Medieval Europe
An illuminated manuscript is a document which includes decorative borders, capitals, and illustrations. As a general rule, illuminated manuscripts are hand-written, and all of the illuminations are done by hand. With the arrival of the printing press, the art of creating illuminated manuscripts largely disappeared, since these elaborate and attractive volumes were costly and time consuming to produce when compared with printed material.
Differences between Romanesque and Gothic manuscripts
Differences between Romanesque and Gothic manuscripts
The people in Gothic manuscripts are layered and overlapping with more perspective while the figures in Romanesque manuscripts are majorly not overlapping and hence giving less depth.
Gothic figures are more vibrant, and had much more depth while with Romanesque manuscripts the figures are flat and more distorted, the feet are turned to the side, but the body is flat.
Romanesque have flat surfaces for backgrounds while Gothic manuscripts have a realistic background.
Reed and feather pens were used to write the manuscripts and they used an ink derived either from carbon soot or gall nuts. Carbon soot from beeswax candles or linseed oil lamps were combined with gum Arabic to produce an indelible black ink.
Parchment and Vellum were used as the writing surface during medieval times for the manuscripts.
Calligraphers or scribes and later illuminators formed the illuminated manuscripts. Monks, also produced them in Medieval times working in the scriptorium or writing room.
People of high-class or who could afford had the manuscripts. Illuminated manuscripts were either religious or secular. In the early Middle Ages, plentiful biblical manuscripts, also called treasure books, were richly illuminated in order to praise God, since they contained God's word. In the latter Middle Ages, deluxe personal prayer books, called Books of Hours, were the expressions of wealth and social status.
Secular manuscripts, books of literature, on various topics such as hunting and politics, exist in far fewer numbers than religious books, and as a result are often much more expensive.
Gothic figures are more vibrant, and had much more depth while with Romanesque manuscripts the figures are flat and more distorted, the feet are turned to the side, but the body is flat.
Romanesque have flat surfaces for backgrounds while Gothic manuscripts have a realistic background.
Reed and feather pens were used to write the manuscripts and they used an ink derived either from carbon soot or gall nuts. Carbon soot from beeswax candles or linseed oil lamps were combined with gum Arabic to produce an indelible black ink.
Parchment and Vellum were used as the writing surface during medieval times for the manuscripts.
Calligraphers or scribes and later illuminators formed the illuminated manuscripts. Monks, also produced them in Medieval times working in the scriptorium or writing room.
People of high-class or who could afford had the manuscripts. Illuminated manuscripts were either religious or secular. In the early Middle Ages, plentiful biblical manuscripts, also called treasure books, were richly illuminated in order to praise God, since they contained God's word. In the latter Middle Ages, deluxe personal prayer books, called Books of Hours, were the expressions of wealth and social status.
Secular manuscripts, books of literature, on various topics such as hunting and politics, exist in far fewer numbers than religious books, and as a result are often much more expensive.
Connection between the manuscripts of Timbuktu and the manuscripts of
Medieval Europe
The connection to manuscripts of Timbuktu and Medieval Europe was the same use of language. Latin was used for European medieval manuscripts, Arabic was the "African Latin" and was used in the Timbuktu manuscripts. Until the sixteenth century, Timbuktu was a flourishing city that attracted Islamic scholars and students for instruction at the Sankore mosque, an institution often compared to medieval European universities. But the importance of Timbuktu declined as a result of various local and international factors, including a shift in trade patterns between West Africa and Europe. These manuscripts influenced the manuscripts in Europe when they were traded.
Medieval Europe
The connection to manuscripts of Timbuktu and Medieval Europe was the same use of language. Latin was used for European medieval manuscripts, Arabic was the "African Latin" and was used in the Timbuktu manuscripts. Until the sixteenth century, Timbuktu was a flourishing city that attracted Islamic scholars and students for instruction at the Sankore mosque, an institution often compared to medieval European universities. But the importance of Timbuktu declined as a result of various local and international factors, including a shift in trade patterns between West Africa and Europe. These manuscripts influenced the manuscripts in Europe when they were traded.
The Lindisfarne Gospel
The Lindisfarne Gospel is an illuminated manuscript gospel book produced around the year 700 AD in a monastery off the coast of Northumberland at Lindisfarne and which is now on display in the British Library in London. The manuscript is one of the finest works in the unique style of Hiberno-Saxon or Insular art, combining Mediterranean, Anglo-Saxon and Celtic elements.
