Grove, Laurence

English

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22/08/2016 Instagram had a medieval equivalent – and it's making a comebackhttps://theconversation.com/instagram­had­a­medieval­equivalent­and­its­making­a­comeback­48359 1/4AuthorLaurence GroveProfessor of French and Text/ImageStudies, University of GlasgowAcademic rigour, journalistic flairInstagram had a medieval equivalent – and it’s makinga comebackOctober 7, 2015 6.34am BSTThose who love books are said to share the belief that life is an imperfect vision ofreality and only art, like a pair of reading glasses, can correct it. For those who needglasses of this type, Glasgow University library might be a good place to hang out. Its special collections department has recently acquired a series of mysterious old books,including the missing link in one of its collections, the 1564 edition of the Délie, the chefd’oeuvre by the French Renaissance poet Maurice Scève (c1500-c1564).Scève’s Délie could be described as the best ever collection of poetry that nobodyunderstands. The arcane verses are peppered with text/image riddles known as emblems that tease the reader seeking ﬁnal meaning: a maiden stroking a unicorn, theTower of Babel, the ivy-covered wall, the rising dead, a moth to the candle, amongmany others. The ultimate message? Perhaps that love conquers all, in this case that ofthe eponymous character, who is possibly meant to represent the beauty that is art.Taken from Daniël Heinsius' Emblemata Amatoria (1601) Wikimedia22/08/2016 Instagram had a medieval equivalent – and it's making a comebackhttps://theconversation.com/instagram­had­a­medieval­equivalent­and­its­making­a­comeback­48359 2/4Emblems were to the Early Modern world what comics, logos or adverts are to us. Likethe ones in Délie, they would traditionally put together a title or motto with a picture,revealing an enigmatic overall message when you read them together. This could beabout the need to enjoy beauty because, like a rose, it withers; the idea that if a scholarstays silent no one can tell that he doesn’t know what he is talking about; or life as agame of chess where all the pieces, from pawns to kings, end up in the same bag at theend.The term comes from the title of Andrea Alciato’s 1531 Emblematum liber (“Book ofEmblems”), starting a genre that is also well represented by Daniël Heinsius' lovemeditation Emblemata Amatoria in 1601 (see title image). These emblems appeared inbooks – popular books, bestsellers even – but also on the costumes of courtly parades,on the decorations of churches and schools and inscribed on the palaces of Europe.Hundreds of years before the internet, these visual representations crossed culturalfrontiers. And emblems were arguably no less powerful: Protestants and Catholics usedthem, as did princes and pornographers.To study the emblem is to study the evolution of printing, from the crude woodblocksof the early 16th century to the sophisticated engravings a century later. And to followthe fortune of the emblem, from its early tentative beginning to the time when it was allthe rage – and then to its fall from grace is, perhaps, to follow the evolution ofmankind’s ﬁrst visual age.The Glasgow collectionDélie France. University of Glasgow22/08/2016 Instagram had a medieval equivalent – and it's making a comebackhttps://theconversation.com/instagram­had­a­medieval­equivalent­and­its­making­a­comeback­48359 3/4The Délie is very rare, purchased by the university at Christie’s. It was part of the lastremaining private collection of emblem books, which comprised most of a discovery innorth-west England known as the Yates, Thomson and Bright sale. Only a handful ofcopies of Délie are in public hands, the last such sale was more than 20 years ago andanother is not now foreseeable.The university was willing to drop other priorities to make the ﬁve-ﬁgure investmentbecause Délie was the only gap in the Stirling Maxwell Collection – the biggestcollection of emblem books and related literature in the world. The collection containssome 2,000 volumes – far beyond nearest “rivals” like Princeton and Illinois which haveabout 700 each.More broadly, old books are back in fashion, mysterious picture books in particular. Myopening quotation about imperfect reality was taken from Ian Caldwell and DustinThomason’s 2004 blockbuster thriller The Rule of Four, which is soon set to receive theHollywood treatment.Credited with taking Dan Brown to a higher intellectual level – the third Da Vinci Codeﬁlm is also imminent – The Rule of Four sees Princeton students and their entouragedelving into esoteric mysteries at the heart of which lies the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili.Literally translated as Poliphilius’s Dream Strife of Love, this 1499 text is a masterpieceof Renaissance printing. Its images draw us in with their bustling processions, exoticanimals, dismembered bodies and extravagant costumes. They predate the emblem erabut are very much in the same spirit: enigmas abound as we try and decipher who thecharacters are and what they are doing.The missing link University of Glasgow22/08/2016 Instagram had a medieval equivalent – and it's making a comebackhttps://theconversation.com/instagram­had­a­medieval­equivalent­and­its­making­a­comeback­48359 4/4Central to the overall narrative is a dream-based interchangein which the boundaries between reality and the dream worldare blurred, and no interpretation is deﬁnitive. This is echoedby the very naming of author Francesco Colonna only in anacrostic formed from the opening letter of each chapter –again we can’t be sure if this is really the author or anotherlayer of deception.A copy of Hypnerotomachia Poliphili was also on oﬀer at theChristie’s sale, with a starting price of $130,000 (£85,900) –luckily Glasgow University had already obtained a copy in the18th century. Thumbing through its pages, it is easy toappreciate how it has the makings of a modern esotericthriller.Indeed, Dan Brown himself mentions the HypnerotomachiaPoliphili in The Da Vinci Code, as does Johnny Depp whenplaying rare book dealer Dean Corso in Roman Polanski’s The Ninth Gate. In the latter story, picture books produced by Lucifer himself hold the keyto life’s mysteries – along with a few naked romps with Emmanuelle Seigner.What’s the attraction in all of this? The mystery that comes with the passing of time, ofcourse, but also the retro wow of what was once new technology. Colonna’s bookremains modern in its appeal with its elegant layout and custom-made font. Add in theimages and there is nothing more trendy.Nowadays it is Instagram and Facebook that satiate our tastefor short messages that play on a picture. In the same way thatthe likes of Scève’s unicorn helped previous generations graspthe bigger questions, such as the passing of beauty or theinevitability of death, Instagram postings will oǔen be musingson the nature of the lives we lead. It seems that there issomething eternal at work, something beyond proﬁts and pricetags. Then, now and always, decipher these messages and wecan solve life’s imperfect vision of reality.Colonna’s mysterious dismembered bodies University ofGlasgowInsta­emblems CC BY­SA

