Illuminated manuscript 92310 225323186 2008-07-13T02:28:58Z Vsmith 84417 Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/Mercatorum|Mercatorum]] ([[User talk:Mercatorum|talk]]) to last version by VolkovBot [[Image:AberdeenBestiaryFolio004vChristInMajesty.jpg|thumb|250px|In the strictest definition of illuminated manuscript, only manuscripts decorated with gold or silver, like this [[Miniature (illuminated manuscript)|miniature]] of [[Christ in Majesty]] from the [[Aberdeen Bestiary]] (folio 4v), would be considered illuminated.]] An '''illuminated manuscript''' is a [[manuscript]] in which the [[Writing|text]] is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated [[initial]]s, borders and [[Miniature (illuminated manuscript)|miniature illustrations]]. 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 or illustrated manuscript from the Western or Islamic traditions. Comparable Far Eastern works are always described as painted, as often are Islamic and Mesoamerican works. The earliest surviving substantive illuminated manuscripts are from the period AD 400 to 600 (also in the gothic period), primarily produced in [[Ireland]], [[Constantinople]] and [[Italy]]. The significance of these works lies not only in their inherent art history value, but in the maintenance of a link of literacy offered by non-illuminated texts as well. Had it not been for the [[monastic]] scribes of [[Late Antiquity]], the entire literature of [[Greece]] and [[Rome]] would have perished; as it was, the patterns of textual survivals were shaped by their usefulness to the severely constricted literate group of Christians. 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]] and ruling classes were no longer literate. 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 the 13th century onward, an increasing number of secular texts were illuminated. Most illuminated manuscripts were created as [[codex|codices]], which had superseded scrolls; some isolated single sheets survive. A very few illuminated manuscript fragments survive on [[papyrus]]. Most medieval manuscripts, illuminated or not, were written on [[parchment]] (most commonly of calf, sheep, or goat skin), but most manuscripts important enough to illuminate were written on the best quality of parchment, called [[vellum]], traditionally made of unsplit calf skin, though high quality parchment from other skins was also called ''parchment''. Beginning in the late Middle Ages manuscripts began to be produced on [[paper]].<ref>The untypically early 11th century [[Missal of Silos]] is from Spain, near to Muslim paper-mills in [[Al-Andaluz]]. Textual manuscripts on paper become increasingly common, but the more expensive parchment was mostly used for illuminated manuscripts until the end of the period.</ref> Very early printed books were sometimes produced with spaces left for [[rubric]]s and miniatures, or were given illuminated initials, or decorations in the margin, but the introduction of printing rapidly led to the decline of illumination. Illuminated manuscripts continued to be produced in the early 16th century, but in much smaller numbers, mostly for the very wealthy. [[Image:Meister des Maréchal de Boucicaut 001.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The decoration of this page from a French [[Book of Hours]], ca.1400, includes a miniature, [[initial]]s and borders]] Illuminated manuscripts are the most common item to survive from the Middle Ages.{{Fact|date=February 2008}} They are also the best surviving specimens of medieval [[painting]], and the best preserved. 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]]. ==History== {{main|History of miniature (illuminated manuscript)}} == Techniques == Illumination was a complex and frequently costly process. It was usually reserved for special books: an altar Bible, for example. Wealthy people often had richly illuminated "[[book of hours|books of hours]]" made, which set down prayers appropriate for various times in the [[liturgy|liturgical day]]. In the early Middle Ages, most books were produced in monasteries, whether for their own use, for presentation, or for a commission. However, commercial scriptoria grew up in large cities, especially [[School of Paris|Paris]], and in [[Italy]] and the [[Netherlands]], and by the late fourteenth century there was a significant industry producing manuscripts, including agents who would take long-distance commissions, with details of the heraldry of the buyer and the saints of personal interest to him (for the [[calendar]] of a [[Book of hours]]). By the end of the period, many of the painters were women, perhaps especially in Paris. === Text === In the making of an illuminated manuscript, the