The Lindisfarne Gospel is an illuminated manuscript gospel book produced around the year 700 AD in a monastery off the coast of Northumberland at Lindisfarne and which is now on display in the British Library in London. The manuscript is one of the finest works in the unique style of Hiberno-Saxon or Insular art, combining Mediterranean, Anglo-Saxon and Celtic elements.
The Book of Kells
The Book of Kells (Trinity College Dublin MS 58) is celebrated for its lavish decoration. The manuscript contains the four Gospels in Latin based on a Vulgate text, written on vellum (prepared calfskin), in a bold and expert version of the script known as "insular majuscule".
The place of origin of the Book of Kells is generally attributed to the scriptorium of the monastery founded around 561 by St Colum Cille on Iona, an island off the west coast of Scotland. In 806, following a Viking raid on the island which left 68 of the community dead, the Columban monks took refuge in a new monastery at Kells, County Meath. It must have been close to the year 800 that the Book of Kells was written, although there is no way of knowing if the book was produced wholly at Iona or at Kells, or partially at each location.
It has been on display in the Old Library at Trinity College Dublin from the mid 19th century, and attracts over 500,000 visitors a year. Since 1953 it has been bound in four volumes. Two volumes are on public view, one opened to display a major decorated page, and one to show two pages of script. The volumes are changed at regular intervals.
The Book of Kells (Trinity College Dublin MS 58) is celebrated for its lavish decoration. The manuscript contains the four Gospels in Latin based on a Vulgate text, written on vellum (prepared calfskin), in a bold and expert version of the script known as "insular majuscule".
The place of origin of the Book of Kells is generally attributed to the scriptorium of the monastery founded around 561 by St Colum Cille on Iona, an island off the west coast of Scotland. In 806, following a Viking raid on the island which left 68 of the community dead, the Columban monks took refuge in a new monastery at Kells, County Meath. It must have been close to the year 800 that the Book of Kells was written, although there is no way of knowing if the book was produced wholly at Iona or at Kells, or partially at each location.
It has been on display in the Old Library at Trinity College Dublin from the mid 19th century, and attracts over 500,000 visitors a year. Since 1953 it has been bound in four volumes. Two volumes are on public view, one opened to display a major decorated page, and one to show two pages of script. The volumes are changed at regular intervals.
The Toledo Bible.
The Toledo manuscript was a 3-volume manuscript written as a gift from King Louis the 9th to his cousin who was the bishop of Toledo where they remain to this day. Also the St. Louis manuscript created in the first half of the 13th century and illuminated in France, given as a gift to Alfonso the 10th of Castile, it remains in Toledo in good condition.
The Toledo manuscript was a 3-volume manuscript written as a gift from King Louis the 9th to his cousin who was the bishop of Toledo where they remain to this day. Also the St. Louis manuscript created in the first half of the 13th century and illuminated in France, given as a gift to Alfonso the 10th of Castile, it remains in Toledo in good condition.
Books of Hours. ( a type of book)
The book of hours has its ultimate origin in the Psalter, which monks and nuns were required to recite. By the 12th century this had developed into the breviary, with weekly cycles of psalms, prayers, hymns, antiphons, and readings which changed with the liturgical season. Eventually a selection of texts was produced in much shorter volumes and came to be called a book of hours.
Many books of hours were made for women. Frequently they were passed down through the family, as recorded in wills.
Although the most heavily illuminated books of hours were enormously expensive, a small book with little or no illumination was affordable much more widely, and increasingly so during the 15th century. By the 15th century, there are also examples of servants owning their own Books of Hours. In a court case from 1500, a pauper woman is accused of stealing a domestic servant's prayer book.
Very rarely the books included prayers specifically composed for their owners, but more often the texts are adapted to their tastes or sex, including the inclusion of their names in prayers. Some include images depicting their owners, and some their coats of arms. These, together with the choice of saints commemorated in the calendar and suffrages, are the main clues for the identity of the first owner.
By the 15th century, various stationer's shops mass-produced books of hours in the Netherlands and France. By the end of the 15th century, the advance of printing made books more affordable and much of the emerging middle-class could afford to buy a printed book of hours.
The book of hours has its ultimate origin in the Psalter, which monks and nuns were required to recite. By the 12th century this had developed into the breviary, with weekly cycles of psalms, prayers, hymns, antiphons, and readings which changed with the liturgical season. Eventually a selection of texts was produced in much shorter volumes and came to be called a book of hours.
Many books of hours were made for women. Frequently they were passed down through the family, as recorded in wills.
Although the most heavily illuminated books of hours were enormously expensive, a small book with little or no illumination was affordable much more widely, and increasingly so during the 15th century. By the 15th century, there are also examples of servants owning their own Books of Hours. In a court case from 1500, a pauper woman is accused of stealing a domestic servant's prayer book.
