Illuminated manuscripts

Monday 11 January 2021, 19:00 Israel Time

Sword and Buckler in Hebrew Letters: Traces of Early Illuminated German Fight Books in Jewish Manuscripts
Prof. Sara Offenberg
Department of the Arts, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Two manuscripts produced in early fourteenth-century German lands reflect similar iconography of fighting with Sword and Buckler (small round shield); one is the well-known fencing manual, Leeds, Royal Armouries, MS I. 33, produced ca. 1320, and the other is a Hebrew manuscript of the Bible, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France héb. 9, made in 1304, that will be the focus of this paper. I wish to demonstrate that the iconography of the masorah figurata was adapted from German Fechtbücher (fencing manuals), which are books of instructions, usually with illustrations, detailing the fencing arts. First, I relate to the realia of Jews bearing arms and Jewish fencing masters. Afterward I discuss the iconography of the fighting figures; subsequently, after examining the texts that make up the micrography, I reach a broader conclusion regarding the reason the patron commissioned this work and the meaning of the scene. This lecture intends to demonstrate how Hebrew illuminated manuscripts can shed more light on the study of fight books iconography.

Ornament as Argument  explores notions of ornamentation and materiality in 10th and 11th-century Christian manuscript illumination. In particular, the book investigates the function and metaphoric meaning of so-called textile pages—images evoking the weave patterns of Byzantine and Islamic silk. An analysis of a broad range of objects situates textile pages in the context of medieval reading practice, visual exegesis, and worship. Based on various theological arguments that bear on the images and the book as an object in itself, the illuminations emerge as powerful textile metaphors. These concern material approaches to scripture, textile readings of the incarnation, and the physical book as body. Ornament as Argument thus contributes to a new understanding of the vital role illuminated manuscripts played in medieval material culture.

Medici patronage in quattrocento Florence plays a pivotal role in the aesthetic articu-lation of the analogy between horticulture and culture. As an acorn fortunately planted may grow to an oak tree, a seed of an idea properly cultivated may grow to wisdom. One may replant branches of ancient wisdom and see them resprout. As one cultivates vines of grapes in the countryside, one may also plant and cultivate learning in a studiolo. Humanist horticulture is most explicit in a no longer extant studiolo-an inner room of valuables in the Medici Palace, Via Larga, Florence. The horticultural decor of the ceiling of Piero de' Medici's study is early evidence of a taste for vegetative imagery and symbolism within the Medici dynasty.

This article maintains that John Lydgate’s 'Testament' is not a rejection of his secular career but a literary palinode that attempts to impress a sense of coherence onto a diverse body of work. As the language of conversion, the repetitive litaneutical code at the end of the poem is vindicated by the earlier performance of poetic bravado. Lydgate’s textual piety, which I show to be indebted to the devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus, is paradoxically sustained by the displacement of prior secular forms. In a central gesture, the kneeling monk-poet presents his life’s work to God, who acts as his patron. Finally, I demonstrate that manuscript illuminations depicting a kneeling Lydgate confirm the reception of such a pose as simultaneously pious yet secular. As a result, I suggest that we view Lydgate not as a Chaucerian, but first and foremost as a poet dedicated to reconciling the writing of secular literature with a spiritual calling. From: The Chaucer Review Volume 49, Number 3, 2015 pp. 265-293 http://muse.jhu.edu/login?auth=0&type=summary&url=/journals/chaucer_review/v049/49.3.sobecki.html http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5325/chaucerrev.49.3.issue-3

A través de la documentación conservada el artículo analiza cómo las fronteras entre las diferentes tareas relacionadas con el libro se flexibilizan en función de las necesidades de mandantes y artífices. A excepción de ejemplares muy notables que se encomiendan a profesionales de reconocido prestigio en las diferentes disciplinas, en general en la creación del libro medieval se aprecia una gran versatilidad y carácter práctico.

Corpus of preserved medieval psalteries with following is of rich and diversed nature. Among large number of handwritten monuments of that type, because of its peculiar nature, stands out Serbian Munich Psalter from fourteenth-century (Cod. Slav. 4). Considering the structure of the following of the Munich Psalter, a certain liturgical and symbolic connection of the first three, seemingly independent units can be observed. These are Parable of the Merciful Samaritan (fol. 203v – 205), Akathist of the Virgin (fol. 205v – 226) and Damascus Dogmatik of the fifth voice from the Octoech - In the Red Sea… (fol. 227). The unusual place of the Parable of the Merciful Samaritan in Munich Psalter, between the Biblical Odes and Akathist of the Virgin, was caused by the structure of the Fasting Triode and the older Jerusalem liturgical customs.

