Transcript Illuminated Manuscripts

Illuminated
Manuscripts
&
Historiated Initials
The Middle Ages
• The Middle Ages are commonly referred to
as the medieval period. The European
Middle Ages are normally thought of as
being the time period of 400 A.D. to 1500
A.D.
• The term Middle Ages was invented by people
during the Renaissance, a period of cultural and
literary change in the 14th, 15th, and 16th
centuries. The term was not meant as a
compliment. During the Renaissance, people
thought that their own age and the time of ancient
Greece and Rome were advanced and civilized.
They called the period between themselves and the
ancient world 'the Middle Age.'
Illuminated Manuscripts
What is an Illuminated Manuscript?
• Illuminated manuscripts are handwritten books
decorated with gold or silver, brilliant colours,
elaborate designs, decorated letters, borders and
miniature painted scenes. Manuscripts contain
most of the finest surviving examples of medieval
painting. In the strictest definition of the term, an
illuminated manuscript only refers to manuscripts
decorated with gold or silver. However, the term is
now used to refer to any decorated manuscript.
What were they used for?
• Illuminated manuscripts were considered sacred
objects containing the word of God. They were
decorated lavishly so their outward beauty would
reflect their sublime contents.
• Most illuminated manuscripts were made for
churches or monasteries. But many wealthy
people also owned their own illuminated prayer
books. These books were small enough to carry in
a pocket for travel.
• Until printing was developed in the fifteenth
century, these manuscripts were the only form of
books in existence, preserving religious teachings.
Who made them?
• Illuminated manuscripts were made by
monks in secluded monasteries throughout
Europe.
How were they made?
• Manuscripts were most often written on
parchment (skin of a sheep or goat prepared
for writing on) and covered in leather.
Illuminated lettering in a Latin Bible of 1407AD. It was hand written
in Belgium, by Gerard Brils, for reading aloud in a monastery.
Historiated Initial
What is a historiated initial?
• An historiated initial is 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.
The historiated initial is a capital letter P since the letters
following are ETRUS, making the word PETRUS (Peter
in Latin).
Historiated initial
from a manuscript of
Books XXI-XXX of
Livy's History of
Rome. Produced in
Italy in the fifteenth
century
Historiated initial from a manuscript of De consolatione
philosophiae of Boethius. Produced in Italy, 1385.
Prayer Book
of Lorenzo de'
Medici,
1458
This is a
beautiful,
historiated initial
(the letter “O”)
from the
beginning of Song
of Songs in a
twelfth-century
Latin Bible.
What is the Book of Kells?
• The Book of Kells is one of the most famous books in the
history of the world and was completed in about 800 AD.
• The vellum (calfskin) manuscript contains transcriptions of
the four Gospels, lavishly illustrated and ornamented. It is
the most elaborate manuscript of its kind to survive from
the early Middle Ages.
• The scribes and artists who created the Book were
Columban monks who lived in a monastery on the remote
island of Iona, off the west coast of Scotland. The
monastery was founded late in the sixth century by an Irish
monk, St Colm Cille.
• The Book of Kells contains 680 pages. Just two of the
pages are without ornament, while about thirty folios,
including some major decorated pages, have been lost.
Book of Kells