Taming Nature in the Luttrell Psalter
Taming Nature in the Luttrell Psalter

Summary/Abstract: The subject of my paper is the way nature was perceived by medieval Christians, whose lives had a religious foundation. More specifically, I analyse the depictions of nature in the Luttrell Psalter, one of the most famous 14th-century English illuminated manuscripts. Although in the 14th century the beauty of the world consisted of order and neatness, the Luttrell Psalter abounds in wild and domestic animals with no master, and furthermore there are unnatural beasts, which defy the divine order and natural expectations. Starting from medieval philosophy, I also discuss the connotations of the term “nature” and the way nature was depicted in the Psalter, which was a religious book, used in both private and public prayers. I consider that the significance of both the natural and the grotesque decorations can be grasped only by finding the tenuous connection with the verses written on the same page. The narrative cycles (both with religious and rural themes) have a meaningful place and role in the economy of the text, too. I believe that the illuminations in the Luttrell Psalter folios illustrate man’s inability to control nature, as he was supposed to do according to God’s commandment. Such a representation may actually be a stimulus to strengthen the reader’s connection with God through prayer (and/or the reading of the Psalter), in order to improve his perception of reality as well as his relationship with surrounding nature.

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