Burial of John the Baptist's head from BL YT 13, f. 108
Summary
Bas-de-page scene of Salome and Herodias burying the had of John the Baptist, with a caption reading, ‘Cy la royne od sa file ensevelie[n]t la teste seint Iohan en un erber desouz un perere.’ Image taken from f. 108 of Book of Hours, Use of Sarum ('The Taymouth Hours'). Written in Latin and French.
Henry Yates Thompson (1838-1928) was a British collector and philanthropist who assembled this remarkable collection over his lifetime. The collection is now housed at the British Library in London.
Henry Yates Thompson was born into a wealthy family in 1838. Thompson began collecting manuscripts and other items in the 1870s. His collection quickly gained recognition for its exceptional quality and breadth. He had a keen eye for illuminated manuscripts, which are manuscripts decorated with intricate illustrations and calligraphy. The collection has a particular emphasis on medieval manuscripts.
In medieval illuminated manuscripts, bas-de-page scenes are unframed, sometimes whimsical images that appear below the written text and may or may not refer to it.