About Illuminated Manuscripts
What Is an Illuminated Manuscript?
Illuminated manuscripts are books written by hand and painted with
precious pigments. Manuscripts contain most of the finest surviving
examples of medieval painting. The word manuscript is derived from
the Latin words manus (hand) and scriptus, from the verb scribere (to
write). Today the term is used to describe any handwritten text. The
word illumination comes from the Latin verb illuminare (to light up),
which, in this context, describes the glow created by the radiant colors
of the illustrations, especially gold and silver. Illumination took the
form of decorated letters, borders, and independent painted scenes,
called miniatures.
The Annunciation, Master of
James IV of Scotland, about
1510–1520
Making of a Medieval Book.
Manuscripts were most often written on parchment, a high quality
writing support made from the specially prepared skins of calves,
sheep, or goats. Although paper could be found in Europe as early as
the 14th century, parchment continued to be used for several hundred
years in spite of the greater cost involved. Its beautiful texture and
translucency, its ability to withstand the wear and tear of daily
handling, and its resistance to the dissolving action of acidic inks were
among the qualities that made parchment so appealing.
Learn how Medieval manuscripts were made, from the exhibition The
The miniatures were painted with a variety of colors, including vermilion
and ultramarine blue, and were often decorated with gold leaf. The
pigments used in illumination consisted of vegetable, mineral, and
animal extracts, which were ground up or soaked out. Vermilion was
made from mercury and sulfur, while ultramarine blue, a pigment as
expensive as gold, was created by crushing lapis lazuli. Gold leaf was
applied to luxury manuscripts in thin sheets; in the later Middle Ages,
however, artists substituted gold paint.
Makers and Materials
The most elaborate and beautiful
illumination was devoted to religious
works, which, until the rise of
universities in the 12th century, were
produced in monasteries. European
intellectual life in the early Middle
Ages was focused mostly in
Initial A, from the Vidal
monasteries, many of which made
Mayor, Spanish, about
copies of important books and
1290–1310
writings (both Christian and classical)
and formed their own libraries. In a
monastery, the scriptorium was the center for both scholarly activity
and the copying of texts. Later, lay artists were often hired to
collaborate with monastic scribes.
Two Fishermen on a Sea
Creature, Flemish, about 1270
Monastic scriptoria survived throughout the Middle Ages, but by the
12th century, scribes and illuminators were increasingly laymen who
made their living by supplying fine manuscripts to noblemen, the
new middle class, and the emerging universities in cities such as
Paris, Bologna, and Oxford. Some religious communities also began copying manuscripts on a
commercial basis.
By the 12th century, the production of a luxurious illuminated manuscript had been divided among
four distinct craftsmen: the parchment maker, the scribe, the illuminator, and the bookbinder. Each
was required to belong to a guild that had specific rules governing both the quality of work and the
rights of its membership. The guilds also set standards and procedures for training apprentices.
Frequently the guild maintained a monopoly over the rights of manufacture as well as the sale and
price of goods. An independent middleman, usually an individual illuminator or a scribe, was
responsible for coordinating the efforts of the four workshops involved in each commission.
The parchment maker prepared the animal skins used to make the leaves of a manuscript. The skins
were soaked in a bath of lime to remove the hair. They were then stretched, scraped down, and
rubbed with pumice. The final steps were to whiten the skins with chalk and cut them to size.
The scribe wrote the manuscript's text by hand. Scribes usually
made their own quills and ink, just as illuminators prepared their
pigments. To make the text appear in a consistent format
throughout the manuscript, the scribe drew ruling lines on each
page to establish the margins and the spaces between the lines.
The illuminator provided the manuscript's painted decoration.
Illuminators and painters of large, freestanding panels were often
members of the same guild and equally respected as artists. The
number and variety of illumination in a single luxury manuscript
often required the collaboration of several craftsmen, and the
master of a workshop would often assign some miniatures,
borders, and initials to assistants.
