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Illuminated Manuscripts

def: Illuminated manuscripts are documents written by hand (i.e., manu-scripts) and illustrated

(i.e., illuminated) by hand, usually—though not always—with illustrations that reflect some aspect

of the text’s content

earliest illuminated mss are probably copies of the Egyptian Book of the Dead, preserved on

papyrus scrolls that date to the 17th C BCE

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/El_pesado_del_corazón_en_el_Papiro_d

e_Hunefer.jpg

transition from scrolls to codices took place fairly quickly in the first and second centuries CE,

apparently beginning with Christians, who used the codex form from the earliest days of copying

biblical mss—three obvious advantages of codex over scroll:

1. since writing on both sides of page, only half as much papyrus or parchment needed

2. random access instead of sequential access to contents

3. cover protects outermost pages

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earliest known illuminated ms fragment in Gk is 2nd C papyrus containing a portion of an

otherwise unknown romance

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/BNF_Sup_Grec_1294.jpg

another transition in the mid-1st M CE was from papyrus to parchment (named for city of

Pergamon, Asia Minor, where large numbers of parchment sheets were manufactured, though

papyrus production in Egypt continued for several more centuries

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booksellers in Greco-Roman world sometimes sold illuminated mss to their clients,

commissioning scribes and artists to produce the works—this picture is from a book containing

several of Virgil’s works (Eclogues, Georgics, Aeneid) and portrays a meeting of the gods—from

left (probably): Minerva, Mercury, Jupiter, Mars, Venus—note fairly realistic depictions of gods,

though with halos (or characteristic helmet in case of Minerva) to represent divinity, an artistic

device borrowed by Christians to depict saints

Illuminated Manuscripts, 43

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Jews often avoided representations of humans in art, especially in mss, opting instead for intricate

geometric patterns, often including Hebrew words, as in this page from the Leningrad Codex,

dating from about 1008 CE

http://jbtc.org/v03/Freedman-etal-ed1998rev-fig10.gif

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Muslims took the Jewish tradition to greater heights, developing a calligraphic version of the

Arabic script used to record the Quran that was artistic in and of itself

https://www.smu.edu/Bridwell/SpecialCollectionsandArchives/Exhibitions/Manuscripts/Scriptur

eandWorship/BRMS29-Quran17th

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earliest biblical mss weren’t illuminated, in large part because of cost, but also because sporadic

outbreaks of persecution against Christianity (became legal with Edict of Milan in 313) put the

focus on the text—first illuminated biblical mss from 5th C, with limited illumination, like this

image from Codex Alexandrinus, containing a colophon (note at end of a book) to Jude and

comment that Acts comes next in the ms

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Colophon_Alexandrinus_Jude.JPG

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another example from the 5th C is an Old Latin ms of 1 Samuel, containing an illustration of the

encounter between King Saul and the prophet Samuel in 1 Sam 15—note the labels identifying

people in bottom left frame—running text sometimes crosses illustrations

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/QuedlinburgItalaFolio2rIllus1KingsChap

15.jpg

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starting in 6th C, illuminated Bible mss are often better preserved and show more artistic talent—

some illumination contains little more than extravagantly colored initial letters or small

illustrations used to fill space at the end of a book—this type of illumination is called an

ornament—initials from an 8th C sacramentary (book used by a priest to conduct mass)

Illuminated Manuscripts, 60-61

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here is a famous example of ornamental initial letters, from the beginning of the Gospel of Matthew

in the Lindisfarne Gospels ms (note the Old English glosses in the margins)—the image at the top

of the class website is the preceding page in this ms

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/LindisfarneFol27rIncipitMatt.jpg

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another common ornament, found in many gospel mss, is the Eusebian canon tables, listing

corresponding sections of the four gospels using a numbering system invented by the church

historian Eusebius of Caesarea in the 4th C—the example below is from Codex Argenteus, a 6th

C Gothic gospel ms written on purple parchment with silver (and occasionally gold) ink, hence the

name

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Wulfila_bibel.jpg

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illuminations sometimes covered the entire page, as in this illustration of the Virgin and Child in

a 10th C Armenian Gospel book

In the Beginning: Bibles before the Year 1000, 169

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or this eagle, the symbol of John the Evangelist, from an 8th C Latin Gospel ms

