‘Illuminated Manuscript’ An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders (marginalia) and miniature illustrations. In the strictest definition of the term, an illuminated manuscript only refers to manuscripts decorated with gold or silver, but in both common usage and modern scholarship, the term is now used to refer to any decorated or illustrated manuscript from the Western traditions.
Illuminated Manuscript
The Gothic style dates from around 1150AD and, like the Romanesque, was an international style. The rise of universities and cathedral schools led to an increased demand for books of all kinds. During the Gothic period books became smaller and more delicate, with increased integration between illustrations and text. Generally there was less text on page, with blank spaces in lines of text being filled with decorative bars. Illustrations were sometimes combined with borders, and marginal sketches and grotesques (now known as drolleries) were reintroduced.
Gothic Manuscript
The Writing Surfaces used: The most common surviving membrane material for medieval manuscripts was parchment or vellum, made from the skins of sheep, goats or calves. Paper was used for some manuscripts, especially those of a secular nature, in the later part of the middle ages, first appearing in Europe in the 13th century.
Parchment Paper
In early medieval times, monks were the sole makers of illuminated manuscripts. Before universities existed, monasteries were the central places for learning. Monks copied books mainly for use in worship. However, rulers and high-ranking churchmen commissioned books from monastaries, including historical records and Greek and Roman literature. To make a new manuscript, a monk had to obtain a book to copy. He might travel quite a distance to borrow one from another monastery, and even stay there to do his copying. Scribes worked in a writing room called a scriptorium. Sometimes the same person was both scribe and illustrator, but not necessarily. One monk might do the writing and another the illuminating.
Medieval Monk
Medieval Graphic Landmarks
The Lindisfarne Gospel: The Lindisfarne Gospels, one of the most magnificent manuscripts of the early Middle Ages, was written and decorated at the end of the 7th century by the monk Eadfrith, who became Bishop of Lindisfarne in 698 and died in 721.
The Lindisfarne Gospel
The Toledo Bible: The Bible of St Louis of Toledo Cathedral is a truly outstanding item within the rich heritage of Toledo Cathedral. This Bible moralisée written in Latin is so extraordinarily beautiful that it is also known as the "Rich Bible of Toledo".
The Toledo Bible
The Unicorn in Captivity (Tapestry): "The Unicorn Tapestries," are among the most beautiful and complex works of art from the late Middle Ages that survive. Luxuriously woven in fine wool and silk with silver and gilded threads, the tapestries vividly depict scenes associated with a hunt for the elusive, magical unicorn.
The Unicorn in Captivity
The Book of Durrow: The Book of Durrow is "the earliest surviving fully decorated insular Gospel manuscript,” It is considered to represent a "new, essentially medieval concept of embellishing the sacred text as though with precious jewels and textiles." It is the first example of a full program of decoration which complements the structure of the text. Its date of origin is controversial but is believed to be the late 7th century.
The Book of Durrow
Early Gothic: Windows were very important. They were often stained glass with bible scenes. Each window could take months to complete, because some were as much as one-hundred feet tall. Gothic cathedrals had hundreds of windows, but the interior was usually dim. The colored glass did not allow as much light in as clear glass would.
Early Gothic Cathedral
The relevance of the Medieval Cathedral and illumination to modern graphic design. Is shown how letters are shaped, coloured, decorated and arranged has a huge influence on how they are read. Scribes developed calligraphy, the ancient art of beautiful writing, long before print existed. Today, in our modern era of visual communications, it’s a skill that’s ever more relevant. The term calligraphy comes from the Greek words for beautiful (kalos) and writing or drawing (graphos). It means creating well-made letters and shapes by hand, normally with special pens or quills, paints and ink, and arranging them beautifully. The term illumination comes from a Latin word (illuminare), meaning to ‘light up’. It describes the process of making the pages of a book glow with bright colours and burnished gold, applied with using special pens and brushes.
Examples of Romanesque Manuscripts come from a wide geographical area. During this period a wider variety of books was produced, including large Bibles and commentaries, lives of Saints, theological works, missals and Psalters as well as Gospels. An increase in monasticism meant that many books were produced for public use, leading to the production of larger sized books. Romanesque manuscripts feature grotesques (a variety of real and imaginary creatures), textured or gold backgrounds, and historiated initials. These initials, found at the commencement of a chapter, combined the initial of the opening word with foliage, figures or pictures illustrating a portion of the text.
