MEDIEVAL EUROPE RESEARCH: RICO FARLEY

What is an illuminated manuscript? An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which text is supplemented by decorative borders, initials and miniature illustrations. The illustrations as well as illuminations are done by hand. Stern definitions there manuscripts with only gold or silver.

Figure 1 CHRIST IN MAJESTY BY ABERDEEN BESTIARY

Describe the main differences between Romanesque and Gothic manuscripts. Romanesque manuscripts the figures are more flat, with extremely distorted, at perspective while the feet are turned to the side, but the body is at, relevant to Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Gothic art on the other hand has a realistic background, rather than a flat surface. Though the people are bit stacked up, they are overlapping, with more depth to their bodies. Writing instruments and surfaces used were: The most common surviving membrane material for medieval manuscripts was parchment or vellum, made from the skins of sheep, goats or calves. Paper was also used for some manuscripts, especially those of a secular nature. In the earlier medieval period, the chancery of the Merovingian kings used papyrus, as was used during the Roman era. The illuminated manuscripts were produced by Scribes or calligraphers and later illuminators produced. In Medieval times monks often produced them working in the scriptorium, or the writing room where books were made. Client and purposes Illuminated manuscripts were usually divided into two categories, religious and secular. In the early Middle Ages, luxurious biblical manuscripts, called treasure books, were richly illuminated in order to praise God, since they contained God's word. In latter Middle Ages, to have to have these manuscripts were an expressions of wealth and social status. Hence these manuscripts were often for people of highclass or who had the money to afford such pleasures.

Like Latin was used for European medieval manuscripts, Arabic was the "African Latin" and was used in the Timbuktu manuscripts. Until the sixteenth century, Timbuktu was a flourishing city that attracted Islamic scholars and students for instruction at the Sankore mosque, an institution often compared to medieval European universities. But the importance of Timbuktu declined as a result of various local and international factors, including a shift in trade patterns between West Africa and Europe. These manuscripts influenced the manuscripts in Europe when they were carried over or traded.(internet research)

Medieval graphic arts land marks

The Lindisfarne Gospels is an illuminated manuscript gospel book produced around the year 700 in a monastery off the coast of Northumberland at Lindisfarne and which is now on display in the British Library in London. These Gospels are presumed to be the work of a monk by the name Eadfrith, who became Bishop of Lindisfarne in 698 and died in 721.

What makes the lindisfarne gospel unique is because unlike most illuminated manuscripts produced by a team of scribes, this was works of one man which gave it sense of unity in its design. The manuscript displays a unique combination of artistic styles that reflects a crucial period in England's history.

Book of kells The Book of Kells is an astonishingly beautiful manuscript that contains the Four Gospels. It is Ireland's most precious medieval artifact, and is generally considered the finest surviving illuminated manuscript to have been produced in medieval Europe. The Book of Kells is believed to have been produced in a monastery on the Isle of Iona, Scotland, to honor Saint Columba in the early 8th century. After a Viking raid the book was moved to Kells, Ireland, sometime in the 9th century. However in the 11th century it was stolen, at which time its cover was torn off and it was thrown into a ditch. The cover, which most likely included gold and gems, has never been found since, and the book suffered some water damage; but otherwise it is still extraordinarily well-preserved.

In 1541, at the height of the English Reformation, the book was taken by the Roman Catholic Church for safekeeping. It was returned to Ireland in the 17th century, and Archbishop James Ussher gave it to Trinity College, Dublin, which is its current home today.

The Toledo bible The Bible of St Louis of Toledo Cathedral is a truly outstanding item within the rich heritage of Toledo Cathedral. This Bible moralise when written in Latin, it is so beautiful that it is also known as the "Rich Bible of Toledo". This excellent piece of work required patent dedication by many experts in fields such as theologians, illuminators and copyists. This bible was produced for kings for educational and informative purposes, and also as an instructional tool in the education of the future king of France. Over the last eight centuries the Chapter of Toledo Cathedral has dedicated the a lot of care to conserving and housing this bibliographic gem which can be described in its own way as being very unique and for everyone who has a chance to see it leaves them in admiration of such beauty. The Bible of St Louis is one of a small group of Bibles copied in the 13th century for members of the French royalty belonging to the Capetian dynasty which was ruling at that time. It is a peculiar type of biblical book thats isnt without precedents in the tradition of European scriptoria, and is also luxuriously illuminated to keep in of its owners. Book of hours A book of hours was a prayer book which contained appropriate prayers for specific hours of the day, days of the week, months, and seasons. Books of hours were usually beautifully illuminated, and some of the more notable stand out ones are among the finest works of medieval art in existence. Initially, books of hours were produced by scribes in monasteries which was for use by their fellow monks. Monastics divided their day into eight segments, or "hours," of prayer which were: Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, Nones, Compline, and Vespers. The usage of this book was simply that a monk would set the book of

hours on a lectern or table and read from it aloud at each of these hours; therefore these books were large in format. Each section of prayers was accompanied by an illustration in order to aid the reader in meditating on the subject. In most cases, these illustrations depicted biblical scenes or saints, however sometimes simple scenes from rural life or displays of royal splendor were included, as were the occasional portraits of the patrons who ordered the books. The calendar pages often depicted signs of the Zodiac. It was also common for the owner's coat of arms to be incorporated, as well. These book were sometimes called miniatures not in relation to size but in reference to Latin origins, meaning to illuminate thus referring to written pages or manuscripts.

