What are the Effigies & Brasses, Aquamanilia, and Armour in Art sections on Manuscript Miniatures?

Updated

Manuscript Miniatures is primarily an image collection of miniatures showing armoured figures from medieval manuscripts made before 1450 across Europe. Alongside that main miniature collection, the site lists three related sections in its navigation: Effigies & Brasses, Aquamanilia, and Armour in Art. These are companion categories for other kinds of medieval visual and material evidence of armour, not separate manuscript collections. The site's own description only names the miniature collection explicitly, so treat the three sections as related reference areas rather than as fully documented archives.

What each section covers

Section Likely subject matter Relationship to the miniature collection
Effigies & Brasses Funerary monuments and monumental brasses showing armoured figures Another source of armour depiction, useful for cross-checking details seen in miniatures
Aquamanilia Medieval water vessels, often cast in the form of animals or figures Objects rather than manuscript images; relevant to material culture and armour-adjacent metalwork
Armour in Art Broader depictions of armour across art forms A wider frame that can include miniatures and other media

The names themselves indicate the scope: effigies and brasses are tomb-related representations, aquamanilia are liturgical or domestic vessels, and Armour in Art is a general category. None of these is described on the homepage as a manuscript subset, so they should be understood as parallel reference material.

How they relate to armour research

  • Miniatures show armour as worn and depicted in narrative or devotional manuscript contexts.
  • Effigies and brasses show armour as commemorated, often with precise, stylised detail.
  • Aquamanilia show metalwork and zoomorphic forms, useful for understanding craft techniques and object types rather than battlefield equipment.
  • Armour in Art acts as an umbrella for comparing how armour appears across different media.

For anyone studying medieval armour, the value is comparative: a helmet or mail detail in a miniature can be checked against a brass or effigy, and object types can be considered alongside their artistic depictions.

How to reach these sections

The homepage navigation lists Effigies & Brasses, Aquamanilia, and Armour in Art as top-level links, alongside Home, Search, Tags, and About. Selecting any of them opens that section directly. The main miniature collection remains accessible through Home and Search, and the site reports 16,194 miniatures from 1,526 manuscripts across 19 countries, with a Miniature of the Day and a Recent Additions list on the homepage.

Practical notes

  • The three sections are entry points for related evidence, not replacements for the miniature search.
  • If your question is about a specific manuscript image, start with Search or Tags; use the companion sections when you need non-manuscript comparisons.
  • The site does not state pricing or login requirements on the homepage, so no access assumptions should be made beyond what is shown.