Romanesque Manuscript
In Roman antiquity, writing was done with a reed pen. However, throughout the medieval era a quill was evidently the more usual instrument. While old schoolbooks, not to mention modern TV programs, frequently illustrate people writing with an extravagant plume that appears to have been freshly plucked, there was some preparation involved. The business end of a strong feather, such as a pinion of a goose, was first buried in hot sand to change the structure and make it stronger and less brittle.
Quill Pen
Vellum Paper
After the twelfth century, monks were no longer the only scribes. The rise of universities and the middle class created a demand for books, and book production became a way to make money. Making illuminated manuscripts became a business conducted in cities. A person who wanted a book would order it through a bookseller, who hired scribes and illuminators to do the work. The whole process of book illumination was very time-consuming and costly, thus the illuminated manuscript was a luxury item for wealthy customers. With the advent of book printing, the sumptuous illuminated codices went out of fashion. Although the early printed books were often made to resemble illuminated manuscripts, by way of hand colouring, the art of book illumination gradually disappeared in the course of the sixteenth century.
Manuscripts were also done in Timbuktu Africa.
Manuscript from Timbuktu
The Book of Kells: The Book of Kells is a stunningly beautiful manuscript containing the Four Gospels. It is Ireland's most precious medieval artifact, and is generally considered the finest surviving illuminated manuscript to have been produced in medieval Europe. The Book of Kells was probably produced in a monastery on the Isle of Iona, Scotland, to honor Saint Columba in the early 8th century. After a Viking raid the book was moved to Kells, Ireland, sometime in the 9th century.
The Book of Kells
Books of Hours: A book of hours is an illuminated, Christian devotional book that was popular among the Christians of Northern Europe during the Middle Ages. A calendar of the liturgical year (feast days etc.), An excerpt from each of the four canonical gospel, The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, The fifteen Psalms of Degrees, The seven Penitential Psalms, A Litany of Saints, An Office for the Dead, The Hours of the Cross and Various other Christian prayers.
The Book of Hours
The Klosterneuburg Altar: Klosterneuburg Monastery (German: Stift Klosterneuburg) is a twelfth century Augustinian monastery of the Roman Catholic Church located in the town of Klosterneuburg in Lower Austria. Overlooking the Danube river, just north of the Vienna city limits at the Leopoldsberg, the monastery was founded in 1114 by Saint Leopold III of Babenberg, the patron saint of Austria, and his second wife Agnes of Germany. Klosterneuburg Monastery contains the Verduner Altar, made in 1181 by Nicholas of Verdun. Its three parts comprise 45 gilded copper plates modeled on Byzantine paragons, similar to the Shrine of the Three Kings at Cologne Cathedral.
The Klosterneuburg Altar
Cathedral Styles
Romanesque: The stone used was extremely heavy. The weight of the ceilings would tend to buckle the walls outward and large piles of stone would be stacked along the wall in intervals to buttress (or support) the walls from pushing outward - these piles of stones became features of Romanesque Architecture and buttresses were introduced to the basic design and a major characteristic of Romanesque architecture.
Romanesque Cathedral
High Gothic: The clerestorey windows changed from one window in each segment, holed in the wall, to two windows united by a small rose window.
High Gothic Cathedral
Late Gothic: Semicircular arches (instead of Gothic pointed arches) of doors and windows, sometimes consisting of three or more convex curves.
Late Gothic Cathedral
Design, Method, Message and Continuity Design is the finished artwork or product created for an audience, the message, is what you want the viewer to take away from the experience or product you have created. The method is the way in which your design and message is brought across, the execution of everything that you do. Design continuity is incredibly important, especially if the product is offered on a short basis because the piece will only be in the viewer’s hand a few times a year, it's important to make a visual impact that the reader can easily remember. This is accomplished when creating such a piece, it's important to keep some "theme" of consistency throughout whatever design you create. The theme will usually consist of similar graphic elements that appear on each piece of artwork, or at regular intervals.