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LC Art History > Early Christian Manuscript > Flashcards

Early Christian Manuscript Flashcards

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1
Q

Illuminated manuscripts

A

early books which combined text with decoration such as decorated initials or illustrations

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2
Q

Background

A
  1. Up to 15th century, books reprod. by hand
  2. No invention allowed for multiple copies of text/images
  3. Limited book numbers, in possession of religious orders + v.wealthy
  4. Most illiterate, depended on clerical society to produce + manage records. (Explained power church had)
  5. manuscripts valuable
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3
Q

Why were manuscripts valuable?

A

bc of manpower + expertise used in production, materials v valuable

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4
Q

Monastic context

A
  • Monks trained in art of manuscript illumination prod. books of religious materials
  • Monks roles: text, deco of text, creation of imagery
  • Created in scriptorium
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5
Q

St. Colmcille of Iona

A
  • Monasteries founded - renowned for manuscript production
  • Earliest Irish manuscript ‘The Cathach’, believed to be written by him
  • Founded monastery of Iona, site for prod. of Book of Kells
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6
Q

Pigments and inks

A
  • deep blue
  • deep indigo
  • white
  • purple + mauve
  • yellow
  • orange
  • deep red
  • green
  • brown/black ink
  • egg white
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7
Q

Deep blue

A

mineral lapis lazuli, mined in Afghanistan, diff + expensive to obtain

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8
Q

Deep indigo

A

oriental plant

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9
Q

White

A

chalk white + white lead

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10
Q

Purple + mauve

A

litmus plant from Mediterranean

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11
Q

Yellow

A

arsenic sulphide, create gold coloured deco

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12
Q

Orange

A

red lead

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13
Q

Deep red

A

Mediterranean insect

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14
Q

Green

A

copper

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15
Q

Brown/black ink

A

mixing iron sulphate, ground apples, glue gum, water, used to write text

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16
Q

Egg white

A

bind pigments in Book of Kells

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17
Q

Writing tools

A
  • pens
  • brushes
  • knives
  • cow horns
  • compasses + rulers
  • templates
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18
Q

Pens

A

text + drawing, goose/swan feathers, nib sharpened w/ blade

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19
Q

Brushes

A

applying colour, wood + natural fur fibres

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20
Q

Knives

A

trimming vellum, scrape away mistakes

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21
Q

Cow horns

A

used as ink wells

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22
Q

Compasses + rulers

A

layout + design

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23
Q

Templates

A

repeat pattersn

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24
Q

Pages/folios

A

folio

bifolio

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25
Q

folio

A

1 page in a manuscript

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26
Q

bifolio

A

double page in a manuscript

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27
Q

pages/folios

A
  • paper not widely used in Europe until 15th c, animal skin most popular material
  • Used calfskin/vellum
  • Use of vellum advantage - smooth, tough + durable in damp Irish climate
  • Prep of calfskin - extremely time consuming
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28
Q

turning calfskin into vellum

A
  • Skin dipped in lime to looser hair from hide
  • scraped w/ knife
  • skin stretched on frame, craftsman picked out hair
  • bifolio cut out of vellum to equal scale
  • marks cut w/ point of knife along edges of pages to assist ruling of pages
  • pages ruled w/ ruler made of wood/bone. Layout worked out using implements (set-squares, dividers, compasses, templates)
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29
Q

subject matter

A

The Cathach - copy of book of psalms from old testament

Book of Durrow + Book of Kells - copy of new testament

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30
Q

decorations

A 
diminuendo
red dot
capital letter deco
snake
peacock
lion
fish
interlace
framed pages of interlace
la tene mtoifs
geometric patterns
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31
Q

diminuendo

A

technique at beginning o sentence,letters of a word gradually decrease in size

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32
Q

red dot

A

letter/word/image surrounded w/ small dots of red pigment

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33
Q

capital letter decoration

A

letters richly decorated, often take form of animal/zoomorphic deco

34
Q

snake

A

symbol of everlasting life

35
Q

peacock

A

symbol of everlasting life

36
Q

lion

A

symbol of the resurrection

37
Q

fish

A

letters of word fish in Greek can make up Jesus/Christ/the son/saviour

38
Q

interlace

A

extensive use of interlace (plain + zoomorphic) (found throughout manuscripts from 7th century)

39
Q

framed pages of interlace

A

used as it was believed that decorated fram protected image within

40
Q

la tene motifs

A

curvilinear forms + trumpets, peltas, triskeles

41
Q

geometric patterns

A

found in later manuscripts such as Book of Kells

42
Q

text and writing in manuscripts

A

written in Latin alphabet + in calligraphy style

half-unical script
unical script
insular

43
Q

Half-Unical script

A
  • first Irish manuscripts written in Irish ‘half-unical’ script
  • Has descenders + ascender
  • small books written in ‘miniscule’ script (lower case)
44
Q

Unical script

A
  • a majuscule script (capital letters)

