The Art of the Book

We look at the darkest period in humans life, we can say the spread of pestilence and plague, darkness and fear, witch hunts and illiteracy.In this types of ambiance hidden in the scriptoria of cold monasteries, under the light of indurable oil lamps, mittened against the biting cold, some of the greatest book designers that ever lived, formed some of the most beautiful books the world has ever seen.The colophons of the their works are testimony to their short lives because most of the book that they worked upon were only completed in several of their brief lifetimes,one scribe replacing the other over decades.We can call these beautiful books Illuminated Manuscripts.

The Scriptorium

A scriptorium was a room devoted to the hand lettered copying of manuscripts.Before the invention of printing by moveable type, a scriptorium was a normal adjunct to a library.In the monasteries,the scriptorium was a room,rarely a building,set apart for the professional copying of manuscripts.

Techniques

Illumination was a complex and frequently costly process.In order to make an illuminated manuscript, in the beginning the text should be written.Sheets of parchment or vellum,animal hides specially prepared for writing, were cut down to the appropriate size.When the text was complete, the illustrator set to work.

Insular/Celtic Manuscripts

Insular manuscripts were written  in uncial or half uncial scripts and were the first manuscripts to introduce spaces between words to make it easier to read.Three forms of decoration are commonly found in insular manuscripts:ornamented borders enclosing full page illustrations; ornate initials used for beginning of gospels and  important passages:and carpet pages, which are full pages of decorative designs.

Ottonian manuscripts

The Ottonian style is associated with the courts of the Saxon emperors.Gospel books, pericopes and Apocolypse were popular than entire bibles. Ottonian manuscripts were influenced by Byzantium,featuring the  use of burnished gold backgrounds and large eyed figure in rigid, hieratic poses.

Carolingian Manuscript

The Carolingian style is associate with the court of Charlemagne who set out to revive book design and production.In this period manuscripts were made for imperial and aristocratic use as well as for ecclesiastical use.

Romanesque manuscripts

The Romanesque style, which dates from the year 1000,was an international rather than a national style and examples of Romanesque manuscripts come from a wide geographical area.During this period a wider variety of books produced,including large Bibles and commentaries, lives of Saints,theological works,missals and Psalters as well as Gospels.

Gothic manuscripts

The Gothic style dates from around 1150AD and like the Romanesque was an international style.The rise of universities and cathedral schools led to an increased demand for books of all kinds.During the Gothic period books became smaller and more delicate,with increased integration between illustrations and text.Generally there was less text on page,with blank spaces in lines of text being filled with decorative bars.Illustrations were sometimes combined with borders and marginal sketches and grotesques were reintroduced.

The Book of Hours

A Book of Hours is the most common type of surviving medieval illuminated manuscript.Each Book of Hours is unique.The Books of Hours were composed for use by lay people who wished to incorporate elements of monasticism into their devotional life.