what i want for christmas…..

"Rouchefoucauld Grail" (detail), 1315-1323, Sotheby's, London

Wow. So how often does something like this go to auction? No, it’s not THE Grail, but in the world of medieval codicology (the study of books as physical objects) this is THEIR grail. The Rouchefoucauld Grail (c. 1315-1323) is considered to be the oldest surviving account of the Arthur’s quest for the Grail. From ArtDaily:

It is the greatest romance of chivalry produced in the Middle Ages, and its themes of friendship, treachery, ambition, achievement and star-crossed tragic lovers form the foundations of much of our modern literature. The stories of the quest for the Holy Grail, of the Lady of the Lake, of King Arthur and his court at Camelot, and of Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere, captured the imaginations of generations to come, and have inspired some of the best-selling novels of our time. The Rochefoucauld Grail is from the 14th century, and on a scale which is as impressive as the text: some 200 cows would have been needed to produce the vellum sheets that make up the three monumental volumes, the whole embellished with some 107 jewel like illuminated illustrations – each one a work of art in its own right.

Dr Timothy Bolton, specialist in charge of the sale at Sotheby’s, said: “This is one of the principal manuscripts of the first significant medieval work of secular literature. It is a grand book, in a monumental format, with 107 miniatures, each a dazzling jewel of early gothic illumination. The subjects are almost entirely secular – a breathtakingly unusual thing at the time – with scenes of jousts, tournaments and battles, noble adventures and daring tests of strength and courage. The scenes often have a riotous energy, and often stretch beyond the boundaries of the picture frames, with lofty towers poking through the borders at the top, and figures tumbling out of the miniatures onto the blank page as they fall or scramble to escape their enemies.”

To check out the parchment’s specs (or to register for the auction) click here. Just keep in mind it may go for around $3.2 million. If that’s a little out of your price range though, I’ll settle for any of these.

Back to some writing & some history……

The writer at the Grave of Henry David Thoreau (Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, Mass.)

After a few month away, I’m back to some writing. Sometimes you can go for months without the mood striking you, and so it goes. Recently, I’ve been reading Eric Weiner’s wonderful travelogue, The Geography of Bliss. In describing “the happy person”, he quotes the British philosopher Bertrand Russel: “Such a man feels himself a citizen of the universe, enjoying freely the spectacle that it offers and the joy that it affords, untroubled by the thoughts of death because he feels himself not really separated from those who will come after him. It is in such a profound instinctive union with the stream of life that the greatest joy is to be found.”

Earlier this year I took a trip to Concord, Mass. and felt a bit of this “profound instinctive union”. For me however, this bliss and happiness comes not from connecting with “those who come after”, but rather with “those who came before”. I find a sublime giddiness when history smacks me in the face. In Concord’s Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, there is a little dirt trail running up a steep but short ridge. When it crests, you come face to face with history. Here are the graves of Thoreau, Alcott (Louisa May & Bronson), Emerson, and Hawthorne (along with his artist wife, Sophia Peabody), all within ten yards on each other. I felt at first disoriented, and a little intoxicated (hence the look on my face in the above photograph). But then came understanding: just as Jefferson, Adams, et al. created Political America, these people,  whose mortal remains were at my feet, created Cultural America. Ahh…..a “hyper-senstivity” of history.