Embedded Files
Figure 1: This is an image of letters decorated with gold leaf.
What is an illuminated manuscript?
What is an illuminated manuscript?
Illuminated manuscripts were pieces of literature that were copied down by scribes. The manuscripts were decorated with colorful and elaborate illustrations to go along with the story that was being told.To be considered an illuminated manuscript, the illustrations on the page must be embellished with some sort of metallic substance. Sometimes this was gold leaf, silver powder, brass, or metallic tin. There were multiple areas of the manuscript that could be decorated with these elaborate designs. Margins, chapter headings, and even full page illustrations were the most often decorated areas. Monk scribes in Catholic monasteries would painstakingly copy down books from their large library. The text would then be decorated by other monks who specialized in artistry.
How were they stored?
How were they stored?
After the text was finished the manuscripts would be bound into a collection. There were multiple ways to do this. One way was called a codex. In this method manuscripts would be bound together between two pieces of plank. Another method was scrolls. In this method the manuscripts would be rolled up and collected into special drawers or other holding places.
Figure 2: This is a manuscript that is bound in a codex
Figure 3: This is an image of a full page of decoration in an illuminated manuscript.
Why were they important?
Why were they important?
Illuminated manuscripts were important to medieval Europe because they were a way to transfer stories from culture to culture. The images in the manuscripts made comprehension of the story depicted possible even if the person looking at it was not completely literate at all or just in the language it was written in.
What impact did they have?
What impact did they have?
The manuscripts had an impact on civilization in the way that they were important in wealth and social class. The more wealthy members of society may have had large and expensive collections of these manuscripts. Some of the more wealthier people may have even employed scribes or artists so that they could curate their own manuscripts. Poorer individuals could often find these manuscripts at churches where they could read them. One reason that the manuscripts were so often owned by the wealthy was that in this time they were the people in society that were most likely to be educated and literate.
Figure 4: This picture shows a scene in a story being depicted on one of the manuscript pages
More information (websites here)
More information (websites here)
-
-
-
-
Museum "Rooms" - Every student in the group must create a Museum Room which should feature a specific invention or innovation for the team's civilization. Rooms should contain between 300 and 400 words of text, use in text citations or reference phrases as needed. (According to..., As found in...) and should present ALL of the following information:
Background information on why this invention or innovation was needed by this civilization
How was the invention made?
What impact did the invention have on this civilization?
What (if any) impact did the invention have on later civilizations?
What else made this invention so historically important?
At least two images relating to the invention and/or information on the page with identification numbers and captions explaining the images.
3 to 5 links to other websites with related information and why a visitor might find them interesting
Page updated
Report abuse