Smithfield Decretals, f. 58r: an acrobat on swords

Smithfield Decretals, British Library, Royal MS 10 E IV, folio 58r. Between two columns of church law, an acrobat balances upside down on a pair of upright swords, legs stretched impossibly high, while one minstrel plays pipe and tabor and another blows double pipes. The figure is so elongated it seems to grow up the page. Entertainers like this were common at feasts, which is exactly why they look so wonderfully out of place in a law book.