Editing Illuminated manuscript (section)

== Techniques ==
[[File:Archive-ugent-be-7F0C4994-C579-11E7-8646-155E6EE4309A DS-46 (cropped).jpg|left|thumb|Page from a Latin [[book of hours]], with [[miniature (illuminated manuscript)|miniature]]s of saints.  Book of Hours of Alexandre Petau, 16th century, [[Rouen]], well after printing had become more common.]]

Styles and techniques of manuscript illumination varied by region, and there were distinct differences in aspects like color palette, decoration style, and peak periods of output. Certain places like the Celtic regions specialized in more ornamental details in contrast to the Byzantine pictorial designs, and regions such as Flanders were more prolific in manuscript production much later than other places.<ref name="Davenport 1912 245–251"/>

Illumination was a complex and costly process, and was therefore usually reserved for special books such as altar bibles, or books for royalty. Heavily illuminated manuscripts are often called "luxury manuscripts" for this reason. In the early Middle Ages, most books were produced in monasteries, whether for their own use, for presentation, or for a commission. These monks would work as a collective group to sponsor the patronage of a manuscript, but that in turn shielded their identites somewhat from history: there are more numerous surviving signatures on works from the scibe and less from the illustrations, but often there is simply the signature of the patron monastery.<ref name="Kauffmann2018" /> However, commercial [[Scriptorium|scriptoria]] grew up in large cities, especially [[School of Paris|Paris]], and in Italy and the Netherlands, and by the late 14th century there was a significant industry producing manuscripts, including agents who would take long-distance commissions, with details of the heraldry of the buyer and the saints of personal interest to him (for the calendar of a book of hours). By the end of the period, many of the painters were women, especially painting the elaborate borders, and perhaps especially in Paris.
[[File:Roman de la Rose f. 28r (Author at writing desk).jpg|thumb|The author of a manuscript at his writing desk. 14th century]]

=== Text ===
The type of script depended on local customs and tastes. In England, for example, [[Blackletter|Textura]] was widely used from the 12th to 16th centuries, while a cursive hand known as [[Blackletter#England|Anglicana]] emerged around 1260 for business documents.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Derolez |first=Albert |title=The palaeography of Gothic manuscript books: from the twelfth to the early sixteenth century |date=2003 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-80315-1 |series=Cambridge studies in palaeography and codicology |location=Cambridge}}</ref> In the Frankish Empire, [[Carolingian minuscule]] emerged under the vast educational program of [[Charlemagne]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kitzinger |first1=Beatrice E. |title=After the Carolingians: Re-defining manuscript illumination in the 10th and 11th Centuries |last2=O'Driscoll |first2=Joshua |date=2019 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-057467-8 |series=Sense, matter, and medium |location=Berlin |doi=10.1515/9783110579499|s2cid=241300499 }}</ref>

The first step was to send the manuscript to a [[rubricator]], "who added (in red or other colors) the titles, [[headlines]], the initials of chapters and sections, the notes and so on; and then – if the book was to be illustrated – it was sent to the illuminator".<ref name="Putnam" /> These letters and notes would be applied using an ink-pot and either a sharpened [[quill]] feather or a [[reed pen]]. In the case of manuscripts that were sold commercially, the writing would "undoubtedly have been discussed initially between the patron and the scribe (or the scribe's agent, but by the time the written gathering were sent off to the illuminator, there was no longer any scope for innovation.)"<ref name="DeHamel1992">{{Cite book |last=De Hamel |first=Christopher |title=Scribes and illuminators |date=1992 |publisher=The British Museum Press |isbn=978-0-7141-2049-2 |series=Medieval craftsmen |location=London}}</ref>

The sturdy Roman letters of the early [[Middle Ages]] gradually gave way to scripts such as [[Uncial]] and half-Uncial, especially in the [[British Isles]], where distinctive scripts such as [[insular majuscule]] and [[insular minuscule]] developed. Stocky, richly textured [[blackletter]] was first seen around the 13th century and was particularly popular in the later Middle Ages. Prior to the days of such careful planning, "A typical black-letter page of these [[Gothic art|Gothic]] years would show a page in which the lettering was cramped and crowded into a format dominated by huge ornamented capitals that descended from uncial forms or by illustrations".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Anderson |first=Donald M. |title=The art of written forms: the theory and practice of calligraphy |date=1969 |publisher=Holt |isbn=978-0-03-068625-2 |location=New York}}</ref> To prevent such poorly made manuscripts and illuminations from occurring, a script was typically supplied first, "and blank spaces were left for the decoration. This presupposes very careful planning by the scribe even before he put pen to parchment."

