Lectures

1st November 2023: The Luttrell Psalter

Our talk on 1st November was “The Luttrell Psalter” by Imogen Corrigan, who took us through a fascinating illustrated presentation of this book, one of the greatest objects in our heritage, which is now held in the British library.

The Luttrell Psalter was commisioned in the fourteenth century by Sir Geoffrey Luttrell (1276-1345) who owned considerable eastates in Lincolnshire and in other English counties. The Luttrell Psalter may have been made in East Anglia by one scribe and at least four artists.

This psalter contains the psalms, songs, prayers and calendar of church feast-days, and is richly illustrated with depictions of rural England in the first half of the 14th century. The Luttrell Psalter provides a fascinating window into life at that time, including farming, cooking, water collection, dress, pastimes, and and also depictions of fighting and social unrest.

Images of Sir Geoffrey and his family run through the book. A portrait of Luttrell, fully armed and mounted on a war-horse, attended by his wife Agnes Sutton and daughter-in-law contains the words ‘Dominus Galfridus Louterell me fieri fecit’ (“Lord Geoffrey Luttrell caused me to be made”) above the portrait to remind the reader who commissioned the work. There is also an illustration of Sir Geoffrey at the dining table with his family, and one depicting his daughter Elizabeth having her hair and face done may be in readiness for betrothal.

Among the vibrant and sometimes humorous illustrations are a number of ‘grotesques’, curious figures combining animals and humans. Indeed, the whole book is full of illustrations that cover the margins, run through the text, as well as main images. The images do not always necessarily illustrate the text, and may have served as a memory jogger to users of this psalter. In medieval times memory was believed to operate by means of mental images stored in the “mind’s eye” and thus illustration was used to help this process.

Changes to the book have been made over the years probably in accordance with it being a working book passed through several owners, for example the record of a death was added in the 15th century. At some point the book was trimmed resulting in feet being cut-off from some of the images, and page numbers have been added to help orientate the reader. The picture of Thomas Beckett has been scored through probably after the Royal Proclamation by Henry VIII ordering the removal all references to and observances of this saint.

Margaret Bray