Illuminations appeared in hand-made manuscripts created during the Middle Ages (the term "manuscript" translates from the Latin as "made by hand"). They were painted in bright colors and highlighted with gold and silver leaf so that they appeared to be lit up from within - thus the origination of the term "illumination." Considering the fragile nature of these ancient books and the fact that they were transported all over Europe to be used for teaching and religious/missionary work, it is amazing we have these beautiful works of art to observe today in all their splendor.
We have learned how the monks worked at transcribing and decorating illuminated manuscripts by studying medieval drawings and paintings. For instance, this portrait of a monk has survived from c. 1150 that clearly shows his method of working - with a pen in one hand and a curved knife in the other. The writers or copyists were called scribes. Their work was carried out in monasteries all over Europe in specialized rooms called scriptoria - these were not the height of comfort. Conditions were often cramped, dark, and cold.
The monks painstakingly prepared pigments as well as parchment and vellum for their work; paper had not yet been developed. Their work was very specialized: one group produced the parchment and vellum, one group did the writing, a third group decorated the manuscripts with designs and paintings known as illuminations or miniatures, and a fourth group bound the pages into books.
Why Illuminated Books?
The great medievalist Jean Leclerq has described monastic culture "as the love of learning and the desire for God," and indeed a legacy of learning grew out of the monasteries. During the Middle Ages, monasteries became important elements of religious and political life. Monks lived in a community according to a strict set of guidelines and spent much of their time in prayer to God. Kings, queens, and rich aristocrats considered the monks the highest models of virtue, essential to the salvation of society, and they gave lands and privileges to support the monastic communities. Although individual monks were poor and powerless, the monasteries became rich and important institutions.
My research into the illuminated manuscripts consistently revealed two powerful figures: Saint Benedict and Charlemagne. Under their influence, the monasteries became important centers of learning and study.
St. Benedict is one of the greatest figures of the western religious tradition. His Rule for monks became the most common Rule in the Christian world, and was paramount in reclaiming barren wasteland and transforming the economy. The wasteland of the soul was also reclaimed, for Benedict's work rejuvenated all aspects of life, transforming daily activities into prayerful ones. The monastery was truly the stronghold where things necessary for a cultured and spiritual life were acquired. As the Roman Empire crumbled, the Benedictine abbeys under Saint Benedict's rule salvaged Christian concepts and became centers of learning that literally preserved Roman civilization.
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