The Magnificent Making of Medieval Manuscripts

Origins 

The first creators of illuminated manuscripts were Christian monks in the medieval period. The Latin source words of the term suggest their function and facture: ‘illuminare’, to light up or illuminate, ‘manus’, hand, and ‘scriptus’, writing. The manuscripts, largely being written in Latin, was primarily for the elite classes like the wealthy, monks, nuns, and clerics who could read Latin. The images painted on the pages of the manuscripts would have been a sort of portal to the objects of prayer and devotion and an aide to remembering key biblical stories and exemplarity saints.  

While monks were the initial creators and among the main consumers of illuminated manuscripts, from the twelfth century manuscripts became increasingly popular and important due to the rise of universities and the ever-growing merchant class, leading to new jobs and increased monetary value. This new interest in manuscripts came with some distinct improvements in both the way these manuscripts were created but also what was included in them. Book-selling became a popular and widespread occupation and its practitioners would have employed various specialists to create a single manuscript. The first and probably most significant aspect was that manuscripts started to be written in the common language of the country in which they were being created. The replacement of traditional Latin with the common tongue allowed for an even larger range of people to follow the text of manuscripts. Along with the growth of universities, this also encouraged an interest in a greater variety of genres. 

Parts of the Whole: What Went into Making a Manuscript 

Creating an illuminated manuscript required not only skilled knowledge, but also specific materials. There were four steps: the making of vellum or parchment; the writing of each page; the addition of illuminated miniatures; and lastly the binding of all the pages together. In smaller monasteries, one monk would have done most of this highly skilled work. However, in larger monasteries, and when book-sellers became popular, there would have been specialists for each of the four steps, which enabled them to sharpen their skills.  

The first step in creating an illuminated manuscript was the preparation of parchment or vellum. Parchment was created from sheep or lamb skins while vellum was created from calf skin and was generally more refined and costly, although they were produced in the same way. The animal’s pelts would have been soaked in a lime and water mixture to remove the fur; it was then stretched and scraped with blades in order to provide the cleanest and smoothest surface. Over the following days or weeks, workmen would have adjusted the tension and repeated the scraping process until the pelts had dried and could be used as either vellum or parchment.

Fig. 1

Once the vellum or parchment was finished, the next step would be to write the content. Before anything could be written, lines were first drawn. This would have been done by a ‘rubricator’ who drew the lines across the pages to guide the scribes’ hand. You can see evidence of this in Figs 1 and 2.

If you look in the upper left-hand corners of the leaf there are visible marks which would have been created by the rubricator. Once the rubricator was finished, scribes would start writing, using black, green, red, or even blue ink. Scribes held one of the most important roles in the creation of an illuminated manuscript. Not only did they provide the text, but they also intentionally left spaces for the illuminator to later add artwork.   

Once the writing of the leaves in the manuscript was finished, two important steps could take place. Illuminators would paint delicately detailed miniature on a leaf of the manuscript, predominantly depicting religious scenes. Once the required miniatures were painted the next step of adding gold and silver could begin. Illuminators would have painted with a variety of colours that were derived from natural materials like plants, minerals, or chemically produced colourants.

Once an illuminator had chosen their pigment colours, they would mix them with egg white to create a type of paint called tempera. When the miniatures were dry, the addition of either gold or silver embellishments could begin. There were main forms of adding silver or gold to illuminate the page.

Fig. 2

The first was painting it on in a liquid form. While this would have been an easier process, the illuminated aspects of the miniature would have been a dull shine rather than a magnificent gleam. To create a more magnificent gleam, the illuminator would have used burnished gold or silver leaf. This process was much more complicated, but it gave a much better look. The first step in the process was to put down a mordant, or a glue-like substance likely made from sap. Illuminators would have then delicately laid on thin sheets of either silver or gold leaf, leaving a brightly gleaming surface. While the first way of adding the illumination would have been easier, the more popular and more spectacular way of adding the illumination was using gold or silver leaf with a gluelike substance. It would have been a significantly longer as well as harder process to place the gold or silver in just the right spot, but once the gold or silver leaf was applied and dry, it would have been polished until it was shiny. 

The last step in making an illuminated manuscript was the binding process. This process would have been done by a specialist called a litgator. Bindings would have been relatively simple and more for protection rather than for beauty. The outer cover would have been made from wooden panels covered in vellum or leather as a protective measure. While bindings would have been simple, there were some decorative aspects to them. A blind-tool would be used to stamp lines, flowers, and other simple motifs into the leather. This would have been done before the vellum or leather was dried and applied to the wooden cover. While the wood and leather cover would have been sufficient protection for smaller illuminated manuscripts, larger illuminated manuscripts needed more protection. Small metal bosses could be attached to the corners of larger manuscripts.

The Importance of Colour: How Colour Changes What We See 

Colour plays a significant role in our lives today, and colour was equally important in the medieval period as can be seen in illuminated manuscripts. Colours came with different meanings or connotations in the medieval period. White meant truth and purity, red was known for the power of the Holy Spirit, green was seen as new life and blue was known for meaning the divine or the unknown. This, of course, would have varied between context, countries, and religions, however, focusing on the manuscripts predominantly within the Christian faith, these meanings would have been wildly acknowledged.

Fig. 3

The predominant use of blue can be seen in Fig. 3 with its deep blue surrounding most of the miniature. While colour held important meanings, it was also important to understand where these pigments would have come from and how they were used. Pigments would have been found in plants, natural minerals, rocks and sediments, bugs or the combination of many of these unique ingredients. The inks monks and eventually book-sellers used to write the manuscripts had very specific recipes that would not only be tested for longevity but also for colour. Similarly, all the colours and paints used in creating the miniatures came from nature or natural chemical reactions. Natural pigments like lapis lazuli would have been crushed into a powder and mixed with egg white to form a paint. This vivid blue colour can be seen in Fig. 3 and shows an excellent example of the value of colour and how colour changes what we see.  

Kate Jenkins

Image List 

Further Reading