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Illuminated Manuscripts of the (Click to select text)
Perhaps no other art form captures the spirit of the Early Medieval period better than the illuminated manuscripts the were created by the monks and religious scholars. Illuminated manuscripts are very important to us today because they can express the ideas and values of the Medieval society. The manuscript I chose was created in Normandy in the city of Vellum. This manuscript was finished in 1180. Until the advent of the Book of Hours in the fourteenth century the Psalter, a book with the texts of the hundred and fifty psalms, was the most important prayer book for ordinary people. This manuscript was elaborately decorated as it was commissioned by wealthy patrons. The amount of gold used in this particular illumination suggests that the patrons were willing to spend their money for religious purposes. The manuscript contains twenty-six full-page drawings. The first twelve miniatures come from the Calendar. The next fourteen paintings describe the life of Christ. In the actual text all the psalms are separated by fancy initial letters. Very often, in these initials you can find the scenes that describe the life of David. The most beautiful paintings in this manuscript are the full-page paintings from the calendar that replace the much smaller fancy first letters. This particular painting is the picture of the month of May. This drawing is very bright and shiny. In this painting a knight on horseback rides out to go hawking. The hawker is covered with an expensive white fur. It suggests that the knight is very rich. It is a male horse and it has very small ears. The knight is shown at the moment of taking off the hawk's hood, a rarely depicted detail. It is not clear where the knight is located since the background is painted in plain gold. Also, there is no perspective in the painting. Surprisingly, this illumination has a very simple border. The style with its bright colors and simple outlines, as well as the expression of the falconer's face show that the miniature is painted by an artist coming from Normandy or the south of England. The manuscript was made for an unknown, possibly noble patroness, who had herself portrayed in a kneeling position in a full-page miniature before the beginning of the texts of the psalms. The calendar contains a number of saints who were especially venerated in the monastery of Fécamps in north-west France, which suggests that she lived in that neighborhood. This manuscript suggests that religion played a big role in the people’s lives during the Medieval Times. The wealthy were very generous to support the creation of these, often expensive, manuscripts. We must consider that the artists used real leaves of gold that were most probably very expensive. In this particular manuscript the amount of gold that is used in the paintings reveals that the work of the artist was more valuable than the amount and the price of gold that is used. The fact that a knight is portrayed in the book that contains holy texts shows that the knights played a big role in Medieval society. Perhaps, they were even considered holy. In this manuscript the illuminations which are called “Labors of the Months” show the traditional combination of the hard labor of the farmers on the land, and the pleasant pastimes of the nobility. This particular illumination shows one of the activities that the wealthy could enjoy. Although the wealthy or the church generally commissioned these manuscripts, and monks and religious scholars created them, they were useful to all classed of people in medieval society. Since the religion was so important during the Middle Ages all people wanted to have a better understanding of their religion. Illuminated manuscripts helped them to do that. The paintings in the manuscripts were especially important to the people who were illiterate because they were unable to read the text. Illuminated manuscripts also benefited the society as a whole by promoting the development of new styles in art. Illuminated manuscripts are very important to us today because we can learn a lot from them about the Medieval society. The manuscripts can show us what was important to the people during the Medieval Times. They also can teach us about the art styles of that time. Since, usually, there is a lot of symbolism in the illuminations of the manuscripts we can learn a lot about the people’s values even by looking at only one illumination of a manuscript, because all the symbols do stand for something that is very important to the society. In my opinion, illuminated manuscripts are not a reliable source of history. The monks who painted these manuscripts depended on the wealthy to support them. Very often, monks were forced to create something that would not be true but would please their patrons. The manuscripts were usually written by one particular class of people--the monks. Therefore, these manuscripts may not reflect the ideas and values of other social classes. For example, the peasants might have seen life as a kind of suffering rather than pleasure.
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