The Book of Hours - Essay Example

EXAMINING A MANUSCRIPT Manuscript is a book or any document written by hand. In the ancient times, this was the most common way of writing documents. The oldest manuscripts have been preserved for the purpose of reference and study. They are highly valued as they carry important information, for example, manuscripts, which relate to Christianity are treasured because they are major source of Christian doctrines. There are various ways of preparing a manuscript and the ancient ones involved writing on a calf’s skin using a feather. Goat and Sheepskins were also used1. The skin was later soaked on water to remove the fur and then dried in the sun. Writing on skin was advantageous since the skin could withstand harsh conditions and last for a long time. Manuscripts are important learning tools especially to ascertain the accuracy of the modern literal works. Historians, linguists and students find them useful in their respective studies and research activities. Manuscripts dated as early as 400 AD still exist though they are not in very good condition but they still convey the information they carry. Most manuscripts were written between the fourteenth and sixteenth century in Europe2. There were people who had actually specialized in writing the manuscripts. In this article I will be examining a manuscript leaf from the Book of Hours which was written by one of the members of the French royal family. Book of hours was the most popular book in the middle ages. Up to today, Book of hours has been readily available as compared to other types of manuscripts. They have proofed to be a great resource for missionaries, emperors, monks, nuns, priests, students, aristocrats, in their respective duties. Students have found the book of hours helpful in their studies while the aristocrats use them to get knowledge on various issues. The monks, nuns and priests use them in their doctrinal teachings. There are several manuscripts under the book of hours, more specifically I will examine a Red velvet manuscript initially owned by Merloment family, late medieval and renaissance illuminated manuscript number twenty seven. Its Script is in capitulars uncial, with several initials and some red letters in text uncial. The kind of script to be used was mainly determined by tastes and customs of the society where one belonged. Therefore it is possible for a researcher to get information on the date of publication and the place where the manuscript was published by closely examining the scripts. It contains thirty-one images with seven Figurative Decorations and twenty four small miniatures. The miniatures contain valuable information without which the information gathered from the manuscripts would be incomplete. Some carried images portraying adoration and others information showing people meditating in different postures. It has one text, small line drawing and it is highly decorated, on its boarders it has ornamental decorations, some of gold and probably silver. At the time of publication it must have been one of the best copies.1 The manuscript has a Parchment of 6.5 x 4.6 inches in height and 157 x 102 mm long with 18 long lines ruled in light red ink3. The measurements may not be very accurate as there is possibility of shrinking over time. The first letters of the text are enlarged, artistically decorated and are in unique colors .Enlarging the first letters of the text also serves as a punctuation tool and enables its reader to easily know the beginning of a new section. It has been reproduced in The Metropolitan National Museum of Art. It has also been reproduced in some few other places and in a limited number of journals. One of the major reasons why it has not been reproduced many times is because it is not easy to do so and it is actually an expensive exercise. Also most organization prefer using the original script since the ones reproduced seem not to be very accurate as their level of error is higher than when one uses fragments of the original leaf. The leaf of manuscript was written during the renaissance period, a time when the Book of Hours was becoming popular. They were greatly used in devotionals and in composing prayers and psalms. They were mainly developed by the laity and most of them were in Latin though a few were written in vernacular languages. During this time, most of them contained psalms, prayers of different kinds, list of saints and some gospel books. Most of them were owned by the affluent people in the society but later on they became readily available. They were quite expensive mainly because of the many decorations they contained. The Books of Hours were many but amazingly each one used to be different in terms of the style, foliation, binding size and also the content. This made them to be unique and up to today they remain to be one of the best ancient piece of work that exists. They are source of glory especially in Netherlands and France. They used to be owned by almost everybody even the illiterate, but most people owned them not because of their religious role but because of their status in the society. At the time this manuscript was developed, Book of Hours used to symbolize the wealth of a person and his class in society among other things. The laity used to recite the various prayers and hymns in the manuscript occasionally in private. Most of them were made specifically for the women and one could contemplate and meditate concerning Heavenly beings. This was associated with mystical powers. Most of the manuscripts developed at this time contained images of the writers and what they liked, for example if someone liked animals the manuscript would contain a picture of an animal like sheep. They could be modified whenever their owners were changed. During this time also there were no many books available and most people used to possess the Book of Hours alone. 