wow! another wow! (is that all i'm stuck with saying?)
loved the tour, the history, and the haiku.
i was blessed once with a display of hand written pocket bibles from the 16th century. omg! they were awesome. made with finely crafted crow's quill and the smallest 'font' you can imagine, with the most brilliant colours in the illustrated letters.
Thank you Guy. Books, oh beloved books, sigh. Every time we think we might be 'over' our attachment to stuff we find another book and we feel the need for possession ha ha. Just to be amongst such old books was a joy, not to be able to touch was a torture. How funny to try and explain to ourselves what these emotions are!!
Thank you Dick. It's good to know that I am not the only one that wants to touch history and connect with stuff. I am a person who uses all of my senses, I wanted to smell this book too, ha ha, to hear the rustle of the pages, to see what vellum feels like. I noticed that it appeared to have 3 different styles of handwriting and the volunteer on duty said I was very observant as it was indeed written out by 3 different monks!
Oh wow - that's so coooool. Haha - definitely not. I agree - the senses, all of them, are really significant whatever I am engaging with. Confession: I have touched a lot of artworks I shouldn't have over the years - only ever very softly and just for a millisecond. But for some reason it activates a different sense. I also get really close to artworks - cause I like to see the cracks and imperfections. In London one of the galleries had sensors I didn't know about and I got really close to a work (not with the intention to touch - I was just looking) and then from out of nowhere a hand taps my shoulder and asked me to please step back. It was amazing!
Ha ha, this is an excellent question. I know it is an excellent question because it was MY first question too! Each chain is about 3ft long and has at one end a ring similar to a curtain ring which runs along an iron rod so there is considerable movement. The chains are fixed to the fore edges of the books which are then placed back first onto the shelves so the books can easily be placed onto a desk to be read but not taken away. So now we know!
Thanks Julie. A perfect aside! When I told my (adult) son about this place we planned an imaginary advert for a medieval robbery gang …. left handed swordsmen only please. So this has answered one question for me, thank you 😊❤
I’ve never quite worked out whether being a southpaw was a disadvantage or a total confusion wreaker where sharp pointy implements were concerned! I can image that clanging up a windy staircase with your sword belt on the wrong side would have thrown your balance off for a start. My kids got to play with chain mail and heavy implements at Harlech Castle a few years back - that was a bit of a revelation!
Ha ha I've watched left handed people with sharp scissors not designed for them, it's frightening 😂. That sounds like a lot of fun, was it a battle re-enactment day?
True 😭. No, it wasn’t battle re-enactment, it was a couple of people doing some living history stuff, and demonstrating to kids that life was tough in the Middle Ages. Chain mail is actually really heavy, and I could barely lift the replica sword 🤣
That sounds fun. I love it when people (usually enthusiastic volunteers) put on events like that. I learn so much more from seeing and touching stuff than I do from just reading something, even if the event is meant for kids 😂
Such an interesting post. Getting up the staircase even without a sword looks tricky. The chained books are something I’ve never seen. Beautiful photographs and words.
Thank you Monica. It’s a fascinating tiny little room at the top of this tower. You are right, the stairs were a challenge even just with camera in hand. They are tiny as well😂
Such amazing books! But the staircase …
1.
Staircase twirls leftward,
Swords clash on the awkward climb—
Robbers spin, baffled.
2.
Spiral stones mock right,
Left-handed steps guard the gold—
Swords fumble in air.
3.
Wrong way stones giggle,
Knights stumble up the staircase,
Empty-handed, vexed.
I know! The staircase! These haiku are great, they speak to my imagination perfectly. I see what you see, hilarious robbery attempts 😂❤
wow! another wow! (is that all i'm stuck with saying?)
loved the tour, the history, and the haiku.
i was blessed once with a display of hand written pocket bibles from the 16th century. omg! they were awesome. made with finely crafted crow's quill and the smallest 'font' you can imagine, with the most brilliant colours in the illustrated letters.
muchas gracias por compartir.
Thank you Guy. Books, oh beloved books, sigh. Every time we think we might be 'over' our attachment to stuff we find another book and we feel the need for possession ha ha. Just to be amongst such old books was a joy, not to be able to touch was a torture. How funny to try and explain to ourselves what these emotions are!!