The bookbinder provided a binding to protect the manuscript,
which held the leaves together and kept them from curling. Metal
clasps or ties of leather or fabric were used to keep the manuscript
closed. Bindings were sometimes embellished with paint or enamel
or with designs stamped with metal tools; the most precious
manuscripts were adorned with metalwork and jewels.
Alchandreus Presents His Work
to a King, Virgil Master, about
1405
Brief History of Illuminated Manuscripts
The artistic aims of medieval painters often found their purest expression in
manuscript illumination, one of the primary media of the Middle Ages and
Renaissance. Illuminated manuscripts contain most of the finest surviving
examples of medieval painting and therefore constitute the most complete
record of its development. The art of illumination flourished in the early
centuries of Christianity when the manuscript codex, or book, gradually
replaced the papyrus roll of antiquity as the vehicle for the written word.
Because of the close connection of medieval Catholicism with the handwritten
book, the texts of many manuscripts were embellished to enrich public or
private religious experience. By the end of the medieval era, as Europe
became wealthier and more worldly, a great variety of texts, both religious
and secular, came to be illuminated.
Insular Manuscripts (seventh to eighth century)
The origins of Western European illumination was the Christian British Isles.
The Insular miniatures of seventh-century Ireland developed the late antique
practice of enlarging the first letter or initial at the beginning of a text into an
entire page—known as a carpet page—which was covered with abstract
designs. The tradition of using elaborately decorated text pages in books of
Gospels and other liturgical manuscripts flourished into the Ottonian and
Romanesque periods.
Byzantine Manuscripts (sixth to 15th
century)
In the Byzantine Empire, another
tradition of manuscript illumination
emerged. The most influential
characteristics of Byzantine manuscript
painting were the abundant use of
precious metals, especially gold; the
choice of bright colors; and the use of
empty space, often filled with gold leaf,
as background. Byzantine illumination
was frequently devoted to narrating
biblical stories. Styles of depicting the
human figure varied in Byzantine art
over the centuries.
Carolingian Manuscripts (eighth to
Saint John the Evangelist,
ninth century)
Byzantine, 1133
The Emperor Charlemagne (reigned
800–814), whose empire extended from
northern Germany to Italy, encouraged artists to emulate the naturalism of
the ancient Greeks and Romans. Using Byzantine models that reflected
classical art, Carolingian illuminators combined this naturalism with an
exhilarating, nervous brushwork.
Ottonian Manuscripts (10th to 11th century)
In the mid-10th century, a line of German kings including Otto I, Otto II, and
Otto III began to commission manuscripts that, as in the Carolingian
tradition, were to be a visual manifestation of imperial power. The Ottonians
also borrowed heavily from Byzantine art, using a narrative style that
expresses the gravity and simplicity of Byzantine icons. The volumes of the
figures and the spatial relationships are reduced to luminously colored
patterns. The figures have large, expressive eyes and long, gesturing hands—
motifs that are also derived from Byzantine art.
Romanesque Manuscripts (11th to 12th century)
Romanesque art was international in character, borrowing from both Insular
and Byzantine art. The Insular focus on initials became the central element in
Romanesque illumination, and the historiated initial, which contains an
illustrative scene, was derived from the Byzantine interest in narrative.
Patterned backgrounds along with abstract drapery were extremely popular.
Gothic Manuscripts (13th to
15th century)
By the end of the 12th century,
Parisian artisans had developed a
new style of illumination
characterized by sinuous figures,
vivid narratives, and the lavish
use of gold leaf. During the 13th
century the English and German
schools developed Gothic styles
as well. French illuminators
occasionally adopted the visual
conventions of other art forms,
such as stained glass windows, in
order to narrate stories and teach
church doctrine visually.
Initial A: Two Men before a King (detail),
International Style (first half of
the 15th century)
The International Style reached
its height in the early 15th century at the ducal courts of Europe. At this time
Jean, duc de Berry, one of the great patrons of this period, commissioned the
famous Très Riches Heures. His illuminators, the Limbourg brothers, were
among the great exemplars of a new naturalism, elegance, and fascination
with landscape that quickly spread throughout Europe. The courtly manner of
this style circa 1400–1420, is reflected in its bright colors, soft modeling, and
delicate contours.
