Hall 1 · Marginalia
The margins
Medieval scribes filled the margins of sacred texts with rabbits carrying swords,
snails besieging knights, and faces where faces should not be. The Institute holds eleven such leaves.
Photographs taken in 1961 and again in 2019 show the same leaves with the figures in different positions.
⚠ HANDLING NOTE — The 1961 photographs were taken by a photographer who noted that the rabbit
on leaf IV faced left. It faces right. The photographer's note faces left.
THE READING ROOM
These leaves may be consulted in the Reading Room, which is kept at 4°C. The temperature is not
for the leaves. The leaves are unaffected by temperature. It is for the readers, who have reported
that at higher temperatures the marginalia become easier to follow, and then difficult to stop following.