Byzantine illuminated manuscripts
Byzantine illuminated manuscripts were produced across the
Not all Byzantine illuminated manuscripts were religious texts, secular subjects are represented in chronicles (e.g. Madrid Skylitzes), medical texts such as the Vienna Dioscurides, and some manuscripts of the Greek version of the Alexander Romance. In addition to the majority of manuscripts, in Greek, there are also manuscripts from the Syriac Church, such as the Rabbula Gospels, and Armenian illuminated manuscripts which are heavily influenced by the Byzantine tradition.[3]
"Luxury" heavily-illuminated manuscripts are less of a feature in the Byzantine world than in Western Christianity, perhaps because the Greek elite could always read their texts, which was often not the case with Latin books in the West, and so the style never became common. However, there are examples, both literary (mostly early) and religious (mostly later).
The
Combined there are 40.000 Byzantine manuscripts extant today but most are not illuminated.
Origins
Due to the lack of early Byzantine manuscripts, it is difficult to know about the situation of illumination during the first centuries of the Eastern Roman Empire.
These manuscripts show clear influences of ancient stylistic traditions. This is the case in the oldest of these codices, the
Development
Iconoclastic period
While a certain number of works of art and in particular manuscripts were destroyed, some manuscripts were nevertheless produced during this period from the seventh to the mid-ninth century, particularly in the peripheral areas of the empire, such as in Palestine, or in Italy. It is probably in the latter that a copy of the Sacra Parallela (BNF, Greek 923) was produced, which contains more than 1600 illustrations located in the margins of the manuscript. The style is very distant from the models of the late antiquity, it is notable in its use thick black brush strokes and its use of the gold ground technique. But it was in Constantinople, in a monastic scriptorium, that the Chludov Psalter was painted in the middle of the ninth century, it contains numerous figurative decorations in the margins, including a representation of a scene of the destruction of an icon.[5]
Renaissance
Illumination flourished starting from the late 9th century to the 12th century. Several hundred manuscripts are preserved from this period , they are most often
Illumination from this period most often consists of miniatures either full-page or on part of the page such as margin decorations and less frequently initials of simple ornamental of vegetal or zoomorphic decoration.[7]
The
Among the sources of inspiration, illumination of the late antiquity is still present. However, many manuscripts, including religious ones, also draw their iconography from scenes of daily life. Furthermore, Islamic art provided models for ornamental motifs and zoomorphic decorations.[9]
An evolution stands out during the period. While the first manuscripts of the 10th century, under ancient influence, favored naturalistic or even illusionist representations, from the end of this century, the works presented more hieratic figures, with more elongated dimensions, with a rise of the use of gilded backgrounds. The menologion of Basil II (BAV) as well as his psalter (Biblioteca Marciana, Gr.Z17) represent the beginnings of this style, while the Homilies of Chrysostom (BNF Coislin 79) represents its height in the middle of the eleventh century. The ornamental motifs increased in variations, as can be seen in the Gospel of Paris (BNF Gr.54). During the twelfth century, illuminators associated ornaments and figurative scenes with abundant miniature frames, initials and decorations on the margins. This is the case of the Seraglio Octateuch (Topkapi Palace) and another manuscript of the Gregory of Nazianzuz in Paris (BNF, Gr.550). The apogee of this style is found in the Homilies of James of Kokkinobaphos (BNF, Gr.1208), which also considerably renewed the iconography in use at the time.[10]
Latin interlude
During the period of the occupation of Constantinople by the
Palaeologian era
The field of illumination remained more in permanence during the time of the
Nevertheless, some manuscripts took advantage of the revival of monumental painting during the fourteenth century, with much more expressive and virtuoso representations, particularly in portraits. These are found in a manuscript of theological works of Emperor John VI Kantakouzenos (BNF, Gr.1242) in which are painted in addition to a Transfiguration, the portraits of the owner as an emperor and as a monk. This is also the case with a manuscript from of Hippocrates depicting the Grand Duke Alexios Apokaukos (BNF, Gr.2144) and another from the Bodleian library (Typicon, Cod.Gr.35) depicting nuns around their abbess of Monastery of the Good Hope in Constantinople.[13]
Subject Matter
Devotional Manuscripts
The Greek Bible was produced in small segments during the Byzantine period for private study and use during church services. For example there are
The
Prophet or Gospel Books
One of the earliest known illuminated New Testament manuscripts is the 6th-century Rossano Gospels.[3] The Illuminated Prophet Books are another example of illuminated manuscripts depicting major and minor prophets through portraiture along with narrative miniatures. The style of illustrations follow somewhat of an icon model but a title noting the name of the prophet was needed to prevent confusion. None of the prophet books contain a date but based on the style of the miniatures and script they approximately range from the mid tenth century to the mid thirteenth century.[15]
The Chronicle of John Skylitzes of Madrid
In the twelfth century, The Chronicle of John Skylitzes of Madrid documented
Author portraits
The classical tradition of the
Patronage
During the Byzantine Empire, religious art was produced with the help of patrons who provided the funds needed to produce these works.