=== Engrossing: The process of illumination ===
[[Image:Illumination process.svg|thumb|A common process of manuscripts illumination from the creation of the quire to the binding]]
[[Image:Illumination_execution.gif|thumb|'''ENGROSSING'''<br />
'''I.''' Charcoal powder dots create the outline
'''II.''' Silverpoint drawing is sketched
'''III.''' Illustration is retraced with ink
'''IV.''' The surface is prepared for the application of gold leaf
'''V.''' Gold leaf is laid down
'''VI.''' Gold leaf is burnished to make it glossy and reflective
'''VII.''' Decorative impressions are made to adhere the leaf 
'''VIII.''' Base colors are applied
'''IX.''' Darker tones are used to give volume
'''X.''' Further details are drawn
'''XI.''' Lighter colors are used to add particulars
'''XII.''' Ink borders are traced to finalize the illumination]]
[[Image:Thomas Becket Murder.JPG|thumb|A 13th-century manuscript illumination, the earliest known depiction of Archbishop [[Thomas Becket]]'s assassination in [[Canterbury Cathedral]] in 1170. [[British Library]], London]]
The following steps outline the detailed labor involved to create the illuminations of one page of a manuscript:
# [[Silverpoint]] drawing of the design is executed
# Burnished gold dots are applied
# Application of modulating colors
# Continuation of previous three steps in addition to outlining marginal figures
# Penning of a rinceau appearing in the border of page
# Finally, marginal figures are painted<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Calkins |first=Robert G. |date=1978 |title=Stages of Execution: Procedures of Illumination as Revealed in an Unfinished Book of Hours |journal=Gesta |language=en |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=61–70 |doi=10.2307/766713 |issn=0016-920X |jstor=766713|s2cid=190805404 }}</ref>

The illumination and decoration was normally planned at the inception of the work, and space reserved for it.<ref name=":5" /> However, the text was usually written before illumination began. In the early medieval period the text and illumination were often done by the same people, normally monks, but by the [[High Middle Ages]] the roles were typically separated, except for routine initials and flourishes, and by at least the 14th century there were secular workshops producing manuscripts, and by the beginning of the 15th century these were producing most of the best work, and were commissioned even by monasteries. When the text was complete, the illustrator set to work. Complex designs were planned out beforehand, probably on wax tablets, the sketch pad of the era. The design was then traced or drawn onto the vellum (possibly with the aid of pinpricks or other markings, as in the case of the [[Lindisfarne Gospels]]). Many incomplete manuscripts survive from most periods, giving us a good idea of working methods.

At all times, most manuscripts did not have images in them. In the early Middle Ages, manuscripts tend to either be display books with very full illumination, or manuscripts for study with at most a few decorated initials and flourishes. By the Romanesque period many more manuscripts had decorated or [[historiated initial]]s, and manuscripts essentially for study often contained some images, often not in color. This trend intensified in the Gothic period, when most manuscripts had at least decorative flourishes in places, and a much larger proportion had images of some sort. Display books of the Gothic period in particular had very elaborate decorated borders of foliate patterns, often with small [[drolleries]]. A Gothic page might contain several areas and types of decoration: a miniature in a frame, a historiated initial beginning a passage of text, and a border with drolleries. Often different artists worked on the different parts of the decoration.

Another feature of illuminating manuscripts of the Middle Ages was the use of [[Marginalia]]. These additions were typically found within and around decorative borders of the text. Marginalia found within medieval manuscripts were often unique special messages and details indicative of the precision and careful consideration involved in their production. Marginalia shaped the way the text was read and influenced the reader’s interaction with it. Placement of these decorations and messages prompted the reader to scrutinize beyond the physical book to interpret the text from multiple perspectives.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2020-12-15 |title=Hidden in Plain Sight: Secret Messages in Manuscript Marginalia – History of the Book |url=https://historyofthebook.mml.ox.ac.uk/2020/12/15/hidden-in-plain-sight-secret-messages-in-manuscript-marginalia/ |access-date=2025-02-23 |language=en-US}}</ref>

