Louis de Gruuthuse is a book lover. More precisely: a manuscript lover. You'll find out all about that in this room. The art of book printing emerges during his lifetime, but Louis only purchases handwritten books, in other words: manuscripts. Existing as well as custom-made ones. Many of these sumptuous manuscripts contain magnificent miniatures. It is the last great heyday of this art form.

Louis' library is the second largest in the Low Countries after that of the Dukes of Burgundy. Apart from being a hobby, it is also a status symbol, something to show off. Just like other prominent citizens of Bruges do, following the example set by the dukes. The ducal library had around 900 manuscripts, while Louis possessed around 150.

One of Louis' suppliers is Colard Mansion. He is one of Bruges’ most important printers during this pioneering age of book printing. That's right: Mansion is a printer, but Louis orders manuscripts from him. Mansion continues to produce manuscripts throughout his career, for the dukes, among others.

Many of the manuscripts from Louis' library have been preserved, but not here: the King of France acquires most of them shortly after Louis' death, probably via Louis’ son Jean, who is in the service of the French court. France’s Bibliothèque Nationale de France keeps them in Paris to this very day.

What does Louis read? More specifically: which manuscripts does he own? What texts do they contain? Some are religious works. But there are also books with translations of ancient Roman stories, and voluminous historical chronicles. Almost all of them are in French. Louis' contemporaries have an interest in Humanism and they also read Latin texts. One of them is Abbot Jan Crabbe of the famous Ten Duinen Abbey in Koksijde.

The manuscripts commissioned by Louis de Gruuthuse were truly luxurious products. They took an extremely long time to create. Here you can see and feel how a page is constructed. Note the many references to Louis, which made it clear that the expensive manuscript belonged to him.

As already mentioned, the manuscripts are located in a separate room on the side of room 2. When you enter the room, three open manuscripts can be found on the left against the wall, in display cabinets. The tactile element is positioned against the wall more or less opposite the door. There are also stools that you can sit on while exploring the tactile element.

The tactile element is shaped like a landscape-oriented rectangle and consists of several parts. Its title is Louis personalises his manuscripts. We start on the left side of the rectangle at the first part, the layout.

If you move your hands down from the upper left corner of the tactile element, you soon reach a dotted line. This dotted line forms a portrait-oriented rectangle and marks the outer edge of the first section, the layout.

If you move your fingers from the bottom edge of the portrait-oriented rectangle back up again, you might be able to distinguish a relief. This is the decoration of the edge of the page. From here move your fingers slightly higher up and you will feel thick, horizontal lines that are divided over two columns. These lines represent the text of the manuscript. At the top of the left column you will find a square that does not contain any text. This space was kept free for the richly decorated initial. The initial is one of the magnified details you will explore in a moment. An illustration, called a miniature, has been added above the initial, and covers the remaining surface of the page. The miniature takes up approximately half the page.

This concludes the layout, the first part of this tactile element. To the right of this part of the tactile panel four details are elaborated: the initial, the cannon, the blazon and the motto of Louis de Gruuthuse, Plus est en vous. Each component is separated by fine lines.

1. We begin with the initial. If you take a small step to the right from the top of the dotted line that indicates the outer edge of the layout, you can feel the initial. The initial is found in a square. It is Gothic capital A. The letter is hard to recognise because the right leg of the A rises vertically and rests on a horizontal line or stroke. In the bottom left corner there is a small gap, where the stroke ends. The left leg of the A ends in a swirl. If you move upwards from the swirl you can easily distinguish the rest of the letter. Feel that in each corner of the square there is a small swirl attached to the letter. Halfway down the right leg of the A, which runs straight down, you can feel a horizontal line. This line runs all the way along to the other side of the letter. Above and below the line is an ornate swirl, which fills up the initial.

2. To the right of the initial with the letter A we find the next detail, the cannon. This detail is also marked out by fine lines. Parallel to the lower continuous line that marks out this figure you will find the support structure on which the cannon rests. If you follow the support structure upwards, you reach the cannon, which is facing upwards. On the left is the cannon's mouth, from which a cannonball had just been fired. A fine dotted line indicates its trajectory. The cannonball is a small, round projectile. You can distinguish several flames on both sides of the dotted line. If you follow the barrel further down, you reach the other side of the cannon.

This cannon crops up in several places in the museum. The image is incorporated in some floor tiles and a small version of the cannon decorates the banister in the entrance hall.

3. The next detail is the blazon of Louis de Gruuthuse. It is found on the far right of the tactile element. If you move a little to the right from the cannon, you can explore this element in full. The blazon consists of several components: more or less in the centre we find a helmet depicting a ram's head and a wing. Directly below the helmet is Louis' coat of arms with the collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece around it. It contains lots of elements.

Let's start at the bottom, at the Collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece, as it already cropped up in number 8 of this audio guide. If you move your fingers up a little from the bottom right corner of the tactile element, and then to the left, you can feel the ram, which hangs under the collar. The ram hangs from its back, giving it a rounded, curved shape. Its legs dangle below its body.

Work your way up from the ram's body. You can feel the links of the collar on both sides. The collar on this tactile panel is U-shaped. When you can feel the links at the top and move your fingers to the centre, you can feel the edge of Louis' coat of arms. At the top edge on the left of the coat of arms you may be able to feel something, which is the beginning of the helmet, but more about that in a moment. First, let's focus on the coat of arms. The shield is divided into four sections: top left and bottom right contain a black upright cross on a yellow background. Top right and bottom left contain a cross lying on its side, in the form of an X. On this tactile panel it is a black X on a white background, but the real one is a silver cross on a red background. This coat of arms also appears in various places in the museum, including in the ceiling above the entrance hall.

As we just mentioned, you will find a helmet right above the coat of arms. The bottom of the helmet touches the top edge of the coat of arms. On the left you can feel the visor of the helmet. The helmet is adorned with a wing and the head of a ram. The wing is on the right at the back of the helmet and points straight up. The outer feathers can also be distinguished. Lastly, on the left at the front of the helmet is the head of the ram. The animal looks in the same direction as the person wearing the helmet.

4. The fourth and final element on this tactile panel is Louis' motto, Plus est en vous. This element is found in the centre at the bottom of the tactile panel, between the blazon and the layout, right under the initial and the cannon. The motto is in black Gothic letters on an unfurled strip or banderol.

The initial, the cannon, the blazon with its different components and the motto, are all elements that Louis had added to manuscripts to make it clear that they belonged to him.

The next element you can explore corresponds to number 14 in the audio guide. But first comes number 12. To proceed to the next numbers leave this room and cross the next room. That was room 2. Please take care, between room 2 and room 5 there are first five steps leading down with a handrail. You will find the tactile panel in room 5 at the back of the room on the right.