Leaf from Missale Herbipolense, a printed missal (Mass service book)

Leaf from Missale Herbipolense, a printed missal (Mass service book), 1484. Museum no. 243.1

Leaf from Missale Herbipolense, a printed missal (Mass service book)
Wurzburg, Germany
1484
Museum no. 243.1

The leaf from the Missale Herbipolense is an example of a combination of printed text and hand illumination. The text is printed on vellum but the roundel showing the Lamb of God with the banner of the Resurrection, is hand coloured with a water based paint and gold leaf.

This print can be found in Print Room Box 11.

Leaf from the Giltlingen Missal (Mass service book), about 1485-9. Museum no. 274.2

Leaf from the Giltlingen Missal (Mass service book), about 1485-9. Museum no. 274.2

Leaf from the Giltlingen Missal (Mass service book)
Augsburge, Germany
About 1485-9
Museum no. 274.2

Illuminated manuscripts produced entirely by hand continued to be made after the invention of printing as can be seen by this example of a page from a late 15th century Missal (the service book of the Mass) made for Johannes von Giltlingen, Abbot of the monastery of Saints Afra and Ulrich, Augsburg, Germany, 1482-1496. The scene in the large initial (called the historiated initial) shows the Adoration of the Magi. In the lower margin are scenes showing the Baptism of Christ and the wedding at Cana.

This print can be found in Print Room Box 11.

Leaf from a missal (Mass service book), 15th century. Museum no. 241.5

Leaf from a missal (Mass service book), 15th century. Museum no. 241.5

Leaf from a missal (Mass service book)
Germany
15th century
Museum no. 241.5

This page is on vellum and is written and painted by hand. The figure inside the initial P is a representation of God the Father holding an orb. Notice the staining on the bottom right hand corner of the vellum where the page has been frequently handled as the page is turned.

This print can be found in Print Room Box 11.

Page from Codex Justinianus, printed 1488. Museum no. 4065

Page from Codex Justinianus, printed 1488. Museum no. 4065

Page from Codex Justinianus
Published by Anton Koberger
Nuremberg, Germany
1488
Museum no. 4065

This leaf was printed first and the illumination hand colouring, using water-based paint and gold leaf, were added by hand later. Note the different page layout from the hand-written page.

This print can be found in Print Room Box 11.

Page from the book Der Theurdank, 1517. Museum no. 29689.254

Page from the book Der Theurdank, 1517. Museum no. 29689.254

Page from the book Der Theurdank
Melchior Pfinzing
Leonhard Beck, printmaker and main designer of the book
Germany
1517
Ink on paper
Museum no. 29689.254

The whole page and illustration are printed on paper with no added ilumination or colouring by hand.

This print can be found in Print Room Box 11.

Leaf from an antiphoner, a book of sung psalms

Leaf from an antiphoner, a book of sung psalms, early 15th century. Museum no. 256.1

Leaf from an antiphoner, a book of sung psalms
Southern France
Early 15th century
Museum no. 256.1

This page is on vellum and is written and painted by hand. The initial S is illuminated in blue and is placed on a background of burnished gold. The letters FPP and the drawings of the tree, man, bird and beasts in the lower margin are all in ink.

This print can be found in Print Room Box 11.

Leaf from the Teutonic Knights’ Bible, about 1300. Museum no. 9036.Z

Leaf from the Teutonic Knights’ Bible, about 1300. Museum no. 9036.Z

Leaf from the Teutonic Knights’ Bible
The Netherlands
About 1300
Water-based pigments, gilding and ink on parchment
Museum no. 9036.Z

The illluminated initial is the letter U. The figure in the centre of the page is playing a bagpipe.

This leaf comes from a large Bible consisting of three volumes made for the monastery of the Teutonic Knights at Nieuwe Biesen, near Maastricht in the Netherlands. It is dated about 1300. The text, written in Latin, is from the Old Testament, The Book of Zephaniah.

These books were very large. They were designed to be read aloud from a lectern (a reading desk) to the assembled congregation, or to monks and nuns during meal times and prayer. Several volumes were needed to contain the complete text of the Bible.

Although not visible here on the webpage, when viewing the original pages, prickings (marks made at the side of a page with a point or knife) can be clearly seen. These acted as a guide for ruling the lines on which the text was written.

Comic figures combining human and animal form, in this case the man with a tall peaked hat, playing bag-pipes, were sometimes added to the margins of the text. These decorations, known as grotesques, often bear no obvious relation to the texts they are decorating.

This print can be found in Print Room Box 11a.

Leaf from the Teutonic Knights' Bible, about 1300. Museum no. 9036.E

Leaf from the Teutonic Knights' Bible, about 1300. Museum no. 9036.E

Leaf from the Teutonic Knights' Bible
The Netherlands
About 1300
Water-based pigments, gilding and ink on parchment
Museum no. 9036.E

The margin shows a monkey on an ass shooting an arrow at another monkey on a bull and holding a shield and club. This is obviously not a Bible image. The back of this manuscript has clearly visible hair follicles attached to the skin.

This leaf comes from a large Bible consisting of three volumes made for the monastery of the Teutonic Knights at Nieuwe Biesen, near Maastricht in the Netherlands. They are dated about 1300. The text, written in Latin, is from the Book of Esther.

These books were very large. They were designed to be read aloud from a lectern (a reading desk) to the assembled congregation, or to monks and nuns during meal times and prayer. Several volumes were needed to contain the complete text of the Bible.

Although not visible here on the webpage, when viewing the original pages, prickings (marks made at the side of a page with a point or knife) can be clearly seen. These acted as a guide for ruling the lines on which the text was written.

Comic figures combining human and animal form, in this case a monkey on an ass shooting arrows at a monkey with a shield and club on a bull, were sometimes added to the margins of the text. These decorations, known as grotesques, often bear no obvious relation to the texts they are decorating.

This print can be found in Print Room Box 11a.

Four leaves from a Book of Hours, about 1470. Museum no. 9015A

Four leaves from a Book of Hours, about 1470. Museum no. 9015A, 9015B, 9015C, 9015D

Four leaves from a Book of Hours
France
About 1470
Museum no. 9015A, 9015B, 9015C, 9015D (clockwise from the top left corner)

These four pages are from a French book of hours of about 1470-80. Books of hours were prayer books, not for monks or priests, but for ordinary people. They were produced in great numbers in lay workshops. They are small and often highly decorated and were intended for reading in the home.

The owner of a book of hours was meant to stop eight times a day and read the appropriate text just as those in monastic orders would do. The central text in a book of hours was the Hours of the Virgin, comprising prayers and psalms intended to be used in honour of the Virgin Mary at particular hours of the day (Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers and Compline).These four pages show clockwise from the top left corner:

• The Annunciation to the Shepherds (9015A) from Terce, which is the prayer said at approximately 9 am
• The Adoration of the Magi (9015B) from Sext, which is the prayer said at approximately 12 noon
• The Coronation of the Virgin (9015C) from Compline, which is the prayer said at approximately 6 pm
• The Raising of Lazarus (9015D) from the Office of the Dead, which is a long section, generally towards the end of the book, intended to be said around the bier of a dead person. It is said daily as a reminder of one's own mortality.

Pictures or miniatures which appear at the beginning of the text guided the thoughts of the user. The border decoration of acanthus sprays in blue and brushed gold, and flowers, berries and gold dots on string stems, are in a conventional style probably executed by junior illuminators. They probably worked on contract to the illuminator or bookseller who had taken the order from the customer.

Those buying books of hours could specify the inclusion of prayers to saints for whom they had a particular attachment.

This print can be found in Print Room Box 11a.