Marginalia ranged from intricate decorative illustrations to those considered extremely unusual. Some examples of marginalia found within medieval manuscripts included drawings of centaurs, snail and knight combat, warrior women, battles between cats and mice, parables from biblical texts, personified foxes, rabbits, and monkeys, and hidden words and messages buried within the border decorations.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Burgess |first=Anika |date=2017-05-09 |title=The Strange and Grotesque Doodles in the Margins of Medieval Books |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/medieval-marginalia-books-doodles |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=Atlas Obscura |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Ludicrous figures in the margin |url=https://blogs.bl.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2020/08/ludicrous-figures-in-the-margin.html |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=blogs.bl.uk |language=en}}</ref> The added drawings and messages of the 13th to 14th centuries were typically devoted to recurring themes and often patterned after other types of popular medieval art such as stained-glass windows, stone carvings, and wall paintings.<ref name=":2" />

=== Paints ===
While the use of gold is by far one of the most captivating features of illuminated manuscripts, the bold use of varying colors provided multiple layers of dimension to the illumination. From a religious perspective, "the diverse colors wherewith the book is illustrated, not unworthily represent the multiple grace of heavenly wisdom."<ref name="Putnam"/> There is evidence of illustratiors planning out color choice in advance, which indicates purposeful choice and design in the finished product.<ref name="Kauffmann2018" /> There is also a great deal of nuance when it comes to the colors and painting of manuscripts. Illuminators would be trained in color combinations and stylistic distinctions by a form of apprenticeship, so the limited number of primary literary sources discussing colors and techniques may not be accurate to what the actual illuminators learned and followed.<ref name=":5" />

The medieval artist's palette was broad:<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Melo |first1=Maria J. |last2=Castro |first2=Rita |last3=Nabais |first3=Paula |last4=Vitorino |first4=Tatiana |date=2018-12-01 |title=The book on how to make all the colour paints for illuminating books: unravelling a Portuguese Hebrew illuminators' manual |journal=Heritage Science |language=en |volume=6 |issue=1 |doi=10.1186/s40494-018-0208-z |issn=2050-7445 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Color
! Source(s)
|-
! Red
| Insect-based colors, including:
* [[Carmine]], also known as [[cochineal]], where [[carminic acid]] from the ''Dactylopius coccus'' insect is mixed with an [[alum|aluminum salt]] to produce the dye;
* [[Crimson]], also known as [[Kermes (dye)|kermes]], extracted from the insect ''Kermes vermilio''; and
* [[Lac (resin)|Lac]], a [[scarlet (color)|scarlet]] resinous secretion of a number of species of insects.

Chemical- and mineral-based colors, including:
* [[Red lead]], chemically [[lead tetroxide]], Pb<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>, found in nature as the mineral [[minium (mineral)|minium]], or made by heating white lead;
* [[Vermilion]], chemically [[mercury sulfide]], HgS, and found in nature as the mineral [[cinnabar]];
* [[Rust]], chemically hydrated [[ferric oxide]], Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>·''n'' H<sub>2</sub>O, or iron oxide-rich earth compounds.
The color red was often associated with imagery like blood, fire, and godly power.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |title=Colour and Meaning |url=https://colour-illuminated.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/explore/colour-and-meaning#:~:text=Green%20signalled%20new%20life,%20Eden,the%20unusual%20and%20potentially%20dangerous. |access-date=2024-10-26 |website=COLOUR: The Art and Science of Illuminated Manuscripts |language=en}}</ref> It was the most common and inexpensive color and as such was frequently used for initials, lettering, and borders and well as general imagery.<ref name=":22">{{Cite web |title=Decoration and illumination - The University of Nottingham |url=https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/manuscriptsandspecialcollections/researchguidance/medievalbooks/decorationandillumination.aspx#:~:text=It%20was%20used%20to%20enhance,delicate%20and%20highly%20skilled%20process. |access-date=2024-11-06 |website=www.nottingham.ac.uk}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Citation |last=Morgan |first=Nigal |title=Illumination – pigments, drawing and gilding |date=2008-03-27 |work=The Cambridge History of the Book in Britain |pages=84–95 |url=https://doi.org/10.1017/chol9780521782180.008 |access-date=2024-12-12 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/chol9780521782180.008 |isbn=978-1-139-05420-1}}</ref>
|-
!Pink
|
* [[Pink|Brazilwood pink]], a plant-based pigment extracted from the Asian tree ''Caesalpinia sappan.''<ref name=":1" />
* [[Purple|Orcein purple]], a dye extracted from several species of lichen found all over the globe.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Vieira |first1=Márcia |last2=Melo |first2=Maria João |last3=Nabais |first3=Paula |last4=Lopes |first4=João A. |last5=Lopes |first5=Graça Videira |last6=Fernández |first6=Laura Fernández |date=January 2024 |title=The Colors in Medieval Illuminations through the Magnificent Scriptorium of Alfonso X, the Learned |journal=Heritage |language=en |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=272–300 |doi=10.3390/heritage7010014 |doi-access=free |issn=2571-9408|hdl=10362/166241 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