- large manuscripts illuminated in colour written in solemn ‘majuscule’ script

45
Q

insular script

A
  • developed in Ireland in 7th century
  • related to unical
  • Has British + Continental traditions and strong elements of Irish Celtic traditions
46
Q

the cathach facts

A
  • date: 6th century
  • script: Celtic half-unical
  • material: vellum
  • language: Latin
  • colours: black, red brown
47
Q

the cathach - function

A
  • copy of book of psalms, used for daily singing by monks

- decorated nature suggests - for use of abbot + head of order

48
Q

the cathach - history

A
  • ‘Cathach’ means battle book, refers to legend about St/ Colmcille
  • Colmcille copied a book lent to him by St. Finnian -> earliest disputes about copyright (disagreement about ownership of copy)
  • Dispute ended w/ battle (claimed lives of many)
  • St Colmcille exiled to Iona
49
Q

the cathach - deco

A
  • Not as lavish in deco/colour as later manuscripts
  • Use of red dots surrounding letters seen on many initials
  • Use of diminuendo seen at beginning
  • No decorative interlace, number of capitals decorated w/La Tene motifs of spiral + curvilinear forms, trumpets, peltas
  • Use of zoomorphic motifs
  • Main colours: black, white, small amounts of red
50
Q

the cathach -pages

A

letter ‘g’

letter ‘i’

51
Q

the book of durrow - pages

A

The Carpet Page
The Man Symbol
The Chi Ro Page
The ‘Initium’ Page

52
Q

the book of durrow - facts

A
  • date: 7th century
  • script: insular majuscule
  • material: vellum
  • height: 26cm
  • language: Latin
  • colours: black, red, green, yellow, brown
  • location: Trinity College, Dublin
53
Q

the book of durrow - function

A
  • copy of the four gospels
  • used during high mass for reading from lectern
  • size, rich colouring + decoration indicates -> used for display + decoration
54
Q

the book of durrow - layout

A
  1. opens w/ 2 decorated pages, carpet page, divided cruciform page w/ symbols of the 4 evangelists (matthew, mark, luke, john)
  2. then follows the canon tables surrounded w/ decorative interlaced frame
  3. at beginning of each gospel -> framed page w/ symbol of individual evangelist against bg of bare vellum followed by carpet page
  4. text of each gospel begins w/decorated capital
55
Q

carpet page

A

page solely made up of deco

56
Q

canon tables

A

history of the church

57
Q

The Book of Kells - pages

A 
Chi Rho
Portrait of St. John
Temptation of Christ
The Virgin and Child
The Arrest of Christ
The Four Evangelists page
58
Q

The Book of Kells - facts

A
  • date: late 8th century
  • Insular majuscule
  • material: vellum
  • height: 33cm
  • pages: 339 pages (some missing)
  • language: Latin
  • colours: black, red, green, yellow, brown, blues, purples, oranges, pinks, white lead
  • location: Trinity College Dublin
59
Q

The Book of Kells - function

A
  • altar book for special occasions
  • size, rich colouring, deco indicates used for display + devotion
  • copy of the four gospels
  • like Book of Durrow, includes canon tables
60
Q

The Book of Kells - layout

A
  • opens w/ cruciform patterned carpet page followed w/ canon tables
  • follows page of the symbols of four Evangelists followed by four gospels
  • each gospel has page of symbols of Evangelists
  • opening words of each gospel highly decorated + dominate entire text
  • every page has extensive deco
61
Q

The Book of Kells - history

A
  • believe produced at monastery of Iona in Scotland
  • Iona suffered VIking attacks, never to recover
  • Kells founded in 804AD, mother church after fall of Iona
  • book completed/begun on island of Iona, brought to Kells + completed
62
Q

The Book of Kells - scribes

A

idk whatever

63
Q

The Book of Kells - artists

A

goldsmith
portrait painter
illustrator & storyteller

64
Q

The Book of Kells - goldsmith

A
  • credited w/ the eight circles carpet page, the chi Rho page, opening words of gospels of Matthew, Mark and John, other smaller pieces of deco
  • responsible for metalwork effects + microscopic details such as in Chi Rho page
  • colours he uses: silver, blue, soft green, yellow, purple, red
  • uses abstract design, strapwork, spirals, twisted bodies + beasts to decorate
  • given his name bc of metallic colours he used + similarity of his designs to Irish metalwork
  • Chi Rho Page, Eight Circle Carpet Page
65
Q

The Book of Kells - portrait painter

A
  • responsible for portraits of Christ, Matthew, John
  • interested in basic shapes
  • anatomy far from accurate
  • uses curves in material + hair to camouflage lack of knowledge
  • introduced variety of pattern into hairstyles + clothes
  • work shows concern for symmetry
  • Portrait of St. John
66
Q

The Book of Kells - illustrator & storyteller

A
  • responsible for zoomorphic + humanforms decorating text at random
  • sense of playfulness to his work
  • liked bright colours + washes of blue and green
  • responsible for figures such as virgin and child page
  • borders and frames were outlines to present his figures
  • The Temptation of Christ, The Virgin and Child, The four Evangelists page, The Arrest of Christ
67
Q