Instagram had a Medieval equivalent—and it’s making a comeback

Enlighten: Publications

22/08/2016 Instagram had a medieval equivalent – and it's making a comeback
https://theconversation.com/instagram­had­a­medieval­equivalent­and­its­making­a­comeback­48359 1/4
Author
Laurence Grove
Professor of French and Text/Image
Studies, University of Glasgow
Academic rigour, journalistic flair
Instagram had a medieval equivalent – and it’s making
a comeback
October 7, 2015 6.34am BST
Those who love books are said to share the belief that life is an imperfect vision of
reality and only art, like a pair of reading glasses, can correct it. For those who need
glasses of this type, Glasgow University library might be a good place to hang out. Its 
special collections department has recently acquired a series of mysterious old books,
including the missing link in one of its collections, the 1564 edition of the Délie, the chef
d’oeuvre by the French Renaissance poet Maurice Scève (c1500-c1564).
Scève’s Délie could be described as the best ever collection of poetry that nobody
understands. The arcane verses are peppered with text/image riddles known as 
emblems that tease the reader seeking final meaning: a maiden stroking a unicorn, the
Tower of Babel, the ivy-covered wall, the rising dead, a moth to the candle, among
many others. The ultimate message? Perhaps that love conquers all, in this case that of
the eponymous character, who is possibly meant to represent the beauty that is art.
Taken from Daniël Heinsius' Emblemata Amatoria (1601) Wikimedia
22/08/2016 Instagram had a medieval equivalent – and it's making a comeback
https://theconversation.com/instagram­had­a­medieval­equivalent­and­its­making­a­comeback­48359 2/4
Emblems were to the Early Modern world what comics, logos or adverts are to us. Like
the ones in Délie, they would traditionally put together a title or motto with a picture,
revealing an enigmatic overall message when you read them together. This could be
about the need to enjoy beauty because, like a rose, it withers; the idea that if a scholar
stays silent no one can tell that he doesn’t know what he is talking about; or life as a
game of chess where all the pieces, from pawns to kings, end up in the same bag at the
end.
The term comes from the title of Andrea Alciato’s 1531 Emblematum liber (“Book of
Emblems”), starting a genre that is also well represented by Daniël Heinsius' love
meditation Emblemata Amatoria in 1601 (see title image). These emblems appeared in
books – popular books, bestsellers even – but also on the costumes of courtly parades,
on the decorations of churches and schools and inscribed on the palaces of Europe.
Hundreds of years before the internet, these visual representations crossed cultural
frontiers. And emblems were arguably no less powerful: Protestants and Catholics used
them, as did princes and pornographers.
To study the emblem is to study the evolution of printing, from the crude woodblocks
of the early 16th century to the sophisticated engravings a century later. And to follow
the fortune of the emblem, from its early tentative beginning to the time when it was all
the rage – and then to its fall from grace is, perhaps, to follow the evolution of
mankind’s first visual age.
The Glasgow collection
Délie France. University of Glasgow
22/08/2016 Instagram had a medieval equivalent – and it's making a comeback
https://theconversation.com/instagram­had­a­medieval­equivalent­and­its­making­a­comeback­48359 3/4
The Délie is very rare, purchased by the university at Christie’s. It was part of the last
remaining private collection of emblem books, which comprised most of a discovery in
north-west England known as the Yates, Thomson and Bright sale. Only a handful of