Pink was considered a fashionable color and was often found in clothing depictions of aristocrats and in filigree detail work.<ref name=":1" /> It also was used to color illuminated manuscript depictions of walls, lakes, and skies.<ref name=":1" />
|-
! Yellow
| Plant-based colors, such as:
* [[Mignonette (Reseda)|Weld]], processed from the ''Reseda luteola'' plant;
* [[Turmeric]], from the ''Curcuma longa'' plant; and
* [[Saffron]], rarely due to cost, from the ''Crocus sativus''.

Mineral-based colors, including:
* [[Ochre]], an earth pigment that occurs as the mineral [[limonite]]; and
* [[Orpiment]], chemically [[arsenic trisulfide]], As<sub>2</sub>S<sub>3</sub>.
Yellow was often blended with other pigments in order to create natural earth tones, of which were common in medieval manuscript illumination.<ref name=":4" /> Yellow paint would also be layered underneath gold paint in order to create a multilayered gold effect.<ref name=":4" />
|-
! Green
|
* [[Verdigris]], chemically [[cupric acetate]], Cu(OAc)<sub>2</sub>·(H<sub>2</sub>O)<sub>2</sub>, made historically by boiling [[copper]] plates in [[vinegar]];
* [[Malachite]], a mineral found in nature, chemically [[basic copper carbonate]], Cu<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub>·(OH)<sub>2</sub>; and
* ''China green'', a plant-based pigment extracted from [[buckthorn|buckthorn (''Rhamnus tinctoria, R. utilis'')]] berries.
Green was a relatively rare pigment on the illuminator's palette.<ref name=":4" /> It was used for landscapes and was often associated with visuals related to the Garden of Eden and rebirth.<ref name=":02"/> Verdigris Green was a specific shade almost exclusively used in cross imagery, and Green Earth was used under other pigments in order to create depth to skin tones.<ref name=":3" />
|-
!Blue
| Plant-based substances such as:
* [[Woad]], produced from the leaves of the plant ''Isatis tinctoria'';
* [[Indigo dye|Indigo]], derived from the plant ''[[Indigofera tinctoria]]''; and
* [[Turnsole]], also known as folium, a dyestuff prepared from the plant ''[[Crozophora tinctoria]]''.

