Wanna Go Deeper into Illuminated Manuscripts?

Here are some ideas and questions to help you and your students delve into Illuminated Manuscripts at a whole new level:

1. Check out this quote from Gardner’s Art Through the Ages and then compare the Hiberno-Saxon (post-Roman era of Great Britain and Ireland) illuminated manuscripts, like the Book of Kells to the Mediterranean-style ones, Like the Codex Amiatinus. (both pictured above) How is the style the same or different? Which style is the Stammheim Missal made in?

“Even while Hiberno-Saxon art prevailed in Ireland, Scotland, and Northumbria, other monastic foundations in England were copying Mediterranean prototypes. Naturally, the ascendancy of the Roman church would be expressed in manuscripts from the Mediterranean area, and wherever the Roman orthodoxy was accepted, an orthodox style of manuscript illumination had to follow. The contrast between the two very different styles is particularly striking in juxtaposition. “The Scribe Ezra Rewriting the Sacred Records” from the Codex Amiatinus was copied from an Italian manuscript, the Codex Grandior of Cassiodorus, early in the eighth century by an illuminator with Italian training acquired in some Anglo-Saxon monastery.” 

Gardner’s Art Through the Ages

2. Read this section of State of the Arts by Gene Edward Veith, Jr (chapter 4) and then discuss with your students Veith’s main question: “What place do these creatures of sheer fantasy have in the art of Christendom?”

Pure, nonrepresentational design also flourished in the Middle Ages, as in the tapestries and illuminated manuscripts. The illuminated manuscripts, besides the ornate calligraphy, included pictures of Bible stories, scenes from everyday life, symbolic tableaux, and, surprisingly, creatures of sheer fancy—half-human and half-animal figures, fabulous beasts, comical-looking creatures, gargoyles that gape across the sacred page. Such grotesque and humorous figures form the waterspouts of the great cathedrals, and they pop up in other unlikely places.

What place do these creatures of sheer fantasy have in the art of Christendom? It has been suggested that they symbolized vices or other philosophical truths, but this explains their meaning rather than their form. I would suggest that they represent a tradition that is both Biblically grounded and aesthetically important. As we shall see, the Ten Commandments warn against making “any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth” (Exodus 20:4 RSV). If this restricts imitation, the depiction of forms that already exist, it encourages creativity, the imagining of forms that do not exist. The commandment may temper the “realistic” impulse, but in doing so it makes room for “likenesses” of things that are not in heaven or earth or water. Making up a monster, rearranging physical details and structures of nature into new and terrifying or amusing combinations, is the equivalent of abstract art, rearranging geometrical forms and colors into aesthetically pleasing combinations.

The Biblical tradition seems uniquely hospitable to radical fiction, to purely fantastical works that make no pretense of being real, but that exist as what Tolkien describes as subcreations of the human imagination. Authors who have tried to be explicitly Christian in their works have often favored the genre of fantasy. Consider Edmund Spenser, John Bunyan, George MacDonald, J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Madeleine L’Engle, and others. This literary tradition began in the Middle Ages with the tales of knights, allegorical fantasies, and fairy tales.

Gene Edward Veith, Jr in State of the Arts

3. Investigate the leaf gilding in medieval and Contemporary period (1960s or 70s until now) art. You can buy a simple metal leaf gilding kit at Blick or Amazon: Dick Blick’s Gold Leaf kit with helpful video.

4. Research how parchment is made from animal skins. Here’s a video we liked to get you started: How parchment is made (Middlebury College)

5. Read up on how ink was made in the medieval period (from tree galls and charcoal). 

Cool Quotes About Illuminated Manuscripts

• “It should be understood that in medieval eyes an artist was simply a craftsman, his activities having little to do with the twentieth-century notions of self-expression, individual genius and ‘artistic temperament’ that nowadays cling to his profession.” ― Janet Backhouse, The Illuminated manuscript
  • Janet Backhouse’s observation reminds us that medieval artists were valued for their craftsmanship rather than individual expression. This perspective helps students appreciate the collective and devotional nature of illuminated manuscripts, highlighting the blend of artistry and meticulous skill that defined this era.
• “Because medieval artists tried to convey meanings rather than appearances, they were relatively uninterested in the canons of “realism.” Instead they preferred rich symbolism, golden back-grounds, two-dimensional perspectives, and stylized figures, all of which give medieval art an “other-worldly” flavor. Medieval artists were attempting to portray eternity.” – Gene Edward Veith, Jr in State of the Arts
  • It’s important to remember that medieval artists prioritized symbolism over realism, opting for stylized forms and two-dimensional perspectives to convey spiritual and eternal themes in their art.
• “With hordes of pillagers looting and razing cities of the former Roman Empire, monasteries were all that stood between Western Europe and total chaos. Here monks and nuns copied manuscripts, keeping alive both the art of illustration in particular and Western civilization in general.” – Carol Strickland, The Annotated Mona Lisa
  • Carol Strickland’s insight underscores the crucial role monasteries played in preserving Western civilization during turbulent times. By copying manuscripts, monks and nuns not only safeguarded the art of illustration but also maintained the continuity of cultural and intellectual heritage. This emphasizes the profound impact of their dedication on the survival and flourishing of medieval art and knowledge.
• The Hiberno-Saxon illuminated manuscripts combine Irish and Anglo-Saxon motifs… An ornamental “carpet” page … is an exquisite example of Hiberno-Saxon art at its best. Here, the craft of intricate ornamental patterning… is manifested in a tightly compacted design. Serpentine interlacements of fantastic animals devour each other, curling over and returning on their writhing, elastic shapes. The rhythm of expanding and contracting forms produces a most vivid effect of motion and change—a palpable rippling, as on the surface of a rapids. … The motifs are placed in detailed symmetries, with inversions, reversals, and repetitions that must be studied closely to appreciate not so much their variety as their mazelike complexity. The zoomorphic forms are intermingled with clusters and knots of line, and the whole design pulses and vibrates like an electromagnetic energy field. – Gardner’s Art Through the Ages
  • Gardner’s depiction of Hiberno-Saxon illuminated manuscripts highlights the extraordinary craftsmanship and vibrant energy of these medieval artworks. The intricate and dynamic designs showcase remarkable attention to detail and creativity, providing a fascinating study of how artists combined cultural motifs to produce visually captivating pieces. This serves as an excellent example for students to understand the complexity and innovation present in medieval art.