An illuminated breviary (a book containing all the necessary liturgical texts for an order or church official) composed in the 1320s.
Belleville breviary
Fact of the Day
The earliest book of English table manners was written by Daniel of Beccles in the time of Henry II. It prohibited elbows on tables, talking with full mouths and scratching armpits. It also gave guidance on what to do if the wife of the host were to make a pass at a guest: he should feign illness.
Quote of the Day
"There will be opened a gateway and a road to a large and excellent science ... into which minds more piercing than mine shall penetrate to recesses still deeper.
"
~ Galileo
On This Day
1701 The deposed James II (or VII of Scotland) died in exile from a brain haemorrhage. He was the last Catholic king of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
1982 The massacre of hundreds of Palestinian men, women and children began in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Lebanon. It continued for two days.
1992 The British government was forced to withdraw the pound from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) on what became known as 'Black Wednesday'.
1994 The BBC lifted a ban on the voices of Sinn Fein and other Irish republican and loyalist representatives being broadcast.
