Primary Artefact

Slow look

The artefact is a picture of a manuscript page with the focus put towards an illustration on the page. The illustration consists of three total characters: two wolves and one human which appears to be a priest, as the title of the page implies, wearing a robe. Firstly, in regard to the location of the characters, the priest is positioned between the middle of the two wolves facing to the right wolf, while both wolves face towards the priest. Secondly, in regard to the actions within the image, the wolf on the left appears to have a handbag around its collar, the priest is seen feeding the wolf on the right, and the wolf on the right appears to be taking shelter under a bowl-like wolf-sized object. Lastly, in regard to colors, the two wolves are colored blue, and the priest is wearing a green robe.

Historical and social context

This manuscript page was from “the BL Royal Manuscript Collection, also known as the Royal Collection, that consists of over 2,000 manuscripts that were once owned by the British monarchs and are notable for their historical and artistic value…In 1757, King George II donated the Old Royal Library to the British Museum (which later became the British Library), where the manuscripts were integrated into the museum's collections.”[1]

[1] “Priest of Ulster and the Wolf from BL Royal 13 B Viii, f. 18 .” PICRYL. Accessed December 9, 2023. https://picryl.com/media/priest-of-ulster-and-the-wolf-from-bl-royal-13-b-viii-f-18-5d565c.