Manuscript Illumination


	Manuscript Illumination

In the early Christian period, another crucial development occurred: a new form of book was invented, the codex. A codex is a paged volume like the kind we use today. The earliest manuscripts (that is, one-of-a-kind books written by hand) had been written on rolls of papyrus, which the Egyptians had invented. The Greeks and Romans had both used this method of book production. A scroll was wound between two spindles with only two or three columns of text visible at one time. Although these scrolls were sometimes illustrated, the drawings were usually simply line illustration, since heavy paint would have flaked off when rolled.

But the scroll was awkward for regular reading and even more awkward if one wanted to refer back to earlier sections. Christian readers wanted to be able to refer immediately to various verses in the Bible. Thus they adopted this new form of book, the codex. The earliest were written on parchment -- leather that was carefully scraped, washed, dried, and stretched, thus providing a smooth surface for writing and painting (or "illumination"). It was also durable and could stand up under constant use in Christian liturgy. The widespread change to the codex probably occurred in about the 1st century CE, although the codex had been invented earlier.

Illuminations from
Virgilius Romanus manuscript
late 5th century

By way of comparison, here are two depictions of events from Virgil's Aenied. The first depicts a banquet Dido had arranged in order to hear more about the Trojan war. The second depicts a more dramatic incident: to escape a rain storm sent by Venus and Juno, Dido and Aeneas take refuge in a cave. This event is the culmination of their love affair, in which Dido has clearly been more aggressive. Although charming details abound (note the soldier outside the cave covering his head from rain drops with his shield), the artist of this manuscript has difficulty with correct anatomy, naturalistic poses and with spatial relationships (the horses' feet don't seem to contact the ground).

Illuminations from
Vienna Genesis manuscript
early 6th century

Few early Christian manuscripts survive; this is the earliest preserved example. It was probably made for an imperial court (the parchment is stained purple, an imperial color) with the text in gold and silver letters. The text is sometimes shortened to adjust it to the illustrations, suggesting that this early codex was intended as a kind of picture book showing incidents from the biblical book of Genesis. Probably made in the Syria to the East, the artist's knowledge of classical art is clearly evident, especially in the depiction of continuous scenes in the Joseph story.

All images marked ^MAS were photographed on location by Mary Ann Sullivan. All other images were scanned from other sources or downloaded from the World Wide Web; they are posted on this password-protected site for educational purposes, at Bluffton College only, under the "fair use" clause of U.S. copyright law.

Page maintained by Gerald W. Schlabach, gws@bluffton.edu. Last updated: 28 October 1997.

		Illuminations from Virgilius Romanus manuscript late 5th century
		By way of comparison, here are two depictions of events from Virgil's Aenied. The first depicts a banquet Dido had arranged in order to hear more about the Trojan war. The second depicts a more dramatic incident: to escape a rain storm sent by Venus and Juno, Dido and Aeneas take refuge in a cave. This event is the culmination of their love affair, in which Dido has clearly been more aggressive. Although charming details abound (note the soldier outside the cave covering his head from rain drops with his shield), the artist of this manuscript has difficulty with correct anatomy, naturalistic poses and with spatial relationships (the horses' feet don't seem to contact the ground).
		Illuminations from Vienna Genesis manuscript early 6th century
		Few early Christian manuscripts survive; this is the earliest preserved example. It was probably made for an imperial court (the parchment is stained purple, an imperial color) with the text in gold and silver letters. The text is sometimes shortened to adjust it to the illustrations, suggesting that this early codex was intended as a kind of picture book showing incidents from the biblical book of Genesis. Probably made in the Syria to the East, the artist's knowledge of classical art is clearly evident, especially in the depiction of continuous scenes in the Joseph story.