Abstract

Many medieval manuscripts suffered from antiquarian zeal during the eighteenth-century revival of interest in medieval art: enthusiasts often augmented their own albums and private collections by removing attractive illuminations from manuscript pages, leaving wounded books in their wake. Less familiar is the restorative work of their contemporaries, a small number of facsimilists who repaired such damage by providing replacement paintings and text to compensate the manuscripts for their loss. A rediscovered manuscript in the British Library (Additional MS. 6894) contains some of the earliest known evidence of  manuscript restoration, carried out c. 1792 by Eliza Dennis Denyer. A reconstruction of her biography and work as a restorer reveals a considerable portfolio, focused predominantly on the early printed books that made up the majority of her father’s collection. Attention to two of her most extensive campaigns along with accompanying documentation sheds new light on contemporary attitudes to medieval and early modern objects and suggests that there is a history of conservation practices extending back to the eighteenth century which remains to be written.

Il presente contributo indaga i processi della costruzione letteraria e della ricezione esegetica del primo guardiano infernale incontrato da Dante, Caronte, il cui ruolo (già virgiliano) di nocchiero sull’Acheronte chiama in causa, in ottica dantesca, la figura di Flegiàs, secondo traghettatore della ‘Commedia’. Nelle prime recensioni miniate del poema, quest’ultimo condivide infatti con il primo non solo la funzione di snodo narrativo, ma lo stesso destino metamorfico, vista la sostituzione ricorrente delle tradizionali fattezze umane con fisionomia e attributi diabolici. La significativa somiglianza iconografica dei due guardiani nei più antichi manoscritti miniati della ‘Commedia’ sarà da imputare alla differente caratterizzazione che Dante riserva loro, unita all’assenza di un modello di riferimento autonomo per la figura di Flegiàs, inevitabilmente assimilato al primo. Non sarà infine da ritenersi secondaria la coerenza generale dell’esegesi scritta, concorde nel riconoscere un «dimonio» tanto nel primo quanto nel secondo guardiano.

The article deals with the origin of the methodological divergences between the approach to book illumination which prevails in particular in German, American, and French studies and, in contrast, the Italian approach. On one side, the German archaeologists and art historians Otto Jahn, Carl Robert, and, later, Adolf Goldschmidt prepared the grounds for studying miniatures as text illustrations, by investigating the Tabulae Iliacae and Odysseace, the Homeric bowls and the Medieval manuscripts of Terence and other classical authors. Their methodology was adopted in the University of Princeton by Charles R. Morey and Albert M. Friend and was codified by the German art historian Kurt Weitzmann, when he moved to USA and published Illustrations in Roll and Codex in 1947.  On the other side, Italian studies in book illumination were dominated by a formalistic approach, which was rooted in Croce’s aesthetics. After the end of the Second World War, Italian art historian Mario Salmi promoted an exclusively stylistic approach to the miniatures, when he organized the Mostra Storica Nazionale della Miniatura (1953-1954), published the Storia della miniatura italiana (1955), and edited the facsimile volume of the Syriac Rabbula Gospels in the Laurentian Library, Florence (1959). A number of Italian art historians (Pietro Toesca, Carlo Bertelli) strongly disagreed with Salmi.