Chemical- and mineral-based colors, including:
* [[Ultramarine]], made from the minerals [[lapis lazuli]] or [[azurite]]; and
* [[Smalt]], now known as [[cobalt blue]].
Blue, especially the pigment ultramarine, was a valuable and rare color and was commonly used in depictions of the Virgin Mary and for the clothing of important religious figures.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last1=Phenix |first1=Alan |last2=Roy |first2=Ashok |date=February 1995 |title=Artists' Pigments: A Handbook of Their History and Characteristics, Volume 2 |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/1506614 |journal=Studies in Conservation |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=69 |doi=10.2307/1506614 |jstor=1506614 |issn=0039-3630}}</ref> Less expensive or poorer quality blue pigments were sometimes used for initials, lettering, and borders.<ref name=":22"/><ref name=":5"/>
|-
! White
|
* [[White lead]], chemically [[lead carbonate|basic lead carbonate]], 2PbCO<sub>3</sub>·Pb(OH)<sub>2</sub>, and historically made by [[corrosion|corroding]] sheets of [[lead]] with vinegar, and covering that with decaying matter, such as [[feces|dung]], to provide the necessary [[carbon dioxide]] for the [[chemical reaction]]; and
* [[Chalk]], chemically [[calcium carbonate]], CaCO<sub>3</sub>.
White was used often in association with religious objects or figures, and was also used as an underpigment as to provide a base for other colors and provide depth, notably in instances of combination with blues to create skies and with reds to create different skin tones.<ref name=":3" /> White was also used, especially in the Gothic period, to outline figures and to create layered highlights.<ref name="Kauffmann2018" /><ref name=":5" />
|-
! Black
|
* [[Carbon]], from sources such as [[lampblack]], [[charcoal]], or burnt bones or [[ivory]];
* [[Cephalopod ink|Sepia]], from the ink produced by the [[cuttlefish]], usually for an escape mechanism; and
* [[Iron gall ink]], where in medieval times iron nails would be boiled in vinegar; the resulting [[ferrous acetate|compound]] would then be mixed with an extract of [[oak apple]] ([[oak]] [[galls]]).
Black was used for inking text as well as for outlining facial features and gilded aspects like halos in order to create further depth and visual emphasis.<ref name=":5" /> Black would also be used for "sketching" the illumination before eventually filling it in with color.<ref name=":5" />
|-
! Gold
|
* [[Gold leaf]], gold hammered extremely thin, or gold powder, bound in [[gum arabic]] or egg; the latter is called ''shell gold''.
|-
! Silver
|
* [[Silver]], either silver leaf or powdered, as with gold; and
* [[Tin]] leaf, also as with gold.
Silver would be used for lettering in a similar fashion to gold, to provide shine and beauty to the page.<ref name=":4" />
|}

=== Gilding ===
[[Image:Sakramentarz tyniecki 02.jpg|thumb|The 11th-century ''Tyniec Sacramentary'' was written with gold on a purple background. [[National Library of Poland]], [[Warsaw]].]]
On the strictest definition, a manuscript is not considered "illuminated" unless one or many illuminations contained metal, normally [[gold leaf]] or [[shell gold]] paint, or at least was brushed with gold specks.  Gold leaf was from the 12th century usually polished, a process known as ''burnishing''. The inclusion of gold alludes to many different possibilities for the text. If the text is of religious nature, lettering in gold is a sign of exalting the text. In the early centuries of Christianity, [[Gospel]] manuscripts were sometimes written entirely in gold.<ref name="DeHamel2001"/> The [[gold ground]] style, with all or most of the background in gold, was taken from [[Byzantine mosaic]]s and [[icon]]s. Aside from adding rich decoration to the text, scribes during the time considered themselves to be praising God with their use of gold. Furthermore, gold was used if a patron who had commissioned a book to be written wished to display the vastness of their riches. Eventually, the addition of gold to manuscripts became so frequent "that its value as a barometer of status with the manuscript was degraded".<ref name="DeHamel1992"/> During this time period the price of gold had become so cheap that its inclusion in an illuminated manuscript accounted for only a tenth of the cost of production.<ref name="Lovett2017">{{Cite book |last=Lovett |first=Patricia |title=The art and history of calligraphy |date=2017 |publisher=The British Library |isbn=978-0-7123-5668-8 |location=London}}</ref> By adding richness and depth to the manuscript, the use of gold in illuminations created pieces of art that are still valued today.

The application of gold leaf or dust to an illumination is a very detailed process that only the most skilled illuminators can undertake and successfully achieve. The first detail an illuminator considered when dealing with gold was whether to use [[gold leaf]] or specks of gold that could be applied with a brush. When working with gold leaf, the pieces would be hammered and thinned.<ref name="Lovett2017"/> The use of this type of leaf allowed for numerous areas of the text to be outlined in gold. There were several ways of applying gold to an illumination. One of the most popular included mixing the gold with stag's glue and then "pour it into water and dissolve it with your finger."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Blondheim |first=D. S. |date=1928 |title=An old Portuguese work on manuscript illumination |jstor=1451766 |journal=The Jewish Quarterly Review |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=97–135 |doi=10.2307/1451766 |issn=0021-6682}}</ref> Once the gold was soft and malleable in the water, it was ready to be applied to the page. Illuminators had to be very careful when applying gold leaf to the manuscript because gold leaf is able to "adhere to any pigment which had already been laid, ruining the design, and secondly the action of burnishing it is vigorous and runs the risk of smudging any painting already around it."