Literature Review Illuminated Manuscripts
Uploaded by trigerman on Oct 31, 2011
This paper samples 12 sources that discuss illuminated manuscripts
I Introduction
The purpose of this literature review is to examine some of the works that have been written about illuminated manuscripts.
My observation of the literature thus far would indicate that most books tend to cover the same ground, and many use the same illustrations. Nevertheless, each work brings something new to the debate, in addition to reinforcing previous observations.
II Literature
I decided to try to use several different types of references, specifically books, articles, and material on the Internet. This I thought would give a wide range from classic publications to the most recent web documents. I was also interested to see if such a narrow subject would have much appeal to “netizens.”
Let’s begin with the Internet. A search for the terms “illuminated manuscripts” yielded 44,200 hits! It would appear that a great many people are interested in the subject, even though they are approaching it through the newest of electronic media. However, upon scanning through the websites I discovered that many of them are either museum sites that display their collections of illuminated manuscripts, or art galleries displaying such works for sale. Very few of the sites discussed the manuscripts from a scholarly viewpoint; however, I’ve found four that we can examine.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, perhaps not surprisingly, gives a very thorough overview of illuminated manuscripts, touching on the various forms of illustration; the origins of the art form; and the way in which different cultures decorated their books. They put special emphasis on the Middle Ages in Europe. For a relatively short entry, this one is comprehensive. (Bréhier, PG).
A gentleman named Phil Barber has a website which he calls “Historic Pages.” He devotes a section to illustrated manuscripts, and gives a very brief description of them. He doesn’t go into much detail; he leaves out all the early development in various countries that the Catholic Encyclopedia delineates, for instance. His emphasis is on the types of paper used, and the pen and inks of the time. He also is the only source I’ve found that discusses preservation. This is very brief, less than two pages, but for anyone who wants a bare-bones explanation in simple terms, this is a good spot to start. (Barber, PG).
The University of Rochester has put up a short...