text was usually written first. Sheets of [[parchment]] or [[vellum parchment|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 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]]. [[Palaeography]] is the study of historical handwritten scripts, and [[codicology]] the related study of other physical aspects of manuscript codexes. === Classifications === Art historians classify illuminated manuscripts into their historic periods and types, including (but not limited to): Late Antique, [[Insular art|Insular]], [[Carolingian art|Carolingian manuscripts]], [[Ottonian art|Ottonian manuscripts]], [[Romanesque art|Romanesque manuscripts]], [[Gothic art|Gothic manuscripts]], and Renaissance manuscripts. There are a few examples from later periods. The type of book that was most often heavily and richly illuminated, sometimes known as a "display-book", varied between periods. In the first millennium these were most likely to be [[Gospel Book]]s. The Romanesque period saw the creation of many huge illuminated complete [[Bible]]s - one in Sweden requires three librarians to lift it. Many [[Psalter]]s were also heavily illuminated in both this and the Gothic period. Finally, the [[Book of Hours]], very commonly the personal devotional book of a wealthy layperson, was often richly illuminated in the Gothic period. Other books, both liturgical and not, continued to be illuminated at all periods. The Byzantine world also continued to produce manuscripts in its own style, versions of which spread to other Orthodox and Eastern Christian areas. See [[Medieval art]] for other regions, periods and types. The Gothic period, which generally saw an increase in production, also saw more secular works such as [[chronicle]]s and works of literature illuminated. Wealthy people began to build up personal libraries; [[Philip the Bold]], Duke of [[Burgundy]], who probably had the largest personal library of his time in the mid-15th century, is estimated to have had about 600 illuminated manuscripts, whilst a number of his friends and relations had several dozen. === Images === [[Image:Thomas Becket Murder.JPG|thumb|A 13th century [[manuscript illumination]], the earliest known depiction of [[Thomas 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 or drawn onto the vellum (possibly with the aid of pinpricks or other markings, as in the case of the [[Lindisfarne Gospels]]). Many incomplete manuscripts survive from most periods, giving us a good idea of working methods. At all times, most manuscripts did not have images in them. In the early Middle Ages, manuscripts tend to either be display books with very full illumination, or manuscripts for study with at most a few decorated initials. By the Romanesque period many more manuscripts had decorated or historiated initials, and manuscripts essentially for study often contained some images, often not in colour. This trend intensified in the Gothic period, when most manuscripts had at least decorative flourishes in places, and a much larger proportion had images of some sort. Display books of the Gothic period in particular had very elaborate decorated borders of foliate patterns, often with small [[Drolleries|drolleries]]. A Gothic page might contain several areas and types of decoration: a miniature in a frame, a historiated initial beginning a passage of text, and a border with drolleries. Often different artists worked on the different parts of the decoration. === Paints === The medieval artist's palette was surprisingly broad: {| class="wikitable" ! Colour ! Source(s) |- ! Red | Mercury(II) sulfide (HgS), often called [[cinnabar]] or [[vermilion]], in its natural mineral form or synthesized; "[[red lead]]" or [[minium]] (Pb<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>); insect-based colours such as [[cochineal]] ,[[kermes]] and [[lac]]; [[rust]] ([[iron oxide]], Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>) or [[iron oxide]]-rich earth compounds |- ! Yellow | Plant-based colours, such as [[Mignonette (Reseda)|Weld]], [[turmeric]] or [[saffron]]; yellow earth colours ([[ochre]]); [[orpiment]] (arsenic sulfide, As<sub>2</sub>S<sub>3</sub>) |- ! Green | Plant-based compounds such as [[buckthorn]] berries; [[copper]] compounds such as [[verdigris]] and [[malachite]] |- ! Blue | [[Ultramarine]] (made from the rock [[lapis lazuli]]); [[azurite]]; [[smalt]]; plant-based substances such as [[woad]], [[indigo]], and [[Turnsole|folium or turnsole]] |- ! White | [[Lead]] white (also called "flake white", basic lead carbonate (PbCO<sub>3</sub>)); [[chalk]] |- ! Black | [[Carbon]], from sources such as [[lampblack]], [[charcoal]], or burnt bones or [[ivory]]; [[sepia]]; [[iron gall ink|iron and 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 == <!