CHAPTER IX

A BRIEF SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF ILLUMINATION

(1) _From the Fourth to the Eleventh Century_

Perhaps it would be as well, before dealing with the practical side of illumination, to give a brief sketch of the history of this art in Europe. It will not be possible to do more than give just a very short outline of the history here. The modern illuminator should, however, know something of the history of illumination. It is not intended to deal with any but vellum MSS. Possibly it may be claimed that some of the Egyptian Papyrii are illuminated MSS., but these have little in common with the illuminated work of the Middle Ages, and it is with this that this short review is chiefly concerned.

CLASSICAL AND BYZANTINE ILLUMINATION

It is known from the Epigrams of Martial, who himself lived in the first century, that vellum MSS. were illuminated as early as A.D. 100. Although this was undoubtedly the case, very few MSS. have survived. It is very difficult to state exactly the date of the earliest of these, but most authorities are of the opinion that the third or fourth century is the earliest date that any of them can be assigned to. Some think that the MS. of Virgil in the Vatican (No. 3225) is the oldest illuminated MS. This MS. is written on seventy-six leaves of vellum. It has fifty miniatures, but of this number five are scarcely visible at the present time. These miniatures are framed with gilt or coloured bands, but the MS. displays nothing in the way of ornament which is generally associated with illuminated work.

Another early MS. is the Ambrosian Iliad, at Milan, which some think to be of the third century and others of the fourth or fifth. This is noted for its fine handwriting and also its illustrations.

These early MSS. are really illustrated rather than illuminated, as the term is generally understood.

Following on after this comes the Byzantine School of illumination. The most important of the early MSS. are the Dioscorides and the Genesis of the Vienna Library. These two MSS. are both thought to be of the sixth century. The first of these, called after its principal author the “Dioscorides,” is a collection of treatises on botany, hunting, etc., by several Greek physicians. This was written for the Princess Juliana Anicia, daughter of Flavius Anicius Olybrius, who was Emperor of the West in 472. It is written in uncial characters and contains, amongst other things, a portrait of Juliana. It contains also a number of coloured drawings of plants, birds, insects, etc., illustrating the text.

In the Vienna Genesis the text is written in gold and silver on purple vellum. It has forty-eight miniatures which are placed in square frames, and there is no marginal decoration. Gold is occasionally used, but it is not burnished.

There is also a fragment of a Genesis Codex in the British Museum (Cott. Otho. B. VI.), which is supposed to be of the same period.

The Joshua Rotulus in the Vatican Library (Codex Vat. Palat. Gr. 431) is a very important MS. It is thought by some to be a copy of an original MS. possibly as old as the fifth century. Opinions, however, differ, other authorities ascribing it to the fifth or sixth century.

Another well-known MS. is the famous Gospel Book in the Laurentian Library of Florence, known as the Rabula MS. This MS. is dated 586.

The first phase of the Byzantine School is Hellenesque, and, no doubt, it was part of the Alexandrian School, which was at its height in the sixth century. The later style, which reached its maturity about the end of the ninth century and began to decline after the twelfth century, represents what is generally understood as Byzantine. A Simeon Metaphrastes of the eleventh-twelfth century (Add. MS. 1180) and a twelfth-century Gospels (Harley MS. 1810), both in the British Museum, represent the peculiarly dignified ecclesiastical style of this school.

The Byzantine School influenced the development of illumination very strongly. Especially is this noticeable in Italy.

CELTIC AND ANGLO-CELTIC ILLUMINATION

In the development of illumination the Celtic School played a most important part. There is a very strong contrast between this and the Byzantine School. The Byzantine MSS. were illustrated by more or less naturalistic representations, while in the Celtic MSS. everything seems to be treated as pure ornament. Even when the human figure is introduced it seems to be treated in this way. Gold is also absent in purely Irish MSS. The artists do not appear to represent the figure with any degree of realism.

The chief characteristics of Celtic work are intricate spirals and interlaced pattern, also patterns composed of dots, and curious elongated creatures entwined together in a most complicated fashion.

Possibly the earliest date mentioned in connection with Celtic illumination is that given by Giraldus Cambrensis, who went to Ireland at the time of the Anglo-Norman invasion. He was chaplain to John, the son of Henry II. He wrote concerning a famous MS. called the Book of Kildare, a book which at present is not known to be extant. He describes it as having been written at the “dictation of an angel in St. Bridget’s own time.” St. Bridget, of Kildare, lived in the latter part of the fifth and the early sixth centuries, so that, if this account may be relied upon, it must have been written at least a century before the celebrated Book of Kells. From the details that Giraldus Cambrensis gives of the Book of Kildare, he might easily be describing the Book of Kells. It was evidently very similar.

The Book of Kells is now in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin. Some authorities think this to be as old as the seventh century, while others assign it to the eighth or ninth century. This is an extremely beautiful MS.; it has been described so many times that there is no need to give a detailed description here.