The Book of Kells - decoration

A
  • richness + complexity of design displayed, not seen in Book of Durrow
  • interlace distinguished by finesse + complexity of design
  • plain interlace made up of fine threadlike ribbons
  • direct comparison between intricate deco of Tara Brooch + Book of Kells
  • text decorated w/ decoration of capital letters + complete lines of script using colour, diminuendo, red dot, small images
  • some pages dedicated to simply one sentence of deco text (folio 34r Chi Rho Page)
  • New techniques such as marbling, found primarily in border frames of illustrated pages
  • number 3 is referred to regularly
68
Q

scribes and calligraphy

A
  • main body of text written in ‘Insular Majuscule’ (capital letter)
  • wide rounded letters, vertical ascenders + descenders
  • Triangular serifs (ends) on ascenders
  • written mainly in lower case miniscule
  • 4 diff scribes
69
Q

Scribe A

A

wrote plainly w/ dark brown ink

70
Q

Scribe B

A
  • wrote w/ coloured inks + in fancier style

- exaggerated length of his descenders

71
Q

Scribe C & D

A
  • used miniscule script w/ brown ink

- decorated between lines w/ small cartoon-like drawings

72
Q

Book of Durrow - Folio 3V, carpet page

A
  • 3rd page of book (folio 3v) is a carpet page
  • shows extensive use of La Tene decoration incl triskeles, trumpet forms, peltas, spirals
  • framed w band of broad ribbon interlace
  • design outlined w areas of baclk to allow decoration to appear bold
73
Q

Book of Durrow - Folio 21V Man Symbol

A
  • Folio 21V depicts ‘the man symbol’ at beginning of gospel of St Matthew
  • framed w protective panels of broad ribbon interlace

treament of figure:

  • area around figure undecorated so attention drawn to figure
  • features symmetrical, drawn w aid of template
  • nose extended from eyebrows with large oval eyebrows + segment mouth
  • hairstyle like a monk’s
  • feet drawn freehand, show no knowledge of perspective/anatomy
  • cloak covered in small multicoloured squares likened to effect of millefiori glass
74
Q

Book of Durrow - Chi Rho Page

A
  • appears in St Matthews gospel at point in text when Christ born
  • Greek letters X, P I are first three letters of Greek word meaning ‘Christ’
  • monogram takes up about 4 lines of text
  • ‘X’ is decorated with La Tene motifs + extensive use of red dot
  • red curvilinear lines in between each paragraph
  • ‘P’ decorated with panels + La Tene motifs, rest of text highlighted with red dot
  • Treatment likened to stipling effect on Ardagh Chalice that highlights names of apostles
  • word Joseph is decorated w red dots + diminuendo at bottom
75
Q

Book of Kells - Chi Rho

A
  • Packed with detail
  • last and finest page of book
  • heralds birth of Christ in text
  • monogram dominates entire page, decorated with minute detail + rich colouring
  • Surrounding ‘X’ - disks of coloured La Tene design, on left side are stylised decorative angels
  • ‘P’ decorated with continuous interlace + bright red border, curve ends with stylised human head
  • Beneath ‘P’ - otter w/ fish in its mouth
  • Left of that, image of cats + mice w/ eucharist in their mouth
  • Tiny details make it so memorable
76
Q

Book of Kells - Portrait of St John

A
  • Portrait painter
  • St John’s role as evangelist indicated by long quilt in right hand, book in left hand, horn ink well at right foot
  • Double halo behind head
  • Alternating use of red, yellow, blue frames
  • Empty negative space behind figure gives him commanding presence
  • Two hands extend out towards at both sides, two feet appear at bottom, shoulders + head appear at top
  • Perhaps symbolise divine inspiration/Christ on the cross
77
Q

Book of Kells - Temptation of Christ

A
  • Colours incl blue, green, brown, red
  • frame of interlace surrounds image
  • dominated by depiction of a building believed to be early wooden church
  • figure in doorway believed to represent an abbot
  • above building - stylised figure of christ, symbolically largest figure on page
  • at head of Christ - 2 angels
  • To right of Christ - winged figure of satan in black
  • Bottom: may represent monks of the order
  • Left of Christ: some of apostles
  • figures - highly stylised, no concern for anatomy
78
Q

Book of Kells - Virgin and Child

A
  • Made by Illustrator
  • Earliest known representation of the Virgin
  • Mary - 3/4 pose holding Jesus
  • Head much larger than Child Jesus’s
  • Style + pose may derive from a Mediterranean icon
  • not a common subject during the period
79
Q

Book of Kells - Four Evangelists

A
  • Man = Matthew, Lion = Mark, Ox = Luke, Eagle = John,
  • colours blue + purple dominate composition
  • frame border treated w/ marbling effect
  • each of symbols treated in highly stylised fashion, elaborate wings
  • correct perspective/anatomy not concern
  • use of white lead for faces + features of symbols
80
Q

Book of Kells - Arrest of Christ

A
  • enclosed in arch representing garden of Gethsemane
  • 2 figures grab Christ
  • at top, two fierce monsters snarl facing each other, suggesting violence + evil of occasion
  • Jesus portrayed as calm + solemn w/ arms outstretched in surrender
  • red gown, face, hands, hair perfectly symmetrical
  • scene stylised, no attempt made at realistic human depiction

LC Art History (17 decks)

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