From: owner-scribes@castle.org (scribes digest) To: scribes-digest@castle.org Subject: scribes digest V2 #176 Reply-To: Sender: owner-scribes@castle.org Errors-To: owner-scribes@castle.org Precedence: bulk scribes digest Monday, July 20 1998 Volume 02 : Number 176 In this issue: [scribes]: Notes from Illumination Survey Class (LONG) [scribes]: Lindesfarne/Meehan colors Re: Fwd: [scribes]: Dirty Tricks Re: [scribes]: Gold leaf for flames? [scribes]: Notes from Illumination Survey are up w/some graphics [scribes]: Durham Gospels colors Re: [scribes]: Durham Gospels colors Re: [scribes]: Gold leaf for flames? [scribes]: Paint on gold [scribes]: Oil on Gold Re: [scribes]: Tools of the trade ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 10:55:45 -0400 (EDT) From: Eldred@concentric.net Subject: [scribes]: Notes from Illumination Survey Class (LONG) Greetings from Eldred! As requested, here are the notes from the handout I provided to the peopl= e who attended my survey of illuminations class. Constructive feedback and polite critique are welcome. Brutal honesty will be less then cheerfully accepted....8^) Corrections will definitely be accepted, since they want me to teach this at University in the fall. The web version with some graphics will follow soon. In service, Eldred AElfwald JT Thorpe Canton of Falcon Cree Greenville, SC Barony of Nottinghill Coill Kingdom of Atlantia - --------------- 8< --- clip and save --- >8 ---------------- This course is not intended to be a "how-to" of illumination or a history course (per se). The objective is to present a survey of illuminations that span the eras (if not geography) of history that are covered by the SCA. All of the illuminations presented here come from the British Isles specifically from Durham and Northumbria. However, there is distinct overlap with continental illumination, and sources for such material will be discussed. The word illumination derives from the Middle English/ecclesiastic Latin illuminatio, meaning 'spiritual enlightenment.' Indeed, that was the original purpose of period illumination-to spiritually enlighten church congregations. Since the majority of the population of the Middle Ages was illiterate, the illumination of religious texts provided a "visual aid" to the sermon or reading that was presented during a Mass. Gilding-either gold-leaf or tin-leaf) was performed to catch and reflect what little light was available, thus "illuminating" the Word of the Lord. 1) A page from the Lindesfarne Gospels. The Lindesfarne Gospels are one of the earliest surviving examples of boo= k painting. The manuscript was produced at the monastery of Lindesfarne (o= n the Northumbrian island of Farne) towards the end of the 7th century. Th= e creation of this manuscript was in honor of St. Cuthbert. This page show= s some of the hallmarks of Celtic illumination: the series of red dots tha= t follow the contours of letters and then, almost playfully, form other patterns. The earliest examples of illuminated letters were simply colored, and as the art of illumination matured, the letters themselves were decorated with knotwork. In contrast to the Lindesfarne Gospels, the Book of Durrow has completely abstract designs in which knotwork completely fills the interior of letters and spiral patterns unfurl at every terminal. 2) Initial from the beginning of the Gospel of St. Mark This is from an unidentified manuscript that has been dated to the 7th century. Of interest are the zoomorphic fish. This illumination is typical of one form of Celtic knotwork. 3) Illumination from the Durham Gospels. The Durham Gospels date to somewhere between the 7th and 8th century. This particular illumination display simple knotwork flourishes and only two colors of ink! 4) Gospel of St. John, from the Durham Gospels This is a different example of Celtic knotwork. Note the triskele patterns. It is interesting to see both patterns in the same book. The text is definitely subordinate to the illuminations. If you look closely= , you will find zoomorphs inside the knotwork of the illuminated letters! 5) Detail of same. 6) Illuminated "D" from the Durham Gospels Presumably this is a dragon. Note the mini-zoomorphs inside the letter. Although loosely termed "Celtic," this type of decoration can be found i= n Saxon carvings from the period. 7) Single words from a text are also illuminated. Durham Gospels Note how the letters are interlinked. This page also demonstrates how single letters or even parts of words are accentuated. 8) Detail of MARCUS (Mark) from previous slide 9) Cassiodorus on Psalms. An 8th century manuscript This is a relatively simple illumination of King David as a harpist. Thi= s depiction closely corresponds to Anglo-Saxon carvings from this period. Note the similarity to the carvings of Mary (Deerhurst Monastery) and the carvings preserved at Daglingworth. 