Illuminated Manuscripts

Illuminated manuscripts are books that have been written and illustrated by hand. The world “illuminati” which is a Latin word that means “to light up”. Some experts believe that the term was used because those who made illuminated manuscripts tried to light up the word of God.

Illustrated books have been made throughout the ages. The ancient Egyptians made them, and of course they are still made by the modern printing press. But illuminated manuscripts are usually thought of as an art of the Middle Ages. This was an age when only a few people could read. Leaders of the church believed that pictures in a book would provide religious education to those who could not understand written words. For the same reason, the beautiful churches and cathedrals of the age were also lavishly decorated.

Illuminated manuscripts were usually filled with pictures of religious events. Often the first letter of a new section was surrounded with decoration. These illustrations were called miniatures. They were called this partly because of their size but mainly because their main color was often minium, a red pigment that comes from lead. Many illuminated manuscripts were done in rich colors and gold.

Most illuminated manuscripts were created in Christian monasteries, but all the decorations did not have religious subjects. Pages were bordered with designs that made a frame for the text. Sometimes the designs were based on flowere and plants. Often the designs were geometric patterns-circles, triangles, squares and so forth. The pattern often had nothing at all to do with the thext but were created only to decorate the page. Early in the Middle Ages, the pages of manuscripts were dyed purple. Early in the Middle Ages, the pages of manuscripts were dyed purple. Then a scribe wrote the text in gold or silver ink.