Marginal Resistance: Grotesque Beauty in the Luttrell Psalter

The Luttrell Psalter, renowned for its extraordinary marginalia, has been studied for its vibrant images of daily life in Britain’s medieval countryside, alongside grotesque imagery typically associated with sin and evil. It is also considered one of that period's most personal illuminated manuscripts. A distinctive feature is the references to its patron, Sir Geoffrey Luttrell, who appears in the margins of the text together with his family, clergy, and the people under his care. While much is known about the Psalter’s social context, medievalists still seem no closer to understanding the meaning of the grotesque within this sacred text. This article seeks to establish a theological-aesthetic framework for understanding the role of the grotesque as it relates to the Luttrell Psalter and its patron. Drawing from the writings of Augustine and Aquinas, Bogaard argues that the juxtaposition of the ugly and the beautiful found in the grotesque serves as a visible representation of medieval theology and is meant to elicit a spiritual response from the viewer. Significantly, Bakhtin’s notion of the loophole serves to establish an ethico-aesthetic paradigm connecting the social and the spiritual. The absence of the grotesque, on the other hand, suggests a space for deeper spiritual reflection, a liminal space in a spiritual journey leading to redemption. Lord Luttrell’s remarkable preparation for his death, to which this Psalter attests, signifies a new awareness of life after death and the preservation of body and soul