Theophilus Presbyter

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Christ crucified from a Processional Cross, by the circle of Roger of Helmarshausen, Lower Saxony, c. 1100, cast bronze

Theophilus Presbyter (fl. c. 1070–1125) is the pseudonymous author or compiler of a Latin text containing detailed descriptions of various medieval arts, a text commonly known as the Schedula diversarum artium ("List of various arts") or De diversis artibus ("On various arts"), probably first compiled between 1100 and 1120.

Work

The oldest manuscript copies of De diversis artibus are found in Vienna (

antiquaries had already become suspicious.[1] It also contains what seems to be the earliest textual evidence for wire-making using a draw plate.[2]

Theophilus' Schedula allows detailed insights into the techniques used in the applied arts in the

illumination of texts and painting of walls. The second deals with the production of stained glass and techniques of glass painting, while the last deals with various techniques of goldsmithing and other metalwork. It also includes an introduction into the building of organs
.

The First Book, on painting, is not particularly well-informed, but adequately reliable, the Second, on glass, is better, while most of the Third Book is clearly the work of a practising metalworker. It has recently been suggested that the apparent contradictory evidence as to dating, practical experience, and location of 'Theophilus' is best explained if the Schedula is understood to be a compilation.[3]

The work has been translated into English, French, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Hungarian, German, Italian, Japanese, Bulgarian, and Russian, mostly in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Biography

'Theophilus' was quite possibly a

St. Pantaleon's church in Cologne, and moved to Helmarshausen Abbey in 1107. The identity of the two men has been argued among researchers for some time, but Freise's conclusions have not yet been accepted by all researchers. Other suggestions have also been made, and at present there can not be said to be a consensus.[4]

Editions and translations

Two editions of Theophilus's work with English translations:

Further reading

In English

In German

  • Brepohl, E. (1999). Theophilus Presbyter und das mittelalterliche Kunsthandwerk (in German). Cologne.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) (2 volumes).
  • Freise, E. (1981). "Roger von Helmarshausen in seiner monastischen Umwelt". Frühmittelalterliche Studien (in German). Vol. 15.
  • Lessing, Gotthold Ephraim (1774). Vom Alter der Ölmalerey aus dem Theophilus Presbyter (in German). Berlin.
  • Theobald, W. (1933). Technik des Kunsthandwerks im 10. Jh. Des T. Schedula Diversarum Artium (in German). Berlin.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) 1953 and 1983 (includes translations and explanations of sections of the work).

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Theophilus Presbyter.

References

  1. ^ Gotlieb, Marc, "The Painter's Secret: Invention and Rivalry from Vasari to Balzac", p. 473, The Art Bulletin, Vol. 84, No. 3 (Sep., 2002), pp. 469–490, JSTOR
  2. ^ E. G. Thomsen and H. H. Thomsen, 'Early Wire Drawing Through Dies', Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering, 96.4 (November 1974), 1216–21.
  3. ^ Clarke, M. (2011) Mediaeval Painters’ Materials and Techniques: The Montpellier ‘Liber diversarum arcium’. London: Archetype Publications: 56–7
  4. ^ [1], "Around Theophilus": expert meeting, Wolfenbüttel 2010.
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