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Why It’s a Thrill to Find a Doodle in an Ancient Manuscript

Eight great articles that explore some of the most intriguing medieval marginalia found to date.

Corrie Evanoff

Read when you’ve got time to spare.

Mysterious scribbles, fart jokes, and notes to self—keep reading for the surprisingly personal glimpses into the past we can glean from old book margins.

Image by Robert Mcgrath/Getty Images

Naughty Nuns, Flatulent Monks, and Other Surprises of Sacred Medieval Manuscripts

Flipping through an illustrated manuscript from the 13th century, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Jesus loved a good fart joke.

Scholar Finds Doodles Made by Henry VIII in Ancient Prayer Book

Toward the end of his life, England’s King Henry VIII left a series of doodles in a prayer book, revealing his anguish over his health and his past actions, new research shows.

The Mysterious Doodles Hidden in a 1,300-Year-Old Book

Centuries-old books, manuscripts and printing plates often contain invisible etchings, mysterious letters – and even doodles. A new technology that maps the surface of these objects is bringing them to light.

Cats in the Middle Ages: What Medieval Manuscripts Teach Us About Our Ancestors’ Pets

Medieval manuscripts are littered with images of cats—sharing their owner’s dinner, keeping them company, and even cosplaying as nuns.

The Rediscovery of This Writer in the Renaissance Opened the Way to the Modern World and the Invention of Political Science)

When Lucretius’s work was rediscovered in the Renaissance, it gradually but fundamentally changed the way in which people think about the world.

Woman’s Name and Doodles Found Hidden in 1,200-Year-Old Religious Manuscript

The name may point to an abbess who lived in Kent at a time when few women could read or write.

The Strange and Grotesque Doodles in the Margins of Medieval Books

When the edges take center stage.

Centuries Ago, a Cat Walked Across This Medieval Manuscript

While pawing through a stack of medieval manuscripts from Dubrovnik, Croatia, University of Sarajevo doctoral student Emir O. Filipović stumbled upon a familiar set of splotches marring the centuries-old pages.

BONUS READ: Human Hair, Dolls Clothes, Love Letters and Other Strange Things Found in Old Books

UVA’s Book Traces Project tracks human interactions with physical books.