Once the writing and illuminating had been completed, the parchment sheets were folded and nested into groups called gatherings. The deep blue of this illumination was probably made from crushed stone, while the background is a solid mass of shining gold leaf.įind out more about the binding of manuscripts in this video. These pigments were usually mixed with egg white to form a kind of paint called tempera. Finally, the illuminator applied paints that were made from a wide variety of coloring agents: ground minerals, organic dyes extracted from plants, and chemically produced colorants. The gold leaf was then laid down and burnished, or rubbed, to create a shiny surface, which sparkles as the pages are turned. Next, he or she painted the areas to receive gold leaf with a sticky substance such as bole (a refined red clay) or gum ammoniac (sap). In making an illumination, the artist first made an outline drawing with leadpoint or quill and ink. Illumination, from the Latin illuminare, "to light up or illuminate," describes the glow created by the colors, especially gold and silver, used to embellish manuscripts. The appearance of the script-whether rounded or angular, dense or open-was partly dependent upon the shape and the angle of the nib.įind out more about the methods illuminators used in this video. A slit cut into the middle of the nib allowed the ink to flow smoothly to the tip of the pen. The end of the feather was cut to form the writing nib. The scribe wrote with a quill pen made from the feather of a goose or swan. Ruling lines helped the scribe to write evenly and were part of the design of the page. In this prayer book, you can see the ruling in red ink. Here, the skin of a stillborn goat, prized for its smoothness, is stretched on a modern frame to illustrate the parchment making process.įind out more about the art of writing in illuminated manuscripts in this video.Īfter the surface had been prepared, the parchment was ruled, usually with leadpoint or colored ink. This cycle of scraping and stretching was repeated over several days until the desired thinness had been achieved. As the skin dried, the parchment maker adjusted the tension so that the skin remained taut. While wet on a stretcher, the skin was scraped using a knife with a curved blade. The pelts were first soaked in a lime solution to loosen the fur, which was then removed. Most medieval manuscripts were written on specially treated animal skins, called parchment or vellum (paper did not become common in Europe until around 1450). The exhibition complements Illuminating the Renaissance: The Triumph of Flemish Manuscript Painting in Europe, a major international exhibition on view from June 17 through September 7, 2003.įind out more about parchment making in this video. The Making of a Medieval Book is part of the Getty's "Making of" series, which explores the historical techniques behind various art forms. The exhibition examines the four stages involved in the making of a medieval book: parchment making, writing, illumination, and binding. The images in these handwritten texts are called illuminations because of the radiant glow created by the gold, silver, and other colors. Whereas Latin writing was produced by and for a largely clerical audience, this new literature was accessible to a broader public.The Making of a Medieval Book explores the materials and techniques used to create the lavishly illuminated manuscripts produced in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. This growing interest in literature is also reflected in the emergence of vernacular texts – texts written in Italian, French, English and so on – especially from the 1100s onwards. A growing number of rich and aristocratic patrons had an appetite for many kinds of writing: books told of the exotic adventures of noblemen and women of ancient battles and love stories of the crimes of sinners and villains, and of the deeds of saints and heroes. People read (or listened) for entertainment as well as education. However, as an ever-more wealthy, literate and largely urban population developed in the high and later Middle Ages, so too did the audience for sophisticated writings. Those who could were mainly church men (and, to a lesser extent, women), who read and composed works (mostly in Latin) ranging from commentaries on the Bible, philosophy, history, and the saints, to romances, ghost stories, and bawdy tales of misadventure. Compared to today, few people were able to read and write.
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