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T
he
written word of medieval manuscripts links western culture to a
past of castles and knights, cathedrals and crusaders. The painted
and illuminated manuscript is amongst the greatest artistic triumphs
of the Middle Ages, demonstrating social, intellectual, religious
and cultural attitudes of medieval life. To appreciate a medieval
manuscript is to understand its place in the medieval world. Most
surviving manuscripts are of a religious nature, and churches and
many homes kept books with various compilations of scripture.
Manuscript
books were tediously but carefully written by hand, each page with
unique initials and decoration. The creation of an illuminated manuscript
was complex and required the joint labors of professional scribes
to write the text in Gothic script, and artists to illuminate the
pages with decorated as and foliated borders. Vellum of soft, unblemished
calf, goat or sheepskin was scraped to an even thinness and smoothed
with pumice until flexible, opaque and white. The sheets were ruled
leaving space for initials and the text carefully copied with a
quill in uniform calligraphy. The scribe would often write the initial
letter of a chapter or prayer larger in red ink, called rubrics.
Decoration was added to the borders and initials with penwork flourishes
and branch extenders in colors or gold. Pigments used by the medieval
painter were the rich, dark blue of lapis lazuli or azurite, vermilion
red, verdigris and malachite green. Leaves from manuscripts
dating from the 13th through early 16th centuries come from fragmentary
books whose bindings have not survived the ravages of time. Most
were acquired through specialist auctions in London and New York-
They are guaranteed genuine. Here are a few terms you may
find helpful:
Illuminated
- Decorated with gold, either burnished from gold leaf
or painted from finely ground gold paint.
Initial - A large capital letter usually painted
in contrasting color or illuminated in gold.
Leaf - A single sheet from a book, with two pages (one
on each side). The page on the right side is called "recto" and
the page on left is the "verso'.
Manuscript - A book written and decorated by hand rather
than printed.
Miniature - A picture or scene painted on the page.
Rubrics - Capital letters or short notes in red
to stand out from the text.
Scriptorium - A writing/copying room in a monastery or
workshop where books were produced for the clergy, scholars and
wealthy individuals.
Vellum - (also known as parchment) – Calf, goat, or sheepskin
scraped thin and used instead of paper for writing.
Types of
Books: Bible, Book of Hours (daily prayer book for the laity),
Breviary, (prayer book for the clergy), Gradual and
Antiphonal (music book for the mass), Missal (book
for the mass), Psalter (psalm book) and others.
Please contact us for availability before purchasing manuscripts
Your search for
everything
in Manuscripts returned 9 records.
Displaying items 1 through 9. Click on image for more information
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prints
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1.
Calendar Leaf from a 15th Century Book of Hours - April
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17 lines of text (recto) in a gothic lithurgical hand upon lines ruled in purple ink, with at least one illuminated letter in burnished gold. Calendar entries and verse initials in red and blue. This leaf is from a calendar, which preceded other texts in the Medieval devotional known as a Book of Hours."KL" is the abbreviation for the Greek word for calendar.
Date: 1470
Price:
$150.00
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2.
Calendar Leaf from a 15th Century Book of Hours - February
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17 lines of text (recto) in a gothic lithurgical hand upon lines ruled in purple ink, with at least one illuminated letter in burnished gold. Calendar entries and verse initials in red and blue. This leaf is from a calendar, which preceded other texts in the Medieval devotional known as a Book of Hours."KL" is the abbreviation for the Greek word for calendar.
Date: 1470
Price:
$150.00
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3.
French Psalter
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A stunning French psalter in Latin in Gothic script with burnished gold initials and elaborate penwork in blue and red. A beatiful archival mat has been added with windows cut front and back for easy viewing of both sides.
Date: mid-15th Cent.
Price:
$180.00
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4.
French Psalter
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A stunning French psalter in Latin in Gothic script with burnished gold initials and elaborate penwork in blue and red. A beatiful archival mat has been added with windows cut front and back for easy viewing of both sides.
Date: mid-15th Cent.
Price:
$180.00
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5.
French Psalter
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A stunning French psalter in Latin in Gothic script with burnished gold initials and elaborate penwork in blue and red. A beatiful archival mat has been added with windows cut front and back for easy viewing of both sides.
Date: mid-15th Cent.
Price:
$180.00
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6.
Illuminated French Book of Hours Leaf in Latin
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This illuminated leaf was produced circa 1440. Each leaf has 16 lines of text on vellum. Script is in dark in a fine regular gothic hand, with colorful illuminated verse initials in highly burnished gold leaf. This leaf is over 550 years old and is in wonderful condition.
Date: ca. 1440
Price:
$225.00
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7.
Illuminated French Book of Hours Leaf in Latin
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This illuminated leaf was produced circa 1440. Each leaf has 16 lines of text on vellum. Script is in dark in a fine regular gothic hand, with colorful illuminated verse initials in highly burnished gold leaf. This leaf is over 550 years old and is in wonderful condition.
Date: ca. 1440
Price:
$225.00
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8.
Illuminated French Book of Hours Leaf in Latin
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This illuminated leaf was produced circa 1440. Each leaf has 16 lines of text on vellum. Script is in dark in a fine regular gothic hand, with colorful illuminated verse initials in highly burnished gold leaf. This leaf is over 550 years old and is in wonderful condition.
Date: ca. 1440
Price:
$225.00
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9.
Illuminated French Book of Hours Leaf in Latin
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This illuminated leaf was produced circa 1440. Each leaf has 16 lines of text on vellum. Script is in dark in a fine regular gothic hand, with colorful illuminated verse initials in highly burnished gold leaf. This leaf is over 550 years old and is in wonderful condition.
Date: ca. 1440
Price:
$225.00
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