It is not technically an illuminated manuscript because it makes no use of gold, silver, or any colored illustrations but it is the oldest European work which uses decorated capital letters to begin each page - a practice which would come to define illuminated manuscripts. The earliest illuminated manuscript is the Vergilius Augusteus of the 4th century CE which exists in seven pages of what must have been a much larger book of Virgil's works. The word book comes from the Old English boc meaning 'a written document' or 'written sheet' and the texts produced on vellum in time came to be decorated with flourishes and illustrations. The vellum works of Europe became the standard definition of a book for centuries. Just as the sailor yearns for port, the writer longs for the last line” (37). Scholar Giulia Bologna notes how many manuscripts include small notations written in the margins such as “This page was not copied slowly”, “I don't feel well today”, “This parchment is certainly hairy” and a long observation regarding having to sit for hours hunched over a writing table: “Three fingers write, but the entire body toils. It is clear, from brief comments written on some pages, that the monks were not always happy about their duties. A scriptore-monk was expected to show up for work no matter the weather, their state of health, or interest in a project. The work was long and tedious, carried out in the silence of rooms lit only by narrow windows which were cold in winter and sultry in warmer weather. Monks wrote with quill pens and boiled iron, tree bark, and nuts to make black ink other ink colors were produced by grinding and boiling different natural chemicals and plants. The text was written first in black ink (or gold or another appropriate color for the subject) between the ruled lines on the page and then would be given to another monk to proofread for errors this second monk – or perhaps a third – would then add titles in blue or red ink and then pass the page on to the illuminator who would add images, color, and the requisite gold illumination. The pages of the Codex Argenteus were dyed purple, to denote the elevated subject matter, and the work was written & illustrated in silver & gold ink. One monk rarely worked on a page to completion but rather traded with others in the room. The director would make sure that the monks remained at work, quietly, and continued until their pages were done. Scribes worked only in the day and could not have candles or lamps near the manuscripts for fear of fire. Monks were involved in every aspect of a book's production from processing the vellum to the final product.Ī director would distribute pages to be done to the monks in the room and then remain to supervise and maintain the rule of silence. The scriptorium was a large room with wooden chairs and writing tables which angled upwards to hold manuscript pages. From the 5th to the 13th century CE monasteries were the sole producers of books. Some books no doubt arrived with the monks who came to live there but most were produced at the site by monks known as scriptores in rooms called scriptoriums. Initially, however, they were made by monks in monasteries, abbeys, and priories probably first in Ireland and then Britain and the continent.Įvery monastery was required to have a library according to the rules of St. Manuscript_nerd (CC BY) HOW THEY WERE MADEĪs books became more popular, they were produced by secular merchants and sold in books stalls and stores. Paper would not be accepted by Europeans until the 11th century. Paper and papyrus were considered un-Christian by the medieval church and their use was discouraged as these materials had been used by pagan writers in the past and were used by “heathens” of the east at this time. European monks favored vellum and this became their standard material for the works which would become known as illuminated manuscripts. Parchment made of calfskin was called vellum, was of much higher quality as a writing surface, and so became more popular. The Chinese had been using paper for almost a century when people in Asia Minor developed writing surfaces made of animal hides (sheep or goats) which were soaked in water, scraped to remove hair, stretched on wooden frames to dry, and then bleached with lime the finished product became known as parchment. In Europe, however, the acceptance of paper was still centuries away. Muslim artisans decorated their books with elaborate borders and illustrations and these are often defined as illuminated manuscripts. They also made extensive copies of western philosophers like Aristotle (384-322 BCE) which preserved many of his works long before they were appreciated in the west.
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