Illuminated Manuscripts A monk-cellarer tasting wine from a barrel whilst filling a jug. From Li Livres dou Santé by Aldobrandino of Siena - France, late 13th century. Aldobrandino of Siena

An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations. In the strictest definition of the term, an illuminated manuscript only refers to manuscripts decorated with gold or silver.manuscripttextinitials miniature illustrations Had it not been for the (mostly monastic) scribes of late antiquity, the entire content of western heritage literature from Greece and Rome could have perished. The very existence of illuminated manuscripts as a way of giving stature and commemoration to ancient documents may have been largely responsible for their preservation in an era when barbarian hordes had overrun continental Europe.monasticantiquityGreeceRomebarbarianEurope

Bernhard of Clairvaux Initial B from a 13th century illuminated manuscript A 13th century manuscript illumination, the earliest known depiction of Thomas Becket's assassination13th centurymanuscript illuminationThomas Becket

More About Illuminated Manuscripts The majority of surviving manuscripts are from the Middle Ages, although many illuminated manuscripts survive from the 15th century Renaissance, along with a very limited number from late antiquity. Middle Ages Renaissanceantiquity The majority of these manuscripts are of a religious nature. However, especially from 13th century onward, an increasing number of secular texts were illuminated. Most illuminated manuscripts were created as codices, although many illuminated manuscripts were rolls or single sheets. A very few illuminated manuscript fragments survive on Papyrus.13th centurycodices Papyrus

In the strictest definition of illuminated manuscript, only manuscripts decorated with gold or silver, like this miniature of Christ in Majesty from the Aberdeen Bestiary (folio 4v), would be considered illuminated.miniature Christ in MajestyAberdeen Bestiary

Did they use paper to make the illuminated manuscripts? Most medieval manuscripts, illuminated or not, were written on parchment (most commonly calf, sheep, or goat skin), but most manuscripts important enough to illuminate were written on the best quality of parchment, called vellum, traditionally made of unsplit (calf skin), though other high quality parchment from other skins were also called by the term.parchmentvellum Beginning in the late Middle Ages manuscripts began to be produced on paper. Very early printed books were sometimes produced with spaces left for miniatures, or were given illuminated initials, or decorations in the margin, but the introduction of printing rapidly led to the decline of illumination.paper

This beautifully decorated copy of the four Gospels was made by a single artist-scribe (perhaps Bishop Eadfrith of Lindisfarne), probably working in the monastery of Lindisfarne around AD

Date; Text c.1300; miniature c Language; French Medium; Ink, pigments, and gold on vellum Originally written and illuminated in France, c. 1300, this manuscript had reached England by the second half of the century, when two miniatures and two initials containing the Bohun heraldic arms were painted in a style characteristic of books made for the Bohun family, who earls of Hereford and Essex for most of the 13th and 14th centuries.