![]() ![]() A very few illuminated fragments also survive on papyrus. These pages were then bound into books, called codices (singular: codex). Most medieval manuscripts, illuminated or not, were written on parchment or vellum. While Islamic manuscripts can also be called illuminated and use essentially the same techniques, comparable Far Eastern and Mesoamerican works are described as painted. The majority of extant manuscripts are from the Middle Ages, although many survive from the Renaissance, along with a very limited number from late antiquity. Examples include the Codex Argenteus and the Rossano Gospels, both of which are from the 6th century. The earliest extant illuminated manuscripts come from the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths and the Eastern Roman Empire and date from between 400 and 600 CE. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, the practice continued into secular texts from the 13th century onward and typically include proclamations, enrolled bills, laws, charters, inventories and deeds. The decoration of this page from a French Book of Hours, ca.Various examples of pages from illuminated manuscriptsĪn illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Indeed, for many areas and time periods, they are the only surviving examples of painting. They are also the best surviving specimens of medieval painting, and the best preserved. Manuscripts are among the most common items to survive from the Middle Ages many thousands survive. Illuminated manuscripts continued to be produced in the early 16th century, but in much smaller numbers, mostly for the very wealthy. Very early printed books were sometimes produced with spaces left for rubrics and miniatures, or were given illuminated initials, or decorations in the margin, but the introduction of printing rapidly led to the decline of illumination. ![]() ![]() Most medieval manuscripts, illuminated or not, were written on parchment (most commonly of calf, sheep, or goat skin), but most manuscripts important enough to illuminate were written on the best quality of parchment, called vellum.īeginning in the late Middle Ages manuscripts began to be produced on paper. A very few illuminated manuscript fragments survive on papyrus, which does not last nearly as long as vellum or parchment. Most illuminated manuscripts were created as codices, which had superseded scrolls. However, especially from the 13th century onward, an increasing number of secular texts were illuminated. The majority of these manuscripts are of a religious nature. The majority of surviving manuscripts are from the Middle Ages, although many illuminated manuscripts survive from the Renaissance, along with a very limited number from Late Antiquity. Illumination of manuscripts, as a way of aggrandizing ancient documents, aided their preservation and informative value in an era when new ruling classes were no longer literate. Had it not been for the monastic scribes of Late Antiquity, most literature of Greece and Rome would have perished in Europe as it was, the patterns of textual survivals were shaped by their usefulness to the severely constricted literate group of Christians. The significance of these works lies not only in their inherent art historical value, but in the maintenance of a link of literacy offered by non-illuminated texts as well. The earliest surviving substantive illuminated manuscripts are from the period AD 400 to 600, initially produced in Italy and the Eastern Roman Empire. Islamic manuscripts may be referred to as illuminated, illustrated or painted, though using essentially the same techniques as Western works. Comparable Far Eastern works are always described as painted, as are Mesoamerican works. In the most strict 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. In the strictest definition of illuminated manuscript, only manuscripts with gold or silver, like this miniature of Christ in Majesty from the Aberdeen Bestiary (folio 4v), would be considered illuminated.Īn 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. ![]()
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