Yes. Books books books, surrounded and drowning us in a sea of words.
They spell the possibility of freedom and are so powerful that without care and attention the books we love trap and then imprison us.
Amazing, aren't they!?
Books, books and so many books! Oh, I love books! And I love your haiku, April ❤️
Aren't they beautiful!! 😂 Thank you Saumya ❤🙏
Fascinating stuff
Storied imagination
Left handed swordsman
P.S. April, I have secretly embedded a 5 syllable word for you:)
Wonderful Heidi, thank you so much for being here. ❤Embedded in your last post?
This is a new secretly embedded word in the Haiku posted here!
Ha ha yes. Imagination 😂
Hooray!
So relate to the desire to touch those pages - I lost myself in the photos of the books! Another lovely post.
Thank you Dick. It's good to know that I am not the only one that wants to touch history and connect with stuff. I am a person who uses all of my senses, I wanted to smell this book too, ha ha, to hear the rustle of the pages, to see what vellum feels like. I noticed that it appeared to have 3 different styles of handwriting and the volunteer on duty said I was very observant as it was indeed written out by 3 different monks!
Oh wow - that's so coooool. Haha - definitely not. I agree - the senses, all of them, are really significant whatever I am engaging with. Confession: I have touched a lot of artworks I shouldn't have over the years - only ever very softly and just for a millisecond. But for some reason it activates a different sense. I also get really close to artworks - cause I like to see the cracks and imperfections. In London one of the galleries had sensors I didn't know about and I got really close to a work (not with the intention to touch - I was just looking) and then from out of nowhere a hand taps my shoulder and asked me to please step back. It was amazing!
Excellent, a fellow rebel, I do so LOVE to hear that!
:-)
Some of those volumes
Their spines are facing the wall!
Why? What's up with that?
Ha ha, this is an excellent question. I know it is an excellent question because it was MY first question too! Each chain is about 3ft long and has at one end a ring similar to a curtain ring which runs along an iron rod so there is considerable movement. The chains are fixed to the fore edges of the books which are then placed back first onto the shelves so the books can easily be placed onto a desk to be read but not taken away. So now we know!
That’s fascinating- I had not heard of chained libraries!
A total aside - Beaumaris Castle has stairs that spiral the wrong way, because the lord who built it was left-handed!
Thanks Julie. A perfect aside! When I told my (adult) son about this place we planned an imaginary advert for a medieval robbery gang …. left handed swordsmen only please. So this has answered one question for me, thank you 😊❤
I’ve never quite worked out whether being a southpaw was a disadvantage or a total confusion wreaker where sharp pointy implements were concerned! I can image that clanging up a windy staircase with your sword belt on the wrong side would have thrown your balance off for a start. My kids got to play with chain mail and heavy implements at Harlech Castle a few years back - that was a bit of a revelation!
Ha ha I've watched left handed people with sharp scissors not designed for them, it's frightening 😂. That sounds like a lot of fun, was it a battle re-enactment day?
True 😭. No, it wasn’t battle re-enactment, it was a couple of people doing some living history stuff, and demonstrating to kids that life was tough in the Middle Ages. Chain mail is actually really heavy, and I could barely lift the replica sword 🤣
That sounds fun. I love it when people (usually enthusiastic volunteers) put on events like that. I learn so much more from seeing and touching stuff than I do from just reading something, even if the event is meant for kids 😂
Such an interesting post. Getting up the staircase even without a sword looks tricky. The chained books are something I’ve never seen. Beautiful photographs and words.
Thank you Monica. It’s a fascinating tiny little room at the top of this tower. You are right, the stairs were a challenge even just with camera in hand. They are tiny as well😂
I had no idea ‘chained libraries’ were even a thing. That’s so interesting! :)
Thank you Michael, so glad it’s not just me that is fascinated by this stuff 🙂
Love your work, April!
Thank you so much Lois. So great for me to share the things that interest me and find others who can enjoy it too! ❤
Perfect subject for both your poetry and camera .
Thank you Stan, I felt so too! ❤🙏