Depiction of Jewellery in 15th- and 16th-Century Book
Illumination. Similarities and Differences between
Italian and Flemish Miniatures
This article focuses on the depictions of jewellery on the
borders of illuminated manuscripts. Such a decorative
motif became a widespread tendency in both Flemish
and Italian illumination throughout the second half of
the 15th century and the first decades of the 16th century.
The motif featured first on the borders of Flemish devotional
manuscripts, possibly inspired by the practice of
sewing pilgrim badges within the pages, and also by the
proximity of devotional jewels and Books of hours during
the daily domestic prayers. Furthermore, goldsmiths
were commissioned to decorate illuminated books with
jewelled clasps, straps, and bookmarks, facilitating artistic
exchanges between goldsmithing and illumination.
Comparisons between jewellery depicted on Flemish illuminated
borders, the coeval goldsmith’s production and
the presence of jewels in paintings and inventories show
that Flemish illuminators represented precious objects
copied from real life. Illusionistic representations of
jewellery, in line with the religious concepts of Modern
Devotion, probably served as mnemonic tools during the
devotional practices.
In Italian miniatures, we can find jewellery depictions in
devotional books as well as in a variety of literary works.
This proves they were not to be linked with devotional
aims. Italian illuminators took inspiration from Flemish
Books of hours, but they were less involved in trompe
l’oeil representations of jewellery. Indeed, the borders
of Italian miniatures often included imaginary clusters
of pearls and gems. The different cultural background,
which fostered depictions of classical motifs such as
grotesque and pastiches of objects inspired by the Roman
antiquity, relegates to secondary relevance the representation
of actual luxury goods. Nevertheless, there
are some Italian miniature borders representing jewels
very similar to those produced by coeval goldsmiths.
More often, illuminators from the Peninsula portrayed
classical cameos, that these objects were very common
in Italian collections of antiquities.

La rédaction du « Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon » (répertoire général des artistes) au sein de la maison d’édition Walter de Gruyter GmbH publie dans ses volumes des articles liés à la biographie d’artistes de tous les pays, bibliographie incluse. L'éditeur sort des volumes deux fois par an. Pour plus d'informations, consultez le site internet de la maison d’édition de Gruyter :  www.degruyter.de/akl
et
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This article documents the illuminated manuscripts of A.H. Howard from the late 1800s and early 1900s held in public collections in Ontario. Howard was a Toronto artist who decorated his manuscripts with miniature watercolours, including many scenes and buildings in Toronto. Many of his manuscripts were presentation volumes commissioned by the City of Toronto.

Founded in 1732 by Conrad Beissel, the Ephrata Cloister was a celibate, ascetic, German-speaking, Sabbatarian commune in the wilderness of Pennsylvania. Its residents produced a large corpus of hymns and motets, and also published the third music treatise written in what is today the United States of America. Because Ephrata produced no heirs, its documents were scattered and its traditions were forgotten over the course of the nineteenth century. Although significant strides have been made in recent years to understand Ephrata’s theology, substantial lacunae remain in the study of its music.
This dissertation accomplishes four research tasks associated with Ephrata music. First, it provides a thorough descriptive catalog of all extant available Ephrata music manuscripts. This catalog is the first of its kind in this field, organizing music manuscripts according to their content. Next, the dissertation translates and analyzes the Ephrata music treatise, situating it within the history of music theory. It also examines Ephrata’s unorthodox use of a pedagogical tool for composition known as the règle de l’octave. Third, the study focuses on Ephrata music, discussing its content, style, and practice, proposing that hymns and motets were written in a workshop format, based on a set procedure of group composition. Finally, the dissertation explores the topic of authorship, and demonstrates that Ephrata music manuscripts provide evidence of America’s first female composers.

Le Centre de Recherche sur l'Art Médiéval "Vasile Dragut" vous invite à lire le numéro 2 de la revue Anastasis, sur le site :
http://www.arteiasi.ro/revista-anastasis/public_html/current.html

Research in Medieval Culture and Art is an international peer-reviewed journal edited by the Center for Research in Medieval Art „Vasiel Drăguț” of the University of Arts „G. Enescu” of Iași, România. Frequency: 2 issues per yers – November and May. They publish original articles in the areas of medieval art and medieval culture (music, philosophy, literature).
http://www.arteiasi.ro/revista-anastasis/public_html/current.html

The castle of Montreuil-Bellay was rebuilt by Guillaume d’Harcourt and his wife Yolande de Laval. It contains in one of the chapels a rare testimony of murals dating from the last quarter of the fifteenth century in the Loire Valley, in France. Based on a widespread iconography, images however respond to specific expectations of the owners. Several complementary readings can be made in the representation of the six saints painted in the chapel. Individual devotions combine collective concerns of several members of the Harcourt and Laval families. Also, this short introduction on the murals also leads us to take a new look at the painter in charge of it. The artist, who was familiar with Flemish painting innovations during the fifteenth century. He probably can be identified with Coppin Delf. From an artistic standpoint, the murals of Montreuil-Bellay put on display an entanglement of different influences and iconographic sources. Indeed, they emphasize the extent and complexity in artistic transfers away from political divisions or distant geographical areas.