Vidal Mayor, Spanish, 1290–1310
The Renaissance (15th to 16th
century)
The Renaissance in both Northern
and Southern Europe was the last
great era of the handwritten and
illuminated book. Expanding literacy
provided a stimulus for affluent
middle-class patrons both to
commission manuscripts and to
purchase those made for the open
market in towns and cities all over
the continent. An illuminated
private devotional prayer book, for
example, became a symbol of its
owner's status and taste.
Renaissance illuminators also
produced many secular works. The
study of antiquity in Italy gave rise
to beautifully illuminated humanistic
texts.
The Annunciation (detail), Master of
The Llangattock Hours, Flemish, 1450
Although Gutenberg's invention of the printing press in 1452 was not
immediately successful, soon he and other printers throughout Europe were
vying with scribes to meet the increased demand for books. Imitating the
manuscript tradition, early printed books were often illuminated, and
occasionally achieved the decorative splendor of luxury books. Eventually,
however, the use of woodcuts and metal engravings replaced illuminated
decoration in printed books. Within the next hundred years, the advent of the
illustrated printed book led to the demise of a glorious tradition that had
flourished in Europe for 10 centuries.
Vocabulary
illuminated From the Latin illuminare, to "throw light upon," "lighten,"
or "brighten." Illumination is the art of adorning manuscripts with the richly
colored and sometimes gilded decorations known as miniatures, historiated,
inhabited, and decorated initials, and ornamented borders.
Illuminators
executed the artistic painting and metal work for the initials
and decorative illustrations.
manuscript Written by hand, or the resulting handwritten, rather than
printed, document or book. Most European manuscripts of the Middle Ages
are made of highly durable parchment
historiated initial An oversized initial letter containing an identifiable
narrative scene or figures, sometimes relating to the text. Historiated initials
first appeared in manuscripts of the early 800s and remained popular
throughout the Middle Ages.
marginalia (Latin for "things in the margins"). Marginalia refers to
writing or decoration in the margins of the manuscript. Sometimes the
decorations relate directly to a historiated initial on the same page; but more
often, the secular vignettes of humorous animals and figures are meant to
provide a playful counterpart to the religious narratives.
decorated initial A painted initial letter composed of plant forms or
geometric designs but without animal or human figures.
miniatures From the Latin miniare, referring to the red pigment minium
often used in lettering or artwork. The term originally referred to the
paintings in medieval illuminated manuscripts. Miniature later came to be
used for small, detailed paintings, particularly portraits.
Parchment or Vellum Animal skin, especially sheep, goat, and calf,
specifically prepared for writing. According to legend, parchment was
developed in the second century AD. in Pergamon, the modern city of
Bergama, Turkey. The pages of medieval manuscripts were usually made of
parchment.
ultramarine A brilliant blue pigment originally made from lapis lazuli.
Highly prized for its depth of color, ultramarine has always been extremely
costly. The process for making a far cheaper, artificial ultramarine was
perfected by the 1830s.
gold leaf Gold that is beaten into thin pieces. It can be applied to
sculpture, furniture, glass, decorations, and frames for backgrounds and
details, such as haloes in manuscript illumination and panel painting.
lapis lazuli A semiprecious blue stone. It is used for jewelry, stone inlay,
and to make the pigment for the original ultramarine blue.
scriptorium A room in a monastery or other religious institution used for
writing and illuminating manuscripts. During the early Middle Ages, virtually
all manuscripts were produced in monastic or ecclesiastical scriptoria. By the
late 1100s, secular workshops began to appear.
Scribes
were responsible for handwriting the text of the mauscript
guild Economic and social organization for those practicing the same
business or craft. Formed for mutual aid and protection, a guild would
commonly maintain standards, set prices, and protect the interests of its
members.