2 The manuscript has twelve lines of text in dark brown ink, written in an upright Gothic book and is ruled in red. Many initials in the text are in gold, red or blue with illuminated panel. It seems to have some pieces of the original binding4. It has very fresh colors and gold. It is relatively in a good condition though it has some few distortions probably by fire and wearing out over time. It has survived deformation. Most of the writings in it are visible and one can get from it a large percentage of the information it contains. Generally, its contents are still clear. The manuscript has its original colors though it has additions of modern colors since the original ones could have faded out over time. In addition, the modern colors are added to enhance their value since they make the manuscripts to be more beautiful and attractive. Each side of the leaf has some embellishments of some small sketches of gold and silver. These embellishments beautify the script and increase its value. This manuscript together with other related manuscripts contains a calendar, psalms, extract of Gospel, hours in a week and prayers and some other texts, which are not easy for someone to decipher what they meant. It is worth noting that most of the manuscripts in Book of Hours contained Zodiac signs. Researchers with more skills and adequate resources can still be able to make some conclusion concerning the manuscript. The calendar contained a list of saints with some days, probably the days they were supposed to conduct the devotionals. It also contained golden days, which were the important days, and most of them corresponded with Christian feasts like the Easter and lent. Most of the modern devotional books have their origin in this manuscript. The manuscript seems to have its original leather binding which was covered by ornamental decorations both at the front and at the back. From research on other similar manuscripts, the binding in the manuscript was sewn and it seems to have had protection especially to reduce the degree of wearing out as it was placed in surfaces especially the rough ones. Probably a metal protected by another metal as this was the most common form of protection in the middle Ages. Metal protection was effective since metal could not be easily destroyed and could withstand harsh climatic conditions5. The quire was made to be able to be opened in the same style. The number of folios it contains is not very clear but they were several. The front side is represented by a recto and the back one by a verso.3 It is well illustrated with attractive floral boarders. It contains many shades of colors together with black and white colors, which were the originals colors to be used in early manuscripts. It must have taken a talented artist a long period to prepare it. It contains various drawings and images that portray important information. . It has some paintings all through more so on the sides. The paintings were done using small fine brushes. It also seems to contain sprays of acanthus, peacock, beggars, priests, tax collectors, a landscape extending to the horizon and some sheer fantasy. All this make it to be an eye-capturing document. The illumination on the manuscript is one of the best, it is richly illuminated. Luxuriant colors have been used with strongly featured faces and well visible muscles that make it to be interesting to study its contents. The Holy Spirit, saints and Virgin Mary are artistically painted. The Holy Spirit is represented in the form of a dove, Saints are depicted as humble and Virgin Mary as holy. The miniatures serve two purposes: dividing portions of the writing and dividing the text. This combination of artistic work makes the manuscript to be one of the best scripts to examine. This type of manuscripts must have been the best seller of its time of publication. It is actually an interesting exercise to examine a manuscript of this kind. 3 From the handwriting and the kind of language used, it is possible for one to determine the approximate dates when it was written. Most probably, it was written in Latin in the fifteenth century in Europe, France. It was originally used in both France and Netherlands. It has been of great importance to monks, nuns, priests, Historians, Linguists and students over the years. The laity especially among the Catholics have found it useful in devotionals and also in coming up with hymns6. Historians and linguists have used it immensely in their research work. It has served as an important tool for learning. It is also clear that women preferred this writings and in the past they could be given as gifts especially in weddings. It is such a valuable manuscript as evidenced by its passage from one generation to another. This ensured it was preserved. Indeed there is no any fragment of the manuscript, which is not valuable. Bibliography Brown, Michelle. 1990. A guide to Western historical scripts from antiquity to 1600. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. De Hamel, Christopher. 1997. A history of illuminated manuscripts. London: Phaidon Press. Wieck, Roger S. 1997. Painted prayers: the book of hours in Medieval and Renaissance art; [on the occasion of the Exhibition "Medieval Bestseller: The Book of Hours" at the Pierpont Morgan Library from 17 September 1997 to 4 January 1998]. New York Read More