Examines the art and ritual of flagellant confraternities in Italy. Meeting regularly to beat themselves with whips, members of these confraternities concentrated on the suffering of Christ in the most extreme and committed way, and the images around them provided visual prompts of the Passion and the model suffering body.

https://www.aup.nl/en/book/9789462984684/flagellant-confraternities-and-italian-art-1260-1610

The English version of an exploration of Armenian manuscript art for a vast exhibition catalogue on the occasion the 500th anniversary of Armenian printing, 1512-2012.  The exhibit was held in the famous Correr Museum in the Piazzo San Marco using book items from its rich collection with loans from the Mekhitarist Brotherhood collection at San Lazzaro in the Venice lagoon and from various collections in Yerevan, Armenia.  The French version is posted below.

Acknowledgement of Moorish treaty rights is a procedure that will require you to detail certain evidence that cannot be disputed. There can be none who assume that proof of good standing membership will entitle them to royal treatment and complete exemption of corporate domestic cooperation. There is something unique about the sovereign that binds he or she to a set of unspoken virtues remaining as quietly kept as the days before light. This should be seen in every declaration of heritage or sovereign rights proported. Due to the advent of technology, this has become relatively easy to construct with integrity. In order to make a declaration that is multilateral in transmission, it has to have simple to understand format to avoid mistranslation of style and origin. To illustrate this, I have constructed my personal format to an aboriginal declaration using my own DNA results (provided by 23andme) and historical reference to the origin of the selected people in which the sovereign treaty references.

In this class, the medieval manuscript known as the Morgan Picture Bible (or The Crusader's Bible or The Maciejowski Bible or The Shah 'Abbas Bible), one of the greatest achievements of French Gothic illumination, will be studied to prepare a period style illumination.  Many period materials, methods and tools will be used and will be discussed and modern substitutions explained.  The exemplars will be examined as closely as possible using a magnifying glass and making detailed notes. While constantly consulting references, and seeking advice of experts in the illumination field, the following will be taken into consideration: page layout, calligraphy hands, illuminated figures and other decoration (materials and pigments, techniques used for modeling and brushwork, the iconography (subject, composition, symbology) and style), as well as the relationship between text and image.

Two illuminated Haggadot from Venetian Candia that were not thoroughly studied until now are the rarest extant examples of the Hebrew illuminated manuscripts produced in the Romaniot milieu. Their illustrative cycle is a compilation of different models, originated in Sepharad and Ashkenaz, although they incorporate many local Candiot characteristics. The study of these Haggadot reveals the complexity of the Jewish cultural background in Candia in the sixteenth century.

This thesis is focused on a previously unpublished collage comprised of two manuscript fragments from Safavid Iran. One fragment contains a painting that depicts an enthronement scene featuring King Solomon, which, as I argue, was taken from a copy of the Majalis al-Ushshaq by Kamal al-Din Gazurgahi. The other fragment contains verses from the Divan of Hafez. The fragment from the Divan has been gutted and overlaps the painting of Solomon, effectively framing the image. Through visual and textual analysis, I argue that both fragments come from manuscripts that were produced in Shiraz. I further argue that the painting of Solomon was executed at the asitana of Maulana Husam al-Din Ibrahim in the second quarter of the sixteenth century. My argument about the fragments’ origins is followed by an exploration of the painting’s symbolism in which I focus on a broken branch, an integral component of Solomon’s iconography in Persian painting. Finally, I explore the object’s afterlife and consider how the physical reconfiguration of these fragments causes them to take on new meaning. I read the fragments as a single folio and bring to light correlations between the text and image, which, were only realized because of their uncanny union. I conclude with the collage’s collection history and a hypothesis regarding the fragments’ transatlantic route.

Un'analisi che esamini la Miniatura Insulare a partire dal sostrato culturale e storico-artistico in cui si è sviluppata, tenendo in considerazione la cultura e l’arte dei popoli contemporanei ad essa ed i precedenti, che si insediarono nella medesima area geografica, creando civiltà altrettanto diverse tra loro.
Alle isole britanniche si riconducono le popolazioni celtiche, che ivi si sono stanziate, e quelle germaniche, che lo hanno fatto in seguito, dando vita quindi ad un miscuglio di popoli con caratteristiche del tutto uniche, che confluiscono nell'affascinante mondo dell’arte insulare.