copies of Délie are in public hands, the last such sale was more than 20 years ago and
another is not now foreseeable.
The university was willing to drop other priorities to make the five-figure investment
because Délie was the only gap in the Stirling Maxwell Collection – the biggest
collection of emblem books and related literature in the world. The collection contains
some 2,000 volumes – far beyond nearest “rivals” like Princeton and Illinois which have
about 700 each.
More broadly, old books are back in fashion, mysterious picture books in particular. My
opening quotation about imperfect reality was taken from Ian Caldwell and Dustin
Thomason’s 2004 blockbuster thriller The Rule of Four, which is soon set to receive the
Hollywood treatment.
Credited with taking Dan Brown to a higher intellectual level – the third Da Vinci Code
film is also imminent – The Rule of Four sees Princeton students and their entourage
delving into esoteric mysteries at the heart of which lies the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili.
Literally translated as Poliphilius’s Dream Strife of Love, this 1499 text is a masterpiece
of Renaissance printing. Its images draw us in with their bustling processions, exotic
animals, dismembered bodies and extravagant costumes. They predate the emblem era
but are very much in the same spirit: enigmas abound as we try and decipher who the
characters are and what they are doing.
The missing link University of Glasgow
22/08/2016 Instagram had a medieval equivalent – and it's making a comeback
https://theconversation.com/instagram­had­a­medieval­equivalent­and­its­making­a­comeback­48359 4/4
Central to the overall narrative is a dream-based interchange
in which the boundaries between reality and the dream world
are blurred, and no interpretation is definitive. This is echoed
by the very naming of author Francesco Colonna only in an
acrostic formed from the opening letter of each chapter –
again we can’t be sure if this is really the author or another
layer of deception.
A copy of Hypnerotomachia Poliphili was also on offer at the
Christie’s sale, with a starting price of $130,000 (£85,900) –
luckily Glasgow University had already obtained a copy in the
18th century. Thumbing through its pages, it is easy to
appreciate how it has the makings of a modern esoteric
thriller.
Indeed, Dan Brown himself mentions the Hypnerotomachia
Poliphili in The Da Vinci Code, as does Johnny Depp when
playing rare book dealer Dean Corso in Roman Polanski’s The 
Ninth Gate. In the latter story, picture books produced by Lucifer himself hold the key
to life’s mysteries – along with a few naked romps with Emmanuelle Seigner.
What’s the attraction in all of this? The mystery that comes with the passing of time, of
course, but also the retro wow of what was once new technology. Colonna’s book
remains modern in its appeal with its elegant layout and custom-made font. Add in the
images and there is nothing more trendy.
Nowadays it is Instagram and Facebook that satiate our taste
for short messages that play on a picture. In the same way that
the likes of Scève’s unicorn helped previous generations grasp
the bigger questions, such as the passing of beauty or the
inevitability of death, Instagram postings will oǔen be musings
on the nature of the lives we lead. It seems that there is
something eternal at work, something beyond profits and price
tags. Then, now and always, decipher these messages and we
can solve life’s imperfect vision of reality.
Colonna’s mysterious dismembered bodies University of
Glasgow
Insta­emblems CC BY­SA


http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/122994/1/122994.pdf

Instagram had a Medieval equivalent—and it’s making a comeback

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