‘Feminine Hands’: The Hidden History of Women in Medieval Book Culture

Monks Get the Credit. Nuns Deserve Some Too. Evidence from Their Manuscripts—and One Sister’s Teeth

In 2014, researchers discovered lapis lazuli embedded in the teeth of a skeleton unearthed at a German convent. Scribes and illuminators pulverized the costly, brilliant blue stone—sourced a world away in Afghanistan—to create ultramarine pigment to decorate prized manuscripts. So how did this nun end up with bits of it in her mouth?

“In adding detail to…