December 15, AD 37, Antium: the future Roman Emperor, Nero, was born. As the only son of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Agrippina the Younger, Nero was related to both Caligula and Augustus. After the death of…
"Juno", illumination from the manuscript "Ovide moralisé", ms. Fr. 176, f. 57r, 1380-1390, Bibliothèque de Genève, Geneva. The peacock came to see Juno, because he could not accept with equanimity the fact that the goddess had…
"Goat playing a violin", illumination from a Psalter, Harley 5102, f. 59r, first quarter of the 13th century, British Library, London. An inhabited gilded initial, a capital "D", with a blue goat playing a rebec or violin…
December 7 is the feast day of Saint Ambrose, patron saint of Milan and one of the four original Doctors of the Church along with Augustine, Jerome, and Gregory the Great. Born in 340 near Augusta…
December 6 is the feast day of Saint Nicholas of Myra, patron saint of all children. Born to a well-off Christian family in the city of Patara, Lycia (an area in modern-day Turkey), between 261…
December 4, 771 AD: Charlemagne's younger brother and king of Austrasia, Carloman I, perishes from a sudden illness after just a little more than two years spent on the throne. At the time of his death,…
"Banquet", illumination from the manuscript "La grant hystoire Cesar", Royal 17 F II, f. 299r, 1479, British Library, London. The miniature portrays Julius Caesar and Cleopatra during a banquet. The manuscript belonged to King Edward IV of England,…
Illumination from the manuscript "Fables", ms. 0434, f. 371v, 1372, Bibliothèque municipale d'étude et de conservation, Besançon. This illumination belongs to a French manuscript created for Charles V of France. The richly-gilded panels represent four of the…