10) Detail of face and harp For those interested in period music or instruments, this depiction could be used for the basis of designing a crude harp or lyre. 11) Illumination of Bishop William and Robert Benjamin This illumination is from an 11th century Bible. If you are confused who these two gentlemen are, the Bishop is William de St. Calais (1081-96) wh= o is considered the founder of Durham Cathedral. In addition, William was = a "Prince Bishop", meaning he was expected to wield both religious and military power, and exercise many of the King's powers--a unique position for a baron in England at that time. In a nice piece of synchronicity that links back to the Lindesfarne Gospels, the uncorruptable body of St. Cuthbert is currently enshrined in the Cathedral (his body was taken fro= m Farne Island in c.897 and brought to where Durham stands now in 995). Also, the Venerable Bede (d.735 at Jarrow) is also buried in the Cathedra= l (c.1022, after theft by sacrist Aelfred). Unfortunately, the significanc= e of Robert Benjamin escapes me. This is a relatively plain illumination. It appears to be a simple ink drawing rather than a painted illumination. The evidence of Celtic influence has faded, and the Saxon like beastheads are more prominent. To understand the Norman influence we see here, it is work taking a look at examples of French illumination from the 10th century (Zaczek, p.72). There is a definite Celtic influence there (Celts were not limited to the British Isles, you know!), but the treatment of terminals is extremely floral in nature rather than the more primitive-looking zoomorphs. This floral motif is much more prevalent in continental illumination than in the British Isles. 12) An illuminated "D" from the St. Calais Bible Presumably this Bible was created for Bishop William de St Calais. It dates to the 11th century. The knotwork has been replaced with a combination of Norman-influenced arabesques and Saxon beastheads. The rightmost beasthead can be found in the Saxon carvings of this period, e.g. the chancel of Kilpeck. 13) An illuminated "B" from the St. Calais Bible Some celtic influence remains in the knotwork, but we are still seeing th= e arabesques. Note the unusual beast in the upper loop of the B. Letters are emphasized by a simple change in color. 14) Interesting color treatments from the St. Calais Bible The angel of St. Matthew and the dragon appear to be more of an illustration than an illumination. We still see the influences of Saxon work, but the details of the clothing are becoming more Norman in look. 15) An example of a rare illumination from the St. Calais Bible Presumably this type of illumination is rare. That beast-head looks like a direct descendant of the chancel arch at Kilpeck 16) Illumination of St. Nicholas rescuing sailors This comes from an unidentified manuscript that dates from between the 11th and 12th centuries. It is a simple three-color ink drawing (red, blue, and purple) that uses arabesques and no knotwork. Essentially, by the end of the 12th century, much of the Celtic influence in illumination has disappeared. Occasionally, it will pop up again, but it is much more subtle-a single knot here or there instead of an entire run of interlinke= d knots or zoomorphs. 17) Illuminations of a "P" and an "E" from the Du Puiset Bible The Du Puiset Bible dates to the 12th century. It was the Bible of Bisho= p Hugh du Puiset, who was made Bishop at the insistence of his aunt--Matilda. After the death of Henry I, Matilda was intended to be th= e Queen of England. However, her cousin, Stephen usurped the throne, and Stephen's reign was plagued by civil war. Du Puiset is best remembered a= s "a noble builder=85whose architects were better artists than engineers." Evidently they did not believe in foundations and only sank the pillars o= f the Galilee Chapel 2 feet into the ground! This particular illumination shows a definite shift to the Norman artistic style. There is still a bi= t of Saxon influence in the treatment of the clothing. Notice that the details of facial features are becoming more realistic--shading is used, whereas eariler works appear more cartoonish. No knotwork, nor arabesques. An interesting feature we see is the beginnings of what is known as diapering. These in particular are known to heralds as "estencelles," or the three dots from an ermine spot. 18) Illumination of the letter "P" from the Du Puiset Bible This illumination may show one of the last gasps of Celtic influence--a single knot. 19) Illumination of the letter "U" from Ecclesiastes in the Du Puiset Bible This is a depiction of King David. It is a relatively simple illumination. Saxon features on people are virtually gone. 20) Illuminated letter "E" from the Du Puiset Bible Fox and hounds. The intertwined tails of the hounds may be the last of the Celtic knotwork we see. There is still some of the stylized Celtic influence here, but the animals are beginning to be detailed with a bit more realism. This is a relative term, of course. 