Very rarely the books included prayers specifically composed for their owners, but more often the texts are adapted to their tastes or sex, including the inclusion of their names in prayers. Some include images depicting their owners, and some their coats of arms. These, together with the choice of saints commemorated in the calendar and suffrages, are the main clues for the identity of the first owner.
By the 15th century, various stationer's shops mass-produced books of hours in the Netherlands and France. By the end of the 15th century, the advance of printing made books more affordable and much of the emerging middle-class could afford to buy a printed book of hours.
The Klosterneuburg Altar
Verdun Altar, an important work of Romanesque enamel art (sunk enamel) on gilded copperplates, made in 1181 by order of provost Wernher of Klosterneuburg by the Lorraine enamel artist and goldsmith Nikolaus von Verdun (b. before 1150 Verdun, d. after 1205) as panelling for a pulpit parapet; after fire damage (1330), the 51 enamel panels were reassembled in 1331 to form a wing altar in three parts for the provost Stephans von Sierndorf, and 6 panels were restored in the style of the 12th century. At the same time 4 panel paintings by the artist were added to the rear sides of the Verdun altar; these are the oldest specimens of panel painting in Central Europe; the extensive inscriptions on the frame provide information on how the enamel panels were made and completed and what they depict: pictures from the Old and the New Testament representing the entire history of the Salvation. Today the Verdun Altar is displayed in the St. Leopold chapel (former chapter house) of Klosterneuburg Abbey and serves as an altar at the grave of Margrave Leopold III, while the panels of the rear side of the altar are exhibited in the abbey museum.
Verdun Altar, an important work of Romanesque enamel art (sunk enamel) on gilded copperplates, made in 1181 by order of provost Wernher of Klosterneuburg by the Lorraine enamel artist and goldsmith Nikolaus von Verdun (b. before 1150 Verdun, d. after 1205) as panelling for a pulpit parapet; after fire damage (1330), the 51 enamel panels were reassembled in 1331 to form a wing altar in three parts for the provost Stephans von Sierndorf, and 6 panels were restored in the style of the 12th century. At the same time 4 panel paintings by the artist were added to the rear sides of the Verdun altar; these are the oldest specimens of panel painting in Central Europe; the extensive inscriptions on the frame provide information on how the enamel panels were made and completed and what they depict: pictures from the Old and the New Testament representing the entire history of the Salvation. Today the Verdun Altar is displayed in the St. Leopold chapel (former chapter house) of Klosterneuburg Abbey and serves as an altar at the grave of Margrave Leopold III, while the panels of the rear side of the altar are exhibited in the abbey museum.
The Unicorn in Captivity (Tapestry)
The seven individual hangings known as "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 style of the tapestry is known as mille-fleurs. Translated to mean "thousand flowers," the technique involves embroidering numerous flowers and plants in the background. "The Unicorn in Captivity" may have been created as a single image rather than part of a series of seven. It is estimated that 15,000 people were involved in weaving the series.
The seven individual hangings known as "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 style of the tapestry is known as mille-fleurs. Translated to mean "thousand flowers," the technique involves embroidering numerous flowers and plants in the background. "The Unicorn in Captivity" may have been created as a single image rather than part of a series of seven. It is estimated that 15,000 people were involved in weaving the series.
The book of Durrow
The Book of Durrow is a 7th-century illuminated manuscript gospel book in the insular style. It was probably created between 650 and 700, in either Durrow or Northumbria in Northern England, where Lindisfarne or Durham would be the likely candidates, or on the island of Iona in the Scottish Inner Hebrides. The subject has been intensely debated by scholars for many decades, but without any common consensus emerging. Like the Book of Kells, if it was not always inIreland it was taken there, perhaps by monks fleeing the Viking attacks on Britain, and was certainly at Durrow Abbey by 916.
It is the oldest extant complete illuminated Insular gospel book, for example predating the Book of Kells by over a century. The text includes the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, plus several pieces of prefatory matter and canon tables. Its pages measure 245 by 145 mm and there are 248 vellum folios. It contains a large illumination programme including six extant carpet pages, a full page miniature of the four evangelists' symbols, four full page miniatures, each containing a single evangelist symbol, and six pages with significant decorated initials and text. It is written in majuscule insular script (in effect the block capitals of the day), with some lacunae.