In the Beginning: The Bible before 1000, 215

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as the Middle Ages progressed, illuminations often got more detailed and the artistic beauty

increased as well, mirroring the improved artistic techniques of the era—this illustration from a

10th C Greek parchment shows the prophet Jeremiah pointing to a smaller image of Jesus—note

that Jesus has a halo with an embedded cross, and the abbreviation IC XC appears above his head

In the Beginning: The Bible before 1000, 234

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this 11th C Greek ms of Psalms shows David with a lyre & shepherd’s crook watching over his

sheep—over his head, the red text says “David the first anointed one”—Ps 26 starts near the bottom

of the page, just above a wolf attacking a sheep

The Art of the Bible, 113—Theodore Psalter

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another picture of David, from a 9th C Latin Psalter

The Art of the Bible, 70—Lothar Psalter

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the Paduan Bible Picture Book (14th C, Italian) contains the text of Genesis through Joshua, plus

Ruth, illustrated with almost 900 illustrations

The Art of the Bible, 269

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the next four illustrations are from the Silos Apocalypse, early 12th C Spain—first image is image

of the lamb, the four heavenly beasts, and 12 of the 24 elders

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/B_Facundus_117v.jpg

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worship of the beast and dragon

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/B_Escorial_108v.jpg

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the four horsemen of the apocalypse

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/B_Facundus_135.jpg

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worship of the Lamb on Mt. Zion

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/B_Facundus_205.jpg

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in addition to mss of the Bible itself, related books were also often illuminated—the Bible

Historiale is a French translation of a Latin commentary on the whole Bible—this image shows

King Solomon offering instruction, illustrating the beginning of the book of Proverbs

The Art of the Bible, 9—Bible historiale

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the so-called Bible of the Poor is a Latin book that illustrates New Testament stories with similar

stories from the Old Testament that were thought to prefigure the NT story—here, the center image

shows Judas betraying Jesus—on the left, Joab murders Saul’s general Abner—on the right,

Trypho deceives Jonathan and the Jews

The Art of the Bible, 274-75—Biblia Pauperum

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books of hours were common medieval meditation books with elaborate miniatures (illustrations),

organized according to the church calendar—the following four illustrations are from the Très

Riches Heures of Jean, Duke of Berry, created in the 15th C—the first illustrates the Nativity of

Jesus—notice the appearance of the Trinity—the angels, shepherds, and manger show the image

is based on the Gospel of Luke

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Folio_44v_-_The_Nativity.jpg

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this image is called Man of Sorrows

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Folio_75r_-_The_Man_of_Sorrows.jpg

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in addition to images of biblical stories, the Très Riches Heures includes a scene that illustrates

each month—the following image is April

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Les_Très_Riches_Heures_du_duc_de_Be

rry_avril.jpg

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this book of hours also includes an image of the household of the Duke of Berry, who

commissioned this book—he is seated at the right in blue

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Les_Très_Riches_Heures_du_duc_de_Be

rry_Janvier.jpg

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to close this discussion, I want to mention another class of medieval illuminated mss, bestiaries,

which contain illustrations of animals (some of them mythical), along with descriptions of their

nature and often a moral lesson—these illustrations are from the Aberdeen Bestiary from the 12th

C—the first is Adam naming the animals

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/AberdeenBestiaryFolio005rAdamNames

AnimalsDetail.jpg

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in the Middle Ages, the hyena was believed to be hermaphroditic, so it is depicted here with both

male and female genitalia

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/F11v-aberdeen-best-detail.jpg

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this is supposed to be a tiger—obviously the artist had never seen one

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/AberdeenBestiaryFolio008rTigerDetail.j

pg

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the pard was an imaginary large cat, believed to mate with lions to produce leopards

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/AberdeenBestiaryFolio008rTigerDetail.j

pg

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the phoenix is a mythical bird that is supposed to be unique in the world (only one phoenix), that

lives 500 years, dies, then rises from the ashes after its death—it is mentioned frequently in the

ancient world, including in 1 Clement, a letter by an early bishop of Rome, who sees it as a symbol

of Christ’s resurrection

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Phoenix_detail_from_Aberdeen_Bestiary

.jpg