21) Illuminated "E" from Maccabees in the Du Puiset Bible This is obviously a battle scene. Note how similar it is to the Bayeux Tapestry in terms of armor. 22) An illuminated "E" from the 13th century We are now well into the Gothic period. This is a depiction of a bell or carillon-player. The new artistic style we see is quilting. With the Gothic period, we begin to see an artistic shift to more decoration in both illuminations and architecture. 23) An Illumination from a 14th century manuscript This is a depiction of St. Cuthbert. Whenever a saint is depicted, he or she is typically shown holding the instrument of their martyrdom or an object that is closely linked to their sainthood. In the instance of Cuthbert, the object is the head of Owswald. Note how naturistic the borders have become and how much more decorated the lettering has become. The later Gothic period is best known for it's highly decorated art and architecture. 24) An illumination of a wedding Note the interesting treatment of the border around this illumination and the diapering of its background. Much to our amusement, the wedding part= y appears to be cross-eyed.=20 Once we move into the Renaissance period, illumination shifts towards realism and more secular topics. Even in the thirteenth century, literar= y or scholarly works (as opposed to ecclesiastic works) were illuminated. Typical examples would be found in bestiaries. These should probably be considered illustrations rather than illuminations, though the techniques were essentially the same. Bibliography [1] Slides courtesy of the Treasury of Durham Cathedral. [2] Backhouse, Janet. The Lindesfarne Gospels. London: Phaidon Press Limited. 1997. ISBN: 0714824615 [3] Sullivan, Sir Edward. The Book of Kells. London: Studio Editions. 1992. ISBN:1-85170-035-8 [4] Barker, Nicholas. Treasures of the British Library. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Incorporated. 1989. ISBN: 0-8109-1653-3 [5] Bologna, Giulia. Illuminated Manuscripts. New York: Crescent Books. 1995. ISBN: 0-517-12083-6 [6] Gill, D.M. Illuminated Manuscripts. New York: Barnes & Noble Books. 1996. ISBN: 0-7607-0282-9 [7] De Hamel, Christopher. Scribes and Illuminators. London: British Museum Press. 1992. ISBN: 0-7141-2049-9 [8] Jarman, Christopher. Illuminations: A Source Book for Modern Calligraphers. London: B.T. Batsford. 1994. ISBN: 0-7134-7824-1 [9] Beckwith, John. Early Medieval Art. New York: Thames & Hudson, Inc. 1989. ISBN: 0-500-20019-X [10] Zaczek, Iain. Celtic Design. New York: Crescent Books. 1995. ISBN: 0-517-12178-6 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 11:01:49 -0400 (EDT) From: Eldred@concentric.net Subject: [scribes]: Lindesfarne/Meehan colors Greetings from Eldred! The slide I have from the Lindesfarne Gospels does seem to use approximately the same shade of yellow as the Meehan cover. The pages from the Durham Gospels (7th c) appear to use a very bright canary yellow (startling, actually), but I can't tell if it actually gold leaf that has a low/no sheen to it, or an amazingly bright and durable yellow. I suspect the former. In service, Eldred AElfwald Falcon Cree, Nottinghill Coill, Atlantia ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 09:22:34 -0700 From: "Carolyn Richardson" Subject: Re: Fwd: [scribes]: Dirty Tricks Eowyn wrote: >>Templates for shields are also a wonderful thing. I drew a series of sizes and shapes once, a couple decades ago, cut them out of cardboard and tag board, put several layers of tape along the edges on one side, and I've used these templates ever since. I might never draw a shield from scratch again.<< I also use cardboard cutouts for shields - I have several sizes. Another thing I use for shields in the margins where they are a lot smaller is a stencil I bought years ago that has both a pointed and round bottomed shield shapes in it - I don't recall what this stencil was for but it was sold in a commercial art shop. I recall Eowyn once also told me that she used a "highway signs" stencil for very little shields. My personal dirty trick is using 3M Removable Tape (in the blue box) to mask off my scroll for gesso. I leave the tape off the parts that need gilding and leave it on the ungilded spots. It cuts easily with a single edge razor without having to press hard and score the paper underneath. This way I can just splash on the gesso any which way and not have to worry about the lines getting messed up. it works for really fine detailing too. The adhesive on this tape is like the PostIt adhesive and doesn't damage even soft papers. Tetchubah of Greenlake, Caid ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 09:24:37 -0700 From: "Carolyn Richardson" Subject: Re: [scribes]: Gold leaf for flames? >>I'm doing a scroll that has a couple of cooking fires in the marginalia, and I thought of a trick to make them seem to glow: put down gold leaf for the tongues of flame, then paint over it in red (I've been told you can paint over real gold; is that right?), leaving gaps for the gold to shine through. Does anybody have an opinion on this?