To cope with the increased demand the production of a manuscript was often undertaken by a team of specialists.
īy the late medieval period the ownership of books increased enormously and powerful and wealthy individuals owned books and towards the end of the period even less wealthy individuals, such as doctors, owned them. During the Romanesque period (conveniently 1049-1180) there was no centre of production and manuscript illumination was a truly international activity. These masters were called illuminators (Latin illuminatores) and their job was to embellish manuscripts by painting and drawing. In the early Middle Ages the scribe, as well as writing the text, generally decorated the pages and illuminated the initial letters but for the historiated initials and larger illustrations an experienced master of miniature painting was usually employed. In fact illuminated manuscripts are the major form of medieval graphic art as the paintings they contain outnumber panel paintings many times over. The technical problems of illumination therefore centre on the use of gold but the broader problems of the complete manuscript production will be mentioned first to put them in context.Īlthough it is impossible to define exact dates the illuminated manuscript was an important object throughout Western Europe for over a thousand years from about the fourth century to its high point in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Strictly speaking an illuminated book required the use of gold or silver to ‘light up’ the page in fact the term is derived from the Latin illuminare, ‘light up’ or ‘brighten’. The illumination of manuscripts involved embellishing vellum-manuscript books with painted pictures, ornamented letters and geometric designs in gold and other colours. Part of the killing work arose because of the technical problems associated with illumination. It is likely the whole process of illuminated manuscript production was similarly ‘killing work’.
It is killing work.” Thus wrote a monk of St.
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