Naughty Nuns, Flatulent Monks, And Other Surprises Of Sacred Medieval Manuscripts

Flipping through an illustrated manuscript from the 13th century, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Jesus loved a good fart joke. Though we may still get a kick out of poop jokes, we aren't used to seeing them visualized in such lurid detail, and certainly not in holy books.
But in medieval Europe, before books were mass-produced and reading became a pastime for plebes, these lavish manuscripts were all the rage - if you could afford them. The educated elite hired artisans to craft these exquisitely detailed religious texts surrounded by all manner of illustrated commentary, known today as marginalia.