<< JimBear says he has good luck getting gouache to stick to gold by mixing it with garlic juice. I haven't tried it so I'm taking his word for it. Everything I've tried (which admittedly isn't much - I generally leaf around the painted area) doesn't work worth a darn. I'm sure Jim can post the details on tryin the garlic juice. Take it away JimBear. Tetchubah of Greenlake, Caid ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 15:40:49 -0400 (EDT) From: Eldred@concentric.net Subject: [scribes]: Notes from Illumination Survey are up w/some graphics Greetings from Eldred! I put the notes up on my webpages with some pictures of the Anglo-Saxon carvings they resemble. The main web page is at: http://www.concentric.net/~Eldred/eldred_index.html If you don't want to deal with frames and just want the article, shame on you! 8^) No, if you just want the article, it can be found at: http://www.concentric.net/~Eldred/UoA/Survey_Durham.html I will add pictures of the slides or a reasonable facsimile thereof as I am able and will keep you posted... Enjoy! Eldred AElfwald Falcon Cree, Nottinghill Coill, Atlantia ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 16:23:37 EDT From: EowynA@aol.com Subject: [scribes]: Durham Gospels colors In a message dated 7/20/98 8:13:00 AM, Eldred@concentric.net wrote: <> Not a good suspicion. I saw the original in the undercroft of the Durham cathedral, and it does use a bright yellow, not gold. No gold in any of those early ones, actually. Eowyn Amberdrake, Caid. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 17:36:18 -0400 (EDT) From: Eldred@concentric.net Subject: Re: [scribes]: Durham Gospels colors > In a message dated 7/20/98 8:13:00 AM, Eldred@concentric.net wrote: > > < from the Durham Gospels (7th c) appear to use a very bright canary yellow > (startling, actually), but I can't tell if it actually gold leaf that has > a low/no sheen to it, or an amazingly bright and durable yellow. I > suspect the former.>> > > Not a good suspicion. I saw the original in the undercroft of the Durham > cathedral, and it does use a bright yellow, not gold. No gold in any of > those early ones, actually. > > Eowyn Amberdrake, Caid. Thanks! I wasn't sure based on the slide I had. It looked a bit reflective. Just so we're on the same page, are you talking about the Treasury where they have all the displays, such as the original coffin they used to carry St. Cuthbert around in, and the various King's seals? Or is the undercroft in a different area of the cathedral? If it was there, I'm really ticked that I didn't see it.... Eldred AElfwald, Atlantia ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 18:25:02 -0500 From: randyaf@provide.net (Randy & Melody Asplund-Faith) Subject: Re: [scribes]: Gold leaf for flames? >I'm doing a scroll that has a couple of cooking fires in the marginalia, >and I thought of a trick to make them seem to glow: put down gold leaf >for the tongues of flame, then paint over it in red (I've been told you >can paint over real gold; is that right?), leaving gaps for the gold to >shine through. Does anybody have an opinion on this? Yes, this is perfectly reasonable and authentic. A medieval scribe would have laid down a thin staining layer of colored oil paint which may go from opaque fading to open gold. It's also good for sgraffitto. Obviously, some oil colors take a long time to dry, so if you are in a hurry, you can either do the bad thing (which is mix in a little cobalt siccative) or get clever and buy a small tube of alkyd. The alkyd paint (GRIFFIN, by Winsor & Newton) bahaves more like oil than acrylic, and is blendable. It cuts with turp like oils do. Consider it a substitute which dries to the touch in a couple of hours (depending on thickness of paint mass) and it is all the way dry by the next morning. Ranthulfr Asparlundr, who uses Alkyd paint in all sorts of professional illustrations. Randy Asplund-Faith Science Ficion & Fantasy Illustration 2101 S. Circle Dr. Ann Arbor, MI. 48103 (734) 663-0954 http://www.provide.net/~randyaf ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 18:25:20 -0500 From: randyaf@provide.net (Randy & Melody Asplund-Faith) Subject: [scribes]: Paint on gold I just read the post on the garlic juice to get gouache to stick to leaf. Hmm. I've never had a problem getting gouache to stick to gold. However, I may be using a different technique. I mix my colors in shells and use them from that well. I do this with glair and dry pigment mostly, but I use a couple of gouache and watercolor paints as well. These are squeezed into the shells and mixed with white or black, or whatever, and I let them dry. Since I am taking color off of essentially puddles of color around dry cakes in a shell, the paint is naturally moreviscous and concentrated. This may be the difference. Since there is less of the water charactoristic and more of the glue charactoristic, it may why it doesