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Description: | Twice abbot of St Albans (1420-1440, 1451-1465), John de Whethamstede called his four-volume compendium of history and classical literature the 'Granarium', a play on his name ('Wheathamstead') and on the 'kernels' of knowledge arranged alphabetically within it. Accused of neglecting his job because he spent so much time in pursuit of his studies and funds to beautify the monastery, he based his massive compendium on classical authors and the 14th-century Italian writer Boccacio. He was the first English author to write a history in a humanist style, although he shaped the mythological content to a moralising Christian purpose.
The pages of the 'Granarium' manuscript are splendid with beautifully decorated capital letters, an extremely deluxe dictionary of ancient topics. On this page, the letter 'G' stands for Gaius, the Roman emperor who was better known as Caligula. | License: | http://www.bl.uk/services/copy/permission.html | Rights holder: | British Library | Source: | Collect Britain | Identifier: | http://www.collectbritain.co.uk/personal... | Language: | en-GB | Go to resource |
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