Another well-known MS. is the Book of Durrow, also in Trinity College, Dublin. Some have thought that this was written by the famous Columba of Iona, as the name “Columba” is mentioned in the colophon at the end of the MS., but whether this Columba was St. Columba of Iona is, of course, debatable. Certainly a number of authorities are agreed that its claims to be an actual relic of St. Columba are by no means to be altogether rejected. The Book of Durrow, although very fine, is not such a good example as the Book of Kells.

It would be interesting to know if St. Columba had much to do with the cultivation of this art. The early biographies certainly speak of him as an enthusiastic calligrapher, and in an ancient “Life of St. Columba” he is spoken of as having written “three hundred splendid, lasting books.”

It was through the efforts of the Scoto-Irish missionaries from Iona that the art of illuminating was introduced into the north of England. They founded a monastery at Lindisfarne early in the seventh century. The famous Durham Book, or Lindisfarne Gospels, now in the British Museum, was written here about the year 700 (Nero D. IV.). The decoration and writing in this splendid MS. are essentially Celtic. It, however, differs from the Book of Kells by the slight use of gold in the decoration, also in the four full-page portraits of the Evangelists, which show a strong Italo-Byzantine influence. This MS. is undoubtedly one of the choicest treasures amongst the illuminated MSS. in the British Museum.

CARLOVINGIAN ILLUMINATION

At the end of the eighth century the great revival of the arts which followed the accession of Charlemagne acted as a great impetus to the art of illumination. This art was developed from the crude Merovingian style, and many elaborate volumes were produced. Some of the most sumptuous are the Alcuin Bibles, and the Gospel Books, which were written in gold. One of these Alcuin Bibles is exhibited in the British Museum (Add. MSS. 10546), also one of the Gospel Books (Harley MS. 2788). The miniatures and decoration in these MSS. seem to show the influence of the Roman, Byzantine, and Celtic Schools. The best period of Carlovingian illumination seems to be the eighth century.

THE WINCHESTER SCHOOL

One cannot write even the briefest of sketches concerning the history of illumination without referring to the work produced by the two Winchester Scriptoria, generally referred to under the appellation of “Opus Anglicum.”

The Anglo-Celtic tradition seems to have been completely lost, probably due to the Danish raids in the ninth century.

It is said that in the time of Alfred the Great, there was a scriptorium already in existence at Winchester, founded by St. Swithin, who was made Bishop of Winchester in 852. Alfred, when a boy of five, went with his father to Rome, and there is, at the very least, presumptive evidence that, when returning, he saw the library of Charlemagne at Aix-la-Chapelle.

When he came to the throne in 871 he founded another monastery near the old one, attaching a scriptorium. These two scriptoria were, at a later date, to become the nursery of English illumination.

Although Alfred seems to have done so much to foster this art, there are, unfortunately, no specimens which have survived that can be assigned to any earlier date than that of his grandson Athelstan (925-40).

A small MS. known as Athelstan’s Psalter was principally written on the Continent in the ninth century, but many additions were made to it in England towards the middle of the tenth century. This MS. shows that some efforts had been made to replace the lost art of the Anglo-Celtic School, which had flourished more than 200 years before by a new style based on Continental models; and, although these miniatures may appear somewhat crude, they probably represent the best work of the English artists at this early period.

The first known example of actual Winchester work is the “Golden Charter” of King Edgar, in 966, now in the British Museum (Cott. MS. Vesp. A. VIII.). This represents an enormous advance on the crude paintings in Athelstan’s Psalter; a miniature on a purple ground shows King Edgar, standing between the Virgin and St. Peter, offering the Charter to the Saviour. This page is well designed and a fine decorative border surrounds the miniature.

The most famous example, however, is the well-known Benedictional of Æthelwold, in the Library of the Duke of Devonshire. If the student wishes for a full and illustrated description of this fine MS. he is referred to the twenty-fourth volume of the Archæologia.

This MS. was written by Godeman, a monk of the old Minster, at Winchester; it contains twenty large miniatures, each facing a benediction for the most important days, with seven others of groups of Confessors, Virgins, and Apostles at the beginning, and at the end the bishop is represented giving a benediction in his cathedral. All these miniatures, excepting the last, are surrounded with arches or frames of gold and colours, and a similar border surrounds the opening words of the benediction.

The Harleian Psalter (Harl. MS. 2904), in the British Museum, is another MS. of this school. It would take far too much space to go into details concerning this, but special mention should be made of the drawing of the Crucifixion. This is in outline and is slightly tinted and shaded. It is very interesting as showing the stage that figure-drawing had reached at this early period. One very characteristic feature of Winchester work is the curious “fluttering” drapery which is noticeable in practically all the work of this school.