St Lawrence River to the mouth of the River Amazon and from Scotland to the west coast of North Africa. It was drawn by Nicholas Comberford of Stepney, originally from Kilkenny but apprenticed to a mapmaker at the London Drapers Company. He signed maps from 1626-1670, of which almost 30 survive.