The page size has been reduced by subsequent rebinding, and most leaves are now single when unbound, where many or most would originally have been in "bifolia" or folded pairs. It is clear that some pages have been inserted in the wrong places. The main significance of this is that it is unclear if there was originally a seventh carpet page. Now Matthew does not have one, but there is, most unusually, one as the last page in the book. Perhaps there were only ever six: one at the start of the book with a cross, one opposite the opposite the next page with the four symbols (as now), and one opposite each individual symbol at the start of each gospel. Otherwise the original programme of illumination seems to be complete, which is rare in manuscripts of this age.
The Book of Durrow is a 7th-century illuminated manuscript gospel book in the insular style. It was probably created between 650 and 700, in either Durrow or Northumbria in Northern England, where Lindisfarne or Durham would be the likely candidates, or on the island of Iona in the Scottish Inner Hebrides. The subject has been intensely debated by scholars for many decades, but without any common consensus emerging. Like the Book of Kells, if it was not always inIreland it was taken there, perhaps by monks fleeing the Viking attacks on Britain, and was certainly at Durrow Abbey by 916.
It is the oldest extant complete illuminated Insular gospel book, for example predating the Book of Kells by over a century. The text includes the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, plus several pieces of prefatory matter and canon tables. Its pages measure 245 by 145 mm and there are 248 vellum folios. It contains a large illumination programme including six extant carpet pages, a full page miniature of the four evangelists' symbols, four full page miniatures, each containing a single evangelist symbol, and six pages with significant decorated initials and text. It is written in majuscule insular script (in effect the block capitals of the day), with some lacunae.
The page size has been reduced by subsequent rebinding, and most leaves are now single when unbound, where many or most would originally have been in "bifolia" or folded pairs. It is clear that some pages have been inserted in the wrong places. The main significance of this is that it is unclear if there was originally a seventh carpet page. Now Matthew does not have one, but there is, most unusually, one as the last page in the book. Perhaps there were only ever six: one at the start of the book with a cross, one opposite the opposite the next page with the four symbols (as now), and one opposite each individual symbol at the start of each gospel. Otherwise the original programme of illumination seems to be complete, which is rare in manuscripts of this age.
Written in stone , the Cathedrals of Europe. Structure, image, message.
The Middle Ages were a period of intense cathedral building. Utilizing the ‘sacred geometry’ of Egypt, (via Greece, Rome and Spain), many Cathedrals were built across Europe. They were more than buildings, their very design incorporated religious and political messages. They were also the repositories of the arts. At a time when there were no museums or public art, no printed ads or electronic media images, which today permeate every sphere of our lives, the cathedrals contained paintings, sculptures, music and theater in the form of ritual. Their stained glass windows told Bible stories to an illiterate population, the sculptures of saints and demons created a palpable 3d presence of the otherworldly Festooned with icons and symbols the Cathedrals were the lively, interactive art centers of their time. They were also symbolic of the power of the church, in that they towered over the surrounding towns, which were mostly mud huts or low stone/brick buildings.
Today, they are dwarfed by surrounding insurance/bank skyscrapers, and the interiors, even when richly endowed, appear visually constrained and peaceful compared with the ‘visual noise’ of the modern world.
The Middle Ages were a period of intense cathedral building. Utilizing the ‘sacred geometry’ of Egypt, (via Greece, Rome and Spain), many Cathedrals were built across Europe. They were more than buildings, their very design incorporated religious and political messages. They were also the repositories of the arts. At a time when there were no museums or public art, no printed ads or electronic media images, which today permeate every sphere of our lives, the cathedrals contained paintings, sculptures, music and theater in the form of ritual. Their stained glass windows told Bible stories to an illiterate population, the sculptures of saints and demons created a palpable 3d presence of the otherworldly Festooned with icons and symbols the Cathedrals were the lively, interactive art centers of their time. They were also symbolic of the power of the church, in that they towered over the surrounding towns, which were mostly mud huts or low stone/brick buildings.
Today, they are dwarfed by surrounding insurance/bank skyscrapers, and the interiors, even when richly endowed, appear visually constrained and peaceful compared with the ‘visual noise’ of the modern world.
Romanesque.
Combining features of Western Roman and Byzantine buildings, Romanesque architecture is known by its massive quality, its thick walls, round arches, sturdy piers, groin vaults, large towers and decorative arcading. Each building has clearly defined forms and they are frequently of very regular, symmetrical plan so that the overall appearance is one of simplicity when compared with the Gothic buildings that were to follow. The style can be identified right across Europe, despite regional characteristics and different materials.
Combining features of Western Roman and Byzantine buildings, Romanesque architecture is known by its massive quality, its thick walls, round arches, sturdy piers, groin vaults, large towers and decorative arcading. Each building has clearly defined forms and they are frequently of very regular, symmetrical plan so that the overall appearance is one of simplicity when compared with the Gothic buildings that were to follow. The style can be identified right across Europe, despite regional characteristics and different materials.
Early Gothic.
The Early Gothic building was erected using sandstone or limestone and decorated with dark green marble.
The Romanesque circular arch design was surpassed by the pointed arches here. Rose windows, which were stained glass circular windows, also came into light. The solid appearance seems to have been thrown out the window as columns were used more frequently in clusters rather than solid walls probably to let in more light and achieve a more spacious look.
The Early Gothic building was erected using sandstone or limestone and decorated with dark green marble.
The Romanesque circular arch design was surpassed by the pointed arches here. Rose windows, which were stained glass circular windows, also came into light. The solid appearance seems to have been thrown out the window as columns were used more frequently in clusters rather than solid walls probably to let in more light and achieve a more spacious look.
High Gothic
This 13th-century style canonized proportions and shapes from early Gothic and developed them further to achieve light, yet tall and majestic structures.
The wall structure was modified from four to only three tiers: arcade, triforium, and clerestory. Piers coronations were smaller to avoid stopping the visual upward thrust.
The clerestorey windows changed from one window in each segment, holed in the wall, to two windows united by a small rose window.
The rib vault changed from six to four ribs. The flying buttresses matured, and after they were embraced at Notre-Dame de Paris andNotre-Dame de Chartres, they became the canonical way to support high walls, as they served both structural and ornamental purposes.
This 13th-century style canonized proportions and shapes from early Gothic and developed them further to achieve light, yet tall and majestic structures.
The wall structure was modified from four to only three tiers: arcade, triforium, and clerestory. Piers coronations were smaller to avoid stopping the visual upward thrust.
The clerestorey windows changed from one window in each segment, holed in the wall, to two windows united by a small rose window.
The rib vault changed from six to four ribs. The flying buttresses matured, and after they were embraced at Notre-Dame de Paris andNotre-Dame de Chartres, they became the canonical way to support high walls, as they served both structural and ornamental purposes.
Late Gothic.
Late Gothic architecture saw the erection of high-ceilinged buildings that soared heavenward. Gothic painting and sculpture was religious in nature and most often found on the outside or inside of a Gothic cathedral. Stone cathedrals are considered the crowning artistic achievement of the Gothic period of art. Sometimes requiring 100 years to construct, these churches were meant to glorify God with their soaring heights and breathtaking stained glass windows. By the late Gothic period, the buildings' flying buttresses (the support systems that allowed the soaring heights) enabled the cathedral walls to contain more and more stained glass windows, which became exquisitely detailed images of the life of Christ and other Biblical themes.
Late Gothic architecture saw the erection of high-ceilinged buildings that soared heavenward. Gothic painting and sculpture was religious in nature and most often found on the outside or inside of a Gothic cathedral. Stone cathedrals are considered the crowning artistic achievement of the Gothic period of art. Sometimes requiring 100 years to construct, these churches were meant to glorify God with their soaring heights and breathtaking stained glass windows. By the late Gothic period, the buildings' flying buttresses (the support systems that allowed the soaring heights) enabled the cathedral walls to contain more and more stained glass windows, which became exquisitely detailed images of the life of Christ and other Biblical themes.
Medieval religious illuminated manuscripts have used graphics extensively. Among these books are the Gospel books of Insular art, created in the monasteries of the British Isles. 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 graphics in these books are influenced by the Animal style of the "barbarian" peoples of Northern Europe, with much use of interlace and geometric decoration. These manuscripts have paved a path for type designers and illustrators and animators and even today’s calligraphers. From the binding of books, layout design, the calligraphy in the use of the computer graphic software, all designers have pulled inspiration and carried these elements to a higher standard. Medieval architecture have also been a great influence today. Such elements like the small details and features of the cathedrals can be seen on our houses and other buildings in Barbados. They also influence our way of drawing buildings in illustrations to ignite emotions and wonderful perspectives.
Barbados Chattel house have some elements from the cathedrals, such as the lengthy shape and the triangular roofing. Also, the addition of the symbols in the centre of that triangular wall at the front. Modern churches still have the element of intimidating height which the gothic cathedral portrayed perfectly.
Barbados Chattel house have some elements from the cathedrals, such as the lengthy shape and the triangular roofing. Also, the addition of the symbols in the centre of that triangular wall at the front. Modern churches still have the element of intimidating height which the gothic cathedral portrayed perfectly.