Marvellous Things

Howard Carter's famous words, when he first looked into Tutankhamen's tomb and was asked if he could see anything, are supposed to have been, "Yes, wonderful things." In his diary, he wrote "marvellous things".

Very often on the internet, I feel like I am looking through a small hole into a chamber full of things just as marvelous.

One of the many blogs I try to keep up with is the Medieval Material culture blog, a compendium of book reviews, news of museum exhibitions, and archaeological finds related to medieval culture.

The latest marvelous thing to come up there is the news that medieval manuscripts from the Abbey Library of St. Gallen, the oldest library in Switzerland, are being digitized and put online.

(This is Codex Sang. 339, page 33, Stiftsbibliothek St. Gallen / Codices Electronici Sangallenses.)

And I thought Google Books was good - I might have to lay down and fan myself.

You can look at the pages. At the binding (front and back covers, spine, fore edge, and front and back paste-downs). If you have any interest in calligraphy, illumination, or early bookbinding, it's an amazing site.

Not to be outdone, the natural world is turning marvelous colors, preparatory to turning black, white and gray for several months. It's time to soak in the colors of fall, because soon they will be gone.

Over the last couple of days, we got about another inch of rainfall, but today it is beautiful and sunny, if a little on the cool side (60 F, 16 C). I hope to get outside and get some pictures, after a dentist appointment which I need to log off and leave for!