A medieval book historian in Holland takes pride in discovering and sharing anomalies and unique drawings in ancient texts, including a collection of doodles created by scribes 700 years ago.
Dr Erik Kwakkel of Leiden University publishes "medieval eye candy" on his Tumblr account and Twitter page, and said that the monks' doodles are the most popular pieces.
"Normally, scribes would doodle or write snatches of lettering after cutting their nibs, to make sure they were the correct width," Kwakkel explained.
"These pen-tests ranged from the sort of scribbled lines that people still do today to words, names, full sentences, or simple drawings. Sometimes we even find pretty good drawings."
Some interesting sketches include a man-creature hybrid, faces with exaggerated features, and animals formed by Hebrew words.
"It's amazing to think that people doodled in medieval times in a similar way to how they doodle today," the historian said.
"When you see the monks expressing their personalities, their sense of humor, it makes you feel like you're travelling back through time. It's like you're going through the keyhole and sitting right next to them."
The pen-tests also allow historians to identify certain scribes by their handwriting, as the documents they composed were often anonymous and in keeping with a specified writing style. Dr. Kwakkel often finds the notes and drawings on the outside of the first and last pages of ancient books.
"After Gutenburg invented the printing press in 1436, the old handwritten manuscripts fell out of fashion," he explained. "Some were thrown away, but others were chopped up and used in bindings and covers."
Kwakkel described the discoveries as uncovering hidden treasure.
"I often take 15 students to a library for three days, and we carefully open up the bindings of medieval books to reveal what is inside," he said. "We have found many fascinating, rare manuscripts this way. It is magical, like uncovering a time capsule.
"I know there is a lot of stuff hidden out there in bindings waiting to be discovered, but I can't fathom what it might be."
