517 -
1250
In the earlier Middle
Ages, books were
generally handwritten
and painted in monastic
scriptorium. The
scriptorium was looked
upon as a sort of
sanctified dwelling, and
the craft of reproducing
and embellishing
manuscipts was
considered a
labour of religious
dedication and
devotion?entered upon
with heartfelt prayer,
and only approved by the
superior, especially
when the books to be
written was a Bible. The
monastic scribes worked
in strictly enforced
silence with candles
being forbidden lest the
precious works
accidentally catch fire.
The scriptorium was a
place for the copying
and writing of books. It
was generally a large
room adjacent to a
monastery. Historian F. Somner Merryweather
describes the working
conditions "In most
monasteries there were
two kinds of Scriptoria,
or writing offices; for
in addition to the large
and general apartment
used for the
transcription of church
books and manuscripts
for the library, there
were also several
smaller ones occupied by
the superiors and the
more learned members of
the community, as
closets for private
devotion and study. Thus
we read, that in the
Cistercian orders there
were places set apart
for the transcription of
books called Scriptoria,
or cells assigned to the
scribes, "separate from
each other," where the
books might be
transcribed in the
strictest silence,
according to the holy
rules of their founders.
These little cells were
usually situated in the
most retired part of the
monastery, and were
probably incapable of
accommodating more than
one or two persons; dull
and comfortless places,
no doubt, yet they were
deemed great luxuries,
and the use of them only
granted to such as
became distinguished for
their piety, or
erudition."
Monks
were regularly
commissioned by royalty
and members of the
Church. They copied the
Sacred Scripture and the
writings of early Church
Fathers. According to
Medieval historian,
Julia De Wolf Addison,
"The work of each
scriptorium was devoted
first to the completion
of the library of the
individual monastery,
and after that, to other
houses, or to such
patrons as were rich
enough to order books to
be transcribed for their
own use. The library of
a monastery was as much
a feature as the
scriptorium. The monks
were not like the rising
literary man, who, when
asked if he had read "Pendennis"
replied, "No?I never
read books?I write
them." Every scribe was
also a reader. There was
a regular system of
lending books from the
central store. A
librarian was in charge,
and every monk was
supposed to have some
book which he was
engaged in reading
"straight through" as
the Rule of St. Benedict
enjoins, just as much as
the one which he was
writing. As silence was
obligatory in the
scriptorium and library,
as well as in the
cloisters, they were
forced to apply for the
volumes which they
desired by signs. For a
general work, the sign
was to extend the hand
and make a movement as
if turning over the
leaves of a book. If a
Missal was wanted, the
sign of the cross was
added to the same form;
for a Gospel, the sign
of the cross was made
upon the forehead, while
those who wished tracts
to read, should lay one
hand on the mouth and
the other on the
stomach; a Capitulary
was indicated by the
gesture of raising the
clasped hands to heaven,
while a Psalter could be
obtained by raising the
hands above the head in
the form of a crown. As
the good brothers were not possessed
of much religious
charity, they indicated
a secular book by
scratching their ears,
as dogs are supposed to
do, to imply the
suggestion that the
infidel who wrote such a
book was no better than
a dog!
With
the triumph of
Christianity, the early
illuminators aspired to
reawaken the divine
spirit of holy figures
rather than depict their
physical qualities.
Their unique style is a
combination of frontal
simplicity, truth to
nature, harmonious unity
together with precision
in details. Supplies
were extremely costly,
and included ground up
precious stones and gold
and silver leaf. The
labour involved was
tremendous and
illustrated manuscripts
often took years and
sometimes decades to
complete. Only the rich
and powerful could
afford to purchase such
masterpieces. Most
members of royal
families had a
collection of specially
commissioned books.
Illuminated books were
status symbols and
considered to be as
precious as gold.
