Art & Culture · 2
The irreverent margin drawings found in medieval manuscripts were most commonly produced by which group of artisans?
Answer
Monastic scribes and monks
Before secular workshops became widespread, most illuminated manuscripts were produced in monastery scriptoria, where monks both copied texts and decorated pages. Their marginal doodles — ranging from playful animals to bawdy scenes — reveal a surprisingly irreverent side of monastic life.
💡 Did you know?
Medieval monks sometimes drew doodles in manuscript margins so offensive they'd be grounds for dismissal if supervisors noticed them.
Other options people guess
- Traveling troubadours
- Guild painters
- Cathedral stonemasons
Topics
- medieval
- manuscripts
- monks
- art-history
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