--NOTE: Please consider adding new images to the Wikicommons gallery.--> <gallery> Image:illuminated.bible.arp.jpg|An illuminated capital letter P in a Bible of A.D. 1407, [[Malmesbury Abbey]], [[Wiltshire]], [[England]] Image:illuminated.bible.closeup.arp.jpg|The illuminated letter P in the Malmesbury Bible. The script is [[blackletter]], also known as Gothic script Image:Armenian-manuscript-CIMG1727.JPG|[[Armenian language|Armenian]] manuscript of 1053. Work of Johannes. Image:Armenian-manuscript-CIMG1731.JPG|Armenian manuscript of 1337, done by [[Avag]] in [[Sultania]] / [[Tabriz]]. Image:Monk tasting wine from a barrel.jpg|A monk-cellarer tasting wine from a barrel while filling a jug. From ''Li Livres dou Santé'' by Aldobrandino of Siena (France, late 13th century). Image:BookDimmaEvangelistPortrait.jpg|The [[Book of Dimma]], an 8th century Irish pocket Gospel Book. Image:Bernhard von Clairvaux (Initiale-B).jpg|Saint [[Bernard of Clairvaux]], in a medieval illuminated manuscript. Image:Haggadah 14th cent.jpg| [[Jewish]] Illuminated manuscript of the [[Haggadah]] for [[Passover]] (fourteenth century). </gallery> <!--NOTE: Please consider adding new images to the Wikicommons gallery.--> == See also == *[[List of illuminated manuscripts]] *[[Manuscript culture]] *[[List of Hiberno-Saxon illustrated manuscripts]] *[[Gospel Book]] *[[English Apocalypse Manuscripts]] *[[Armenian Illuminated manuscript]]s *[[History of the book]] *[[Preservation of Illuminated Manuscripts]] *[[Anastasia (artist)|Anastasia]] (flourished c 1400, Paris) was a French illuminator of manuscripts. ==References== {{reflist}} == External links == ===Images (mostly)=== * [http://www.kb.nl/kb/manuscripts/index.html Medieval Illuminated Manuscipts] Digitized illuminated manuscripts from the Dutch Royal Library *[http://www.english.cam.ac.uk/medieval/ Project from Cambridge University] - coloured numbers are links to good images from various collections; good for finding images of specific subjects quickly *[http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/exploreArt?typ=2033122 Illuminated Manuscripts in the J. Paul Getty Museum - Los Angeles] *[http://digital.library.louisville.edu/collections/mss/ Illuminating the Manuscript Leaves] Digitized illuminated manuscripts from the University of Louisville Libraries ===Resources=== {{commonscat|Illuminated manuscripts}} *[http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/welcome.htm British Library, catalogue of illuminated manuscripts] *[http://www.kb.nl/manuscripts Collection of illuminated manuscripts.] From the [[Koninklijke_Bibliotheek%2C_National_Library_of_the_Netherlands|Koninklijke Bibliotheek]] and [[Museum Meermanno-Westreenianum]] in The Hague. *[http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/pharos/sections/making_art/manuscript.html On-line demonstration of the production of an illuminated manuscript from the Fitzwilliam, Cambridge] *[http://classes.bnf.fr/phebus/explo/index3b.htm On-line demonstration of the production of an illuminated manuscript from the BNF, Paris.] Text in French, but mostly visual. *Ross, Nancy, [http://www.medievalarthistory.co.uk/Illuminated_Manuscripts.html Resources for English Illuminated Manuscripts]. *British Library, [http://prodigi.bl.uk/illcat/glossary.asp Glossary of Manuscript Terms], adapted from Michelle Brown, ''Understanding Illuminated Manuscripts: A Guide to Technical Terms'' (1994), ISBN 0-89236-217-0 *Herbert, J. A. (1911), [http://posner.library.cmu.edu/Posner/books/pages.cgi?call=741.64_H53I_1911&file=0012 ''Illuminated Manuscripts''], online book. *[http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/19870 Illuminated Manuscripts]',Book by John W. Bradley, from [[Project Gutenberg]] *[http://corsair.morganlibrary.org/ICAIntro/ICAintroshortdesc.htm CORSAIR]. Thousands of digital images from the [[Morgan Library]]'s renowned collection of medieval and Renaissance manuscripts *{{CathEncy|wstitle=Illuminated Manuscripts}} ===Modern=== *[http://www.saintjohnsbible.org The Saint John's Bible]: an illuminated Bible project *[http://www.efiaf.org Ellen Frank Illumination Arts Foundation:] the art of illumination [[Category:Book arts]] [[Category:Western art]] [[Category:Books by type]] [[Category:Illuminated manuscripts|*]] [[Category:Book design]] [[ar:منمنمة]] [[bg:Илюстрован ръкопис]] [[ca:Miniatura]] [[cs:Iluminace]] [[de:Buchmalerei]] [[es:Manuscrito ilustrado]] [[fr:Enluminure]] [[hr:Iluminirani rukopisi]] [[nl:Miniatuur (handschrift)]] [[ja:装飾写本]] [[pl:Iluminacja książki]] [[pt:Iluminura]] [[ru:Иллюминированная рукопись]] [[fi:Miniatyyri]] [[sv:Bokmåleri]] [[th:หนังสือวิจิตร]] [[zh:泥金裝飾手抄本]]