SPECULUM NATURALE

This book, handwritten by Belgian monks in 1280, is the oldest piece in The Bakken Museum’s collections. Well, technically, it’s tied for oldest with the other volume in the collections. The books themselves are part of a 3-volume set that described the natural world as comprehensively as late-13th century monks could—the translated title for this set, “Mirror of Nature,” captures this quest.

But this three-volume set is part of a more extensive, seven-volume set, known as the Speculum Maius (Great Mirror), which was meant to be a compendium of all knowledge. The other four volumes in the set, known as the Speculum Historiale (Mirror of History), sought to record the human world and history.

While there are no pictures in these books, they are nonetheless beautiful in their intricate handwriting and illustrated initials at the start of the sections of each book. It’s clear that those who wrote these books highly valued their work and the effort it took.

Author: Vincent de Beauvais
Date of Creation: 1280