The Luttrell Psalter is the definitive example of Marginalia; the term used to describe drawings and flourishes in medieval illuminated manuscripts. Explore pages similar to this and this up close. Here is a medieval blog which has more Marginalia, both amusing and medievally ribauld or both. For serious scholars Marginalia is the website of the Medieval Reading Group at the University of Cambridge which has a myriad of online resources.
posted by adamvasco on May 2, 2009 - 11 comments

Marginalia and Other Crimes: I’ve always had an intense hatred for people that deface books, and if they're my books, the intensity is doubled. But imagine the atrocities the average librarian faces every day... Witness this display of damaged and defiled books from the Cambridge University library, with attached sarcastic commentary. The horror! Not for the squeamish.
posted by chrisgregory on Jan 8, 2004 - 48 comments