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Illuminated Manuscripts
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The written word of medieval manuscripts links western culture to a past of castles and knights, cathedrals and crusaders. The painted and illuminated manuscript is amongst the greatest artistic triumphs of the Middle Ages, demonstrating social, intellectual, religious, and cultural attitudes of medieval life. To appreciate a medieval manuscript is to understand its place in the medieval world. Most surviving manuscripts are of a religious nature, and churches and many homes kept books with various compilations of scripture.
Manuscript books were tediously but carefully written by hand, each page with unique initials and decoration. The creation of an illuminated manuscript was complex and required the joint labors of professional scribes to write the text in Gothic script, and artists to illuminate the pages with decorated initials and foliated borders. Vellum of soft unblemished calf, goat or sheepskin was scraped to an even thinness and smoothed with pumice until flexible, opaque, and white. The sheets were ruled leaving space for initials and the text carefully copied with a quill in uniform calligraphy. The scribe would often write the initial letter of a chapter or prayer larger in red ink, called rubrics. Decoration was added to the borders and initials with penwork flourishes and branch extenders in colors or gold. Pigments used by the medieval painter were the rich, dark blue of lapis lazuli or azurite, vermilion red, verdigris and malachite green.
Leaves from manuscripts dating from the thirteenth through early sixteenth centuries come from fragmentary books whose bindings have not survived the ravages of time. Most were acquired through specialist auctions in London and New York. They are guaranteed genuine. Here are a few terms you may find helpful:
Illuminated -- Decorated with gold, either burnished from gold leaf or painted from finely ground gold paint.
Initial -- A large capital letter usually painted in contrasting color or illuminated in gold.
Leaf -- a single sheet from a book, with two pages (one on each side). The page on the right side is called "recto" and the page on the left is called "verso."
Manuscript -- A book written and decorated by hand rather than printed.
Miniature -- A picture or scene painted on the page.
Rubrics -- Capital letters or short notes in red to stand out from the text.
Scriptorium -- a writing/copying room in a monastery or workshop where books were produced for the clergy, scholars, and wealthy individuals.
Vellum (also known as parchment) -- Calf, goat, or sheepskin scraped thin and used instead of paper for writing.
Types of books -- Bible, Book of Hours (daily prayer book for the laity), Breviary (prayer book for the clergy), Gradual and Antiphonal (music book for the Mass), Missal (book for the Mass), Psalter (psalm book), and others.
Often styles were developed to suit individual countries, sects, or denominations. The marriage of the written word with cultural, political, and religious identity was of a particular importance in the late Middle Ages. At a time of low literacy before the advent of the printing press written documents carried a weight of labor not found in later times. Below are some examples from our inventory that show the unique idiosyncrasies of their time.
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This first leaf is from Paris, France circa the mid 13th century. It is a good example of many illumination techniques. It is printed in Latin, the lingua franca of the time, on vellum and comes from a manuscript Bible. This hand-written sheet contains fifty-five lines of double column text in micro-Gothic script. The page is from the Book of Psalms and contains the text of Psalm 80 (Exultate Deo).
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The second leaf is circa the same time period, the mid 13th century, and though it is not as ornately decorated it is just as important, if not more than it's French counterpart. This leaf is from a medieval English Breviary, also in Latin and on vellum (150mm x 100mm). It was in use in Sarum and has thirty-five lines of double column text also in micro-Gothic script. This leaf has two two-line initials "C" and "C" as well as an eight-line initial "I", all in blue ink, each with a lovely dragon pattern in red pen work and wonderful examples of rubrics. What makes this particular example especially rare is that it is from a Catholic Breviary. King Henry VIII of England destroyed many of the Catholic liturgical books in his day. It is matted in archival boards and is normally priced at $850; it is now only $680. |
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For our third leaf we will take a short jump back across the Channel to Catholic-friendly France. Here in the mid-15th century this leaf from a Book of Hours was used in Northern France, possibly Amiens (170mm x 117mm). There are twelve lines of wonderfully clear Gothic script on rectangular grounds in red and blue inks with white tendrils. Rubricating in red with line fillers on blue and red grounds with white tendrils and a highly embossed gold middle are throughout the fragment from which this leaf emanated. It is matted in archival boards with both recto and verso visible and is normally priced at $450; it is now only $360. |
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To contrast, this fourth leaf is from a Dutch Book of Hours and shows the differing styles of Germanic and Gaulic. It's use was of Utrecht, and it is written not in Latin, as was common, but in the vernacular Dutch. Printed on vellum in the third quarter of the 15th century it is unique in several ways. It is a rare miniature (this picture is the actual size of the leaf 53mm x 37mm) and is only thirteen lines ruled in brown ink. Written in a prickly gothic liturgical hand it is characteristic of Cologne, Germany especially of the work of the Windesheim Cannons of St. Michael in Cologne. This leaf is at least from the same workshop and perhaps even from the same artists. It is matted in archival boards with both recto and verso visible and is normally priced at $375; it is now only $300. |
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Moving ahead in time to the mid 16th century, illumination was becoming uncommon as the printing press became more popular. Even so, there are magnificent examples of high illumination and illustration. This leaf was from a Prayer book and Benedictional for the use of Cistercian Nuns in the second quarter of the 16th century (207mm x 143mm). There are eighteen lines in black ink of angular gothic script from the section of "Prayers and Hymns." Provenance: Cistercian House -- presumably a nunnery since the opening, and the only illustrated office for the profession of female novices, who promised to live secundum regulam santi Benediciti (part of the order of St. Benedict.) The illumination within this prayer book shows considerable similarities with those of the Master of Francois de Rohan, active in Paris from c. 1525-1546. It is matted in archival boards with both recto and verso visible and is normally priced at $650; it is now only $520. |
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Our final stop is a relatively modern contemporary of the leaves we have thus seen. This spectacular example of Eastern liturgy is a leaf from a Greek Hymnal. Circa 1775 (approximately 175mm x 110mm) this manuscript was done on laid paper rather than vellum and presents not only Greek text and magnificent initialing, it is a remarkable example of musical notation. It is matted in archival boards with verso visible and is normally priced at $295; it is now only $236. |
To purchase any of the items seen above or to find out more about our inventory of illuminated manuscripts drop us a line at webinfo@cdickens.com, or call us toll free at 1-800-548-0376!
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Copyright 1996 - 2003 C. Dickens Rare and Collectible Books and Maps, Atlanta, Georgia
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