The Verdun Altar

The Verdun Altar is neither from the place called Verdun, nor is it originally an altar. However it is a show-piece from the Middle Ages, considering its beauty and its value this piece of art doesnt have many rivals. After ten years of work the altar in its original version was finished as casing for the pulpit of the monastery church in 1181. This masterpiece was designed by Nikolaus von Verdun, hence its name. He signed his work in the following way:

In this masterpiece 45 panels are divided into rows of three. They stand in connection with each other horizontally as well as vertically. The upper rows display the biblical happenings in the time before Moses, while the lowest one shows the time between Moses and Christ. The middle row consists of pictures from the time after the birth of Christ.

In summary this book shows depictions from old to New Testament if the bible e.g. the rapture of Enoch and Christs ascension. The Unicorn in Captivity (Tapestry) The seven individual hangings known as "The Unicorn Tapestries," are among the most beautiful and

complex works of art from the late Middle Ages that survived. Being lavishly woven in fine wool and silk with silver and gilded threads, the tapestries vividly depict scenes associated with a hunt for the elusive, magical unicorn.

"The Unicorn in Captivity" may have been created as a single image rather than part of a series. In this instance, the unicorn probably represents the beloved tamed. He is tethered to a tree and constrained by a fence, however the chain is not secure and the fence is low enough to for the unicorn to leap over and escape if he wished. Clearly, his confinement appears to be a happy one, to which the ripe, seedladen pomegranates in the treea medieval symbol of fertility and marriagetestify. The red stains on his flank do not appear to be blood, as there are no visible wounds like those in relation to the hunting series; rather, they represent juice dripping from the bursting pomegranates overhead. Many of the other plants represented here, such as wild orchid, bistort, and thistle, echo this theme of marriage and procreation: in the Middle Ages they were acclaimed as fertility aids for both men and women. Even the little frog that nestles among the violets at the lower right was cited by medieval writers for its noisy mating. The Book of Durrow The book of Durrow is an early medieval Gospel book decorated with carpet pages and framed symbols of the Evangelists. It is housed in the Library of Trinity College Dublin, and is regarded as second only to the Book of Kells. The opening words of the four Gospels are given great prominence, and popular interest has been focused on the high artistic quality of these pages and their relation to the art of the Book of Kells. It was written by monks in Early Christian Ireland and is the earliest surviving fully decorated insular Gospel book, yet it was done with such a degree of sophistication that it couldnt have been the first the first of its kind. Although its date is uncertain and controversial, recent research indicates that it was probably produced early in the eighth century. Despite its name is derived from the Irish Columbian monastery of Durrow, however there were differing claims made that it was produced in Lona or in North Umbria.

Main feature of the design on the following style of medieval churches ROMANESQUE Romanesque embraces architecture art and sculpture; main features of this such design are simply: Central isle along with two side isles Pillars of piers

Stone cut precision Solid walls Small window arches to ensure walls strength The Vault This was the most important structural development and characteristics of Romanesque architecture. Mainly because it was developed to enable the construction of stone roofs since wooden roofs were obviously fire hazard. They were two main types of vaults, Barrel vaults and Groin vaults. Barrel or Tunnel Vaults consisted of a continuous surface of semicircular or pointed sections resembling a barrel or tunnel which has been cut in half lengthwise. Groin Vault was produced by the intersection, at right angles of two barrel vaults. The arches of groin vaults were either pointed or round.

Gothic style churches

This style of Gothic is a transition from Romanesque to High Gothic, which give reason to similar appearances as that of Romanesque. A series of four discrete horizontal levels or stories in the cathedral's interior were evolved, beginning with a ground-level arcade, over which ran one or two galleries (tribune, triforium) to support outward thrust from arches, over which in turn ran an upper, windowed story called a clerestory. The columns and arches used to support these different elevations contributed both to the severe and powerful repetitive geometry of the interior. Window tracery which is decorative rib-work subdividing a window opening, was also gradually evolved, along with the use of stained (colored) glass in the windows.

High gothic The High Gothic style is similar to the earlier Gothic style, However these High Gothic buildings are more distinguished by the use of

polychrome bands of decorative masonry. Such examples are pressed brick, Stone quoins, and terra cotta panels were commonly used. The windows and doors were accented with stone or brick trimming, usually in contrasting colors. The Gothic pointed arch may can be seen at windows, decorative dormers ,entrances and cross gables.. The towers were extremely emphasized vertically and hence were very tall and were also uneven. In comparison to early gothic in terms of detail High Gothic was much busier.

Late Gothic Late gothic 13th-century style canonized proportions and shapes from early Gothic and developed them further to achieve light, yet they remained with the tall and majestic structures. The wall structure was modified a bit more from four to only three tiers which were: triforum, arcade, and clerestory. Piers coronations were smaller to avoid stopping the visual upward thrust. The clerestorey windows changed from one window in each segment, holed in the wall, to two windows united by a small rose window.

The relevance of medieval cathedral and illumintaiton to modern graphic design This is simply that most elements remain the same as in todays society, just there are different method to produce them. For e.g. the in their illuminations they used letter, symbols, imagery, borders and the way type was made to stand out in terms of scale. Compare method message and design As some of which was stated above these design were design with great intentions to showcase the power of the church rather than the power of God, this can be seen by just looking at how large and elaborate the structures were.

Continuity As for continuity the design traits and strategies can be seen today in the design era where imagery is used to aid illustration to commands given or sentences read to help the reader understand more.