Illuminated manuscript

In the strictest definition of illuminated manuscript, only manuscripts decorated with gold or silver, like this miniature of Christ in Majesty from the Aberdeen Bestiary (folio 4v), would be considered illuminated.

An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration or illustration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniatures. In the strictest definition of the term, an illuminated manuscript only refers to manuscripts decorated with gold or silver. However, in both common usage and modern scholarship, the term is now used to refer to any decorated manuscript.

The earliest surviving substantive illuminated manuscripts are from the period AD 400 to 600, primarily produced in Ireland, Italy and other locations on the European continent. The meaning of these works lies not only in their inherent art history value, but in the maintenance of a link of literacy. Had it not been for the (mostly monastic) scribes of late antiquity, the entire content of western heritage literature from Greece and Rome could have perished. The very existence of illuminated manuscripts as a way of giving stature and commemoration to ancient documents may have been largely responsible for their preservation in an era when barbarian hordes had overrun continental Europe.

The majority of surviving manuscripts are from the Middle Ages, although many illuminated manuscripts survive from the 15th century Renaissance, along with a very limited number from late antiquity. The majority of these manuscripts are of a religious nature. However, especially from 13th century onward, an increasing number of secular texts were illuminated. Most illuminated manuscripts were created as codices, although many illuminated manuscripts were rolls or single sheets. A very few illuminated manuscript fragments survive on papyrus. Most medieval manuscripts, illuminated or not, were written on parchment (most commonly calf, sheep, or goat skin) or vellum (calf skin). Beginning in the late Middle Ages manuscripts began to be produced on paper.

Illuminated manuscripts are the most common item to survive from the Middle Ages. They are also the best surviving specimens of medieval painting. Indeed, for many areas and time periods, they are the only surviving examples of painting.

For a list of illuminated manuscripts see list of illuminated manuscripts.

Techniques

Illumination was a complex and frequently costly process. As such, it was usually reserved for special books: an altar Bible, for example. Wealthy people often had richly illuminated "books of hours" made, which set down prayers appropriate for various times in the liturgical day.

Text

In the making of an illuminated manuscript, the text was usually written first. Sheets of parchment or vellum, animal hides specially prepared for writing, were cut down to the appropriate size. After the general layout of the page was planned (e.g., initial capital, borders), the page was lightly ruled with a pointed stick, and the scribe went to work with ink-pot and either sharpened quill feather or reed pen.

The script depended on local customs and tastes. The sturdy Roman letters of the early Middle Ages gradually gave way to cursive scripts such as Uncial and half-Uncial, especially in the British Isles, where distinctive scripts such as insular majuscule and insular minuscule developed. Stocky, richly textured blackletter was first seen around the 13th century and was particularly popular in the later Middle Ages.

Classifications

Art historians classify illuminated manuscripts into their historic periods and types, including (but not limited to): Insular script, Carolingian manuscripts, Ottonian manuscripts, Romanesque manuscripts and Gothic manuscripts. See Medieval art for other regions, periods and types.

Images

A 13th century manuscript illumination, the earliest known depiction of Thomas à Becket's assassination

When the text was complete, the illustrator set to work. Complex designs were planned out beforehand, probably on wax tablets, the sketch pad of the era. The design was then traced onto the vellum (possibly with the aid of pinpricks or other markings, as in the case of the Lindisfarne Gospels).

Paints

The medieval artist's palette was surprisingly broad:

Colour	Source(s)
Red	Mercury(II) sulfide (HgS), often called cinnabar or vermilion, in its natural mineral form or synthesized; "red lead" or minium (Pb₃O₄); insect-based colors such as cochineal ,kermes and lac; rust (iron oxide, Fe₂O₃) or iron oxide-rich earth compounds
Yellow	Plant-based colors, such as weld, turmeric or saffron; yellow earth colors (ochre); orpiment (arsenic sulfide, As₂S₃)
Green	Plant-based compounds such as buckthorn berries; copper compounds such as verdigris and malachite
Blue	Ultramarine (made from the mineral lapis lazuli); azurite; smalt; plant-based substances such as woad, indigo, and folium or turnsole
White	Lead white (also called "flake white", basic lead carbonate (PbCO₃)); chalk
Black	Carbon, from sources such as lampblack, charcoal, or burnt bones or ivory; sepia; iron gall
Gold	Gold, in leaf form (hammered extremely thin) or powdered and bound in gum arabic or egg (called "shell gold")
Silver	Silver, either silver leaf or powdered, as with gold; tin leaf

Gallery

Image:illuminated.bible.arp.jpg|An illuminated capital letter P in a Bible of A.D. 1407, on display in Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire, EnglandImage:illuminated.bible.closeup.arp.jpg|A closeup of the illuminated letter P in the Malmesbury Bible. The script is blackletter, also known as Gothic scriptImage:Armenian-manuscript-CIMG1727.JPG|Armenian manuscript of 1053. Work of Johannes.Image:Armenian-manuscript-CIMG1731.JPG|Armenian manuscript of 1337, done by Avag in Sultania / Tabriz.

External links

* Catalogue of illuminated manuscripts at the British Library (cataloguing in progress)
* Medieval Illuminated Manuscipts Digitized illuminated manuscripts from the Dutch Royal Library
*Brown, Michelle (1994), Glossary of Manuscript Terms, adapted from Understanding Illuminated Manuscripts: A Guide to Technical Terms, ISBN 0892362170
*Herbert, J. A. (1911), Illuminated Manuscripts, online book.
*Ross, Nancy, Resources for English Illuminated Manuscripts.
*Medieval manuscript leaves. 12th – 16th century.
*The Illuminated Middle Ages. Several hundred digitized illuminated texts from French national library collections. (commercial)
*CORSAIR. Thousands of digital images from the Morgan Library's renowned collection of medieval and Renaissance manuscripts
*Illuminated Manuscripts in the J. Paul Getty Museum - Los Angeles
*Unlocking the Secrets of Medieval Painters and Illuminators
*The Saint John's Bible: an illuminated Bible project currently underway
*Ellen Frank Illumination Arts Foundation: Revitalizing the fine art of illumination as a tool for peace and understanding.

Illuminated manuscript: Encyclopedia BETA

Contents