This virtual library provides access to over 250 Medieval codices held in the Abbey Library of St. Codices Electronici Sangallenses – Virtual Library This site should be particularly useful for those pursuing Medieval and Early Modern Art History, Literature, and Music. Each manuscript page can be viewed in three sizes, which allows users to view details with very high resolution. The manuscripts are listed according to century and country of origin, allowing for easy navigation. Bodleian Library – Images of Manuscripts (Oxford University)Ĭreated by the Bodleian Library of Oxford University, this site offers access to over 1000 images of illuminated manuscripts dating from the 11th to the 17th century. Included are clearly written explanations, an integrated glossary, and a bibliography of relevant sources. When they do go out on display, it is usually only for short periods of time, in order to avoid damage by light, air, and temperature changes.Easy to navigate, this excellent site presents useful background information on several aspects of the Medieval manuscript: patronage, use, production, format, typology, and illumination. If they are unbound, book pages are kept in individual window mats, in temperature-controlled rooms. Museums have to be very careful how they store the books. Perhaps it’s no surprise that illuminated manuscripts are very fragile, given their age, the delicacy and the value of the materials used to make them. They Are Very Fragile today Open page from an Arabic Islamic illuminated manuscript dating roughly 1747, via Invaluable This means few of the surviving examples of illuminated manuscripts held in museums today are 100 percent intact.ĥ. Robbers ripped off book covers, tore out pages, or cut out individual letters with particularly indulgent and precious detailing. Unfortunately, given the value embedded into their covers and pages, illuminated manuscripts were targeted by thieves throughout the centuries. Sadly, Many Illuminated Manuscripts Fell Victim to Theft Front cover for an illuminated manuscript, featuring passages of gold, ivory, and previous jewels, via the Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Braunschweig, Germany
Artisans Made Them in Different Sizes Page from a miniature Book of Hours dating from 15th century Italy, via Abe BooksĤ. This stunning book contains more than 160 different animal species, including birds, snakes and mammals.ģ. One incredible example is the Westminster Abbey Bestiary, dating roughly 1275-1290 CE. Naturally, these secular, factual subjects lent themselves well to the highly detailed illustrations we associate with illuminated texts. Others took a secular form, illustrating plants, beasts, maps, or even constellations and astrological predictions. Some monks made a type of illuminated text called a ‘Book of Hours’, with a list of hourly devotional prayers. While it’s true that many medieval, illuminated manuscripts contained Biblical stories, this wasn’t their only role. They Contained Stories, Prayers and Even Addresses Westminster Abbey Bestiary, 1275-1290, from Westminster Abbey, via We can see this in the stunning Book of Durrow, made in Ireland, made between 650-700 CE, adorned with Celtic knotwork and animal motifs.Ģ. Makers had to painstakingly write out every letter by hand, while finely detailed areas of decoration and accompanying illustrations demonstrate many, many hours of dedicated hard work. This solid cover sometimes featured gold, ivory and jewels. They then hand sewed them together and bound them with a solid, leather cover. Skilled artisans made book pages from calf, sheep or goatskin. This made them highly desirable and expensive objects. The entire process involved in making illuminated manuscripts was lengthy, costly, and incredibly time-consuming. Illuminated Manuscripts Took a Long Time to Make Page from the Book of Durrow, 650-700 CE, via The New Liturgical Movement
0 kommentar(er)