Significant manuscripts (with articles)
- Cotton Genesis, 4th or 5th century, heavily illustrated. Images copied before the original was mostly destroyed in the Cotton library fire in 1731, leaving only eighteen charred fragments.
- Ambrosian Iliad, 52 small images cut out in the Middle Ages from a 5th-century manuscript
- Old Testament fragment (Naples, Biblioteca Vittorio Emanuele III, I B 18), 5th-century Coptic fragment
- gospel book
- Alexandrian World Chronicle, probably 6th-century fragmentary world history
- London Canon Tables, 6th-7th century fragment of a grand gospel book.[20]
- Syriac Bible of Paris, 6th-7th century, much missing
- Vienna Dioscurides, early 6th-century medical text
- Naples Dioscurides, 7th century
- Paris Gregory, c. 880, a gift for the emperor
- Sacra Parallela, a 9th-century manuscript in Paris has 1,658 illustrations
- Byzantine iconoclasm
- Paris Psalter, 10th-century luxury psalter with 14 full-page miniatures
- Joshua Roll, 10th century scroll with large illustrations of the story of Joshua
- Menologion of Basil II, c. 1000, 430 mostly half-page pictures
- Madrid Skylitzes, 12th century chronicle with 574 small miniatures, produced in Sicily, probably copying an older version
Gallery
-
The earliest crucifixion in an illuminated manuscript, from the 6th-century Syriac Rabbula Gospels
-
6th-7th century London Canon Tables which were bound with a 12th-century Byzantine Gospel Book.
-
Naples Dioscurides, 7th-century manuscript illustrating plants and their medicinal use.
-
9th-century page from theBook of Psalms.
-
11th century the writings from the beginning of the Gospel of Luke with illumination.
-
12th-century evangelist portrait of Mark
-
13th-century illumination depicting the Crossing of the Red Sea.
-
14th-century Greek manuscript depicting the life of Alexander the Great.
-
15th century miniature from the Louvre MS. Ivoires 100 manuscript, depicting the Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos, Empress Helena and three of their sons.
Notes
- ^ OCLC 43729117.
- ^ )
- ^ a b c BL
- ^ Durand 1999, p. 37-40
- ^ Durand 1999, p. 75-76
- ^ Durand 1999, p. 108-109
- ^ Durand 1999, p. 109-110
- ^ Durand 1999, p. 110-113
- ^ Durand 1999, p. 113-117
- ^ Durand 1999, p. 123-127
- ^ Durand 1999, p. 167
- ^ Durand 1999, p. 192-193
- ^ Durand 1999, p. 193
- ^ a b BL; Maxwell
- ^ OCLC 16278191.
- ^ Morgan, Nigel J. "Chronicles and histories, manuscript". Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
- ISBN 978-0-271-00771-7.
- .
- S2CID 194502431.
- ^ Maxwell; BL
References
- Betancourt, Roland. "Faltering Images: Failure and Error in Byzantine Manuscript Illumination." Word & Image 32, no. 1 (2016): 1-20.
- "BL", "Picturing the Sacred: Byzantine Manuscript Illumination", British Library blog, 7 November 2016
- Cormack, Robin. Byzantine Art. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
- Dolezal, Mary-Lyon. "Illuminating the Liturgical Word: Text and Image in a Decorated Lectionary (Mount Athos, Dionysiou Monastery, Cod. 587)." Word & Image: A Journal of Verbal/Visual Enquiry 12, no. 1 (1996): 23-60.
- [null Jeffreys, Elizabeth., Haldon, John F, and Cormack, Robin. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. First ed. Oxford Handbooks. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.]
- Kazhdan, A. P., Talbot, Alice-Mary Maffry, Cutler, Anthony, Gregory, Timothy E, and Ševčenko, Nancy Patterson. The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.
- Lowden, John. The Octateuch : A Study in Byzantine Manuscript Illustration. University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1992.
- Maxwell, Kathleen, "Illuminated Gospel-books", British Library
- Morgan, Nigel J. "Chronicles and histories, manuscript." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press, accessed October 24, 2017, http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T017516.
- Ross, Leslie. Text, Image, Message: Saints in Medieval Manuscript Illustrations. Contributions to the Study of Art and Architecture; No. 3. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1994.