Monasteries in Tibet and India safeguard highly valuable illuminated manuscripts of sacred texts from Buddhist and Hindu traditions. Me from rural and courtly life with scenes characteristic of certain months in the year (sowing, harvesting, etc).
A Greek manuscript from the 14th century, entirely executed in the Byzantine style, describes scenes from the Life of Alexander the Great. Illumination was in Byzantium a form of artistic expression valued equally to painting icons and mosaics for which Byzantium was widely known. During the iconoclastic crisis in the 8th and 9th centuries, it was forbidden to depict images of saints, leading to the irreversible destruction of many manuscripts. Although thousands of illuminated Byzantine manuscripts have been preserved to this day, they are all of later dates for this reason. They depicted biblical events, Jesus Christ and the evangelists, angels, and more.
In the Islamic world, copying and illuminating the Quran was considered an act of worship. One of the most important illuminative decorations is the shajarah, which translates to a small tree. Another ornament is the rosette or shams, which could be translated as a little sun. Shams can be in the shape of a star, a crescent moon, or simply a circle. Circles with rays, sometimes in the form of a star, and sometimes it is indeed a depiction of the Sun. The šemsa was usually placed on the first page of the manuscript, containing a record with the name of the person to whom gratitude is owed for its creation. On the pages of the illuminated Quran, intertwined geometric shapes, interlaces, and plant motifs in gold and blue colors are predominantly present. Some also display green, red, and pink colors. Golden threads often run between the lines of letters, and some letters are illuminated or gilded. Many richly decorated pages of the Quran resemble mandalas. In Iran, calligraphy and illumination have achieved a high degree of refinement over the centuries, and from there, they spread to Turkey and India. The šemsa in the picture, measuring 38.6 x 26.5 cm, bears the title and name of Emperor Shah Jahan (1628 – 1658), Mughal Empire, India, 17th century.
Until the discovery of printing in the 15th century, books were written and copied by hand, thus being highly sought after. The process of making manuscripts was long and expensive, rare, and therefore valuable.
In the Middle Ages, transcripts mainly pertained to the Gospels and other biblical texts in service of spreading the Christian faith. Monasteries, as centers of literacy, had special rooms for copying manuscripts, called scriptoria. Working in the scriptorium was part of the monastic duties, meditative but very demanding and particularly esteemed because it was considered an expression of the greatest dedication and piety. Copying was done by daylight in complete silence, and communication with the armarius, a monk who assigned tasks to scribes and monitored their performance, was done solely through signs. Both the copying and ornamentation of sacred texts were approached with the utmost care. They were adorned with initials, borders, various ornaments, vignettes, and miniature paintings, which over time evolved into a true art form and acquired the common name “illuminations.”
In order to transcribe and illuminate a book, it was necessary to spend Through patient work, as some of them could have more than a hundred illuminations. These embellished manuscripts now represent true miniature art collections. The great value of these manuscripts lies in the fact that they were handmade, so each of them represents a unique piece of art.
The name “illuminations” comes from the shimmering of the golden color in the manuscripts and literally means illumination, enlightenment. The golden color symbolizes divine light, spiritual heaven, the other world, and it was present in all sacred texts. The term “illuminations” later expanded to all forms of text decoration. On many pages of ancient manuscripts, illuminations occupy more space than the text itself – sometimes even entire pages, especially those from the 14th and 15th centuries. Great attention was also paid to the book covers, some of which were adorned with gold, silver, jewels, further emphasizing their value.
The wealth of a monastery was traditionally measured not only by the wealth of precious.
In the 14th century, commercial scriptoria emerged, as the establishment of the first universities increased the need for books. This is when scientific, historical, and literary works began to be illuminated. In medieval Europe, especially the West, a large number of bestiaries with animal pictures, herbal books with plant pictures, illuminated alchemical manuscripts, medical texts, and others can be found. But the most beautiful illuminated works were the sacred ones, as they were done with the greatest dedication. Among them, a prominent place would later be occupied by prayer books, which were exchanged in courtly circles on the occasion of weddings, births, and so on.
Most illuminated manuscripts are now kept in museums, libraries, and monasteries around the world; some have ended up in private collections and are inaccessible to the public. Many of them are in poor condition due to neglect and improper handling and storage. The tradition of manuscript illumination is not only found in medieval Europe, as is commonly and mistakenly believed, but all around the world from ancient times. It can be seen among the Egyptians, Jews, Persians, Indians, Chinese, Tibetans, Armenians, in Rome, Greece, and Byzantium, among the ancient Aztecs and Maya, and many other peoples.
Types of Decorations
It is almost impossible to compile a complete list of motifs that appear in manuscripts, as they depend on the nature of the text, culture, and the time in which they were created. Often seen are interlace patterns, which could be very intricate, as well as plant motifs. Unusual combinations of plant and animal motifs appear, along with motifs featuring human figures or parts of the human body. Geometric motifs and depictions of celestial bodies, deities, and saints are present, and even depictions of certain events can be found. However, the most common illuminative elements are initials, vignettes, and decorative borders. An initial (from Latin meaning “beginning”) is a specially decorated initial letter of the manuscript. It stands out. It was large in size, beautifully drawn and colored. A vignette (French flag) is an ornament at the beginning or end of a text. Decorative borders framed the text and image, often made up of stylized plant motifs. When a text on a page was in two columns, branches that would intertwine between them would form the border.
The Purpose of Illumination
Illumination in manuscripts serves not only a decorative purpose, i.e., not just for adornment and visual pleasure. Illuminations are a visual “text” that helps in a better understanding of the content being conveyed through words and images. We have seen that the writing and painting of sacred texts were considered a holy act, as well as a way of expressing devotion and dedication. Illumination also reflects the attitude towards learning and the book as something valuable.
The art of illumination flourished in Europe until the invention of the printing press by Gutenberg, which would open the doors to the information age, but also signify the end of a beautiful art form.