[Gutenberg 45332] • Illuminated Manuscripts in Classical and Mediaeval Times / Their Art and Their Technique

Illuminated Manuscripts in Classical and Mediaeval Times - Their Art and their Technique by J. Henry Middleton

The object of this book is to give a general account of the various methods of writing, the different forms of manuscripts and the styles and systems of decoration that were used from the earliest times down to the sixteenth century A.D., when the invention of printing gradually put an end to the ancient and beautiful art of manuscript illumination.

I have attempted to give a historical sketch of the growth and development of the various styles of manuscript illumination, and also of the chief technical processes which were employed in the preparation of pigments, the application of gold leaf, and other details, to which the most unsparing amount of time and labour was devoted by the scribes and illuminators of many different countries and periods.

An important point with regard to this subject is the remarkable way in which technical processes lasted, in many cases, almost without alteration from classical times down to the latest mediaeval period, partly owing to the existence of an unbroken chain of traditional practice, and partly on account of the mediaeval custom of studying and obeying the precepts of such classical writers as Vitruvius and Pliny the Elder.

To an English student the art-history of illuminated manuscripts should be especially interesting, as there were two distinct periods when the productions of English illuminators were of unrivalled beauty and importance throughout the world.

In the latter part of this volume I have tried to describe the conditions under which the illuminators of manuscripts did their work, whether they were monks who laboured in the scriptorium of a monastery, or members of some secular guild, such as the great painters' guilds of Bruges or Paris.

The extraordinary beauty and marvellous technical perfection of certain classes of manuscripts make it a matter of interest to learn who the illuminators were, and under what daily conditions and for what reward they laboured with such astonishing patience and skill.

The intense pleasure and refreshment that can be gained by the study of a fine mediaeval illuminated manuscript depend largely on the fact that the exquisite miniatures, borders and initial letters were the product of an age which in almost every respect differed widely from the unhappy, machine-driven nineteenth century in which we now live.

With regard to the illustrations, I have to thank Mr John Murray for his kindness in lending me a cliché of the excellent woodcut of the scriptorium walk in the cloisters of the Benedictine Abbey of Gloucester, which was originally prepared to illustrate one of Mr Murray's valuable Guides to the English Cathedrals.

The rest of the illustrations I owe to the kindness of Mr Kegan Paul. They have previously appeared in the English edition of Woltmann and Woermann's valuable History of Painting, 1880-7.

I have to thank my friend and colleague Mr M. R. James for his kindness in looking through the proofs of this book. He is not responsible for the opinions expressed or for the errors that remain, but he has corrected some of the grosser blunders.