Art 101: Illuminated Manuscripts

Welcome to the second topic in our Art 101 series – Illuminated manuscripts.

Today we will be taking a whistle-stop tour through the history of  illuminated manuscripts across Europe from the 8th to 15th centuries.

What is an Illuminated manuscript?

An illuminated manuscript is a hand-written collection of leaves, pages or vellum, usually bound into a book, which is decorated by the use of intricately inked letters and images (called illuminations). The word manuscript comes from the Latin manu (hand) and scriptus (written). These surviving manuscripts are more than just objects – they are spectacular works of art which tell us a lot about innovation and evolution of creative styles through this time period.

The tradition of illuminated manuscripts is a long one, and mainly began with religious written material in Western Europe. The printing press had existed in rudimentary forms, but the moveable type printing press that revolutionised book creation across the world was only invented in the mid 1400s by Johannes Gutenberg.

As such, prior to this date, books had to be written and decorated painstakingly by hand, which was an expensive and time consuming process. Only very important works were deemed worthy of copying, and as such, in the religious western society, early illuminated manuscripts tend to be gospel books for display in churches and cathedrals.

4th to 6th Centuries

In the first millennium, gospel books were the most commonly found types of manuscripts. Usually written in Latin, these books were comprised of pages made of vellum, calf skin which had been stretched, dried and prepared for illumination.

The earliest surviving examples of illuminated manuscripts date from around the years 400 – 600 and are found in what used to be the Eastern Roman Empire, in what was the Ostrogoth’s kingdom. The Ostrogothic kingdom, later known as the Kingdom of Italy, rose to power under Theodoric the Great at the beginning of the 6th century.

Examples of manuscripts from this time include the Codex Argenteus and the Rossano Gospels, pictured below, which are both very striking in their own ways.

The Codex Argenteus

The Rossano Gospels

The Codex Argentus (Latin for “silver book”) is renowned for its pages which are dyed a rich purple colour, which would have signified importance and inspired awe due to the expense and rarity of the pigment, and for its gold and silver lettering, an adventure in opulence. It is one of the oldest surviving copies of the Old Testament.

The Rossano Gospels are similarly impressive with its figurative drawings and dark pages. These gospels tell the stories of the life of Christ through the writers Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

7th to 9th Centuries

The 7th to the 9th centuries brought great strides and developments in insular art, that is, art from Island nations (usually with reference to the Celtic nations of Scotland, Ireland, and parts of France). In this period we see a lot of Celtic manuscripts.

These manuscripts differ slightly from those before them in that their figures, which are less present, tend to be stylised when they do appear. In these manuscripts the emphasis is on letter, pattern and intricate design, often resplendent with Celtic knot and latticework, with zoomorphic (animal), anthropomorphic (human) and botanical (plants and flowers) designs repeated throughout.

One of the most famous surviving examples of this era is the Book of Kells, now housed in Trinity College, Dublin. This book is a 9th century gospel book and contains both full page illuminations, such as the famous Chi Rho page (the first letters of Christ in Ancient Greek),  and also pages of text with illuminated primary letters.

The Book of Kells

The Chi-Rho page of the Book of Kells

10th to 14th Centuries

A popular form of illuminated manuscript which appeared in the 10th to 13th centuries, particularly in France, was the breviary, and later the Book of Hours.

Breviaries were Christian liturgical books of canonical prayers which were similar to the Psalters that nuns and monks had previously used. These breviaries, similar to the books of hours which followed, would have contained calendar pages denoting important feast and prayer days, and have had beautifully illustrated pages of prayers, designed to give a visual aid to the person reading it as they attended religious ceremonies or meditated on their own religious intentions.

One of the most famous examples of these Breviaries is the Belleville Breviary, created between 1323 and 1326 by the artist Jean Pucelle.

Calendar page of the Belleville Breviary

Illuminated page of the Belleville Breviary

Books of Hours had a similar function, in that they were personal prayer books, used mostly by wealthy laypeople, in the comfort of their own homes for domestic services and daily prayers. These books were some of the most heavily decorated ever created and some, such as the very famous Les Tres Riches Heures de Duc de Berry, show buildings and landscapes from Paris and France, which are relevant to their patrons, as well as showing religious scenes.

By including symbols of patrons and contemporary events, these books forged a connection with their audience, who could engage with the religious meanings of the prayers and biblical stories, in a way that was relative and similar to the life that they were experiencing.

Examples of pages from the Tres Riches Heures

Images on Books of Hours were often humorous or cheeky. A common theme in these images is working – this follows the Labours of the Months, which were common chores or labours which were completed at different parts of the year by medieval society, a pre-arranged schedule of work.

The Labours of the Months

14th to 16th centuries

Just before the printing press became popular and changed the way in which books were created, illuminated manuscripts shifted to encompass a secular trend alongside religious books.

In the 14th century, and indeed as late as the 16th century in some countries, illuminated manuscripts were used to replicate, reproduce and distribute novels. Often authors and and illuminators sought to work together to create the most beautiful and uniquely decorated works for their wealthy patrons.

For example, The Book of the City of Ladies or Le Livre de la Cité des Dames finished by 1405 by Christine de Pizan, one of the only renowned female authors of this time period, shows intricately decorated pages showing scenes which we would refer to today as being quite feminist – showing women working together to build a better world.

Illumination from Christine de Pizan’s The Book of the City of Women

The book is written as a formal response to Jean de Meun’s popular book Roman de la Rose and it’s treatment of women.

Moveable type revolution

Upon the perfection and invention of the moveable type printing press in Europe, books became more widely accessible, as they no longer had to be written painstakingly by hand, and could be reproduced many times from one plate.

Early printed books, such as the Gutenberg Bible of the 1450’s, however, still ascribed to the same decorative style as earlier books, keeping the same flourishing text and small in text decorations or mechanical illuminations, and were often still hand-finished or hand coloured.

Page from the Gutenberg Bible

Nowadays, we have the ability to reproduce books and images in colour almost instantaneously, but we still have the ability to appreciate the awe and beauty of these intricate and exquisitely decorated pieces of history which can be found in national museums and libraries throughout the world.

No matter how many e-readers, tablets or computers we develop, I think there will always be something quite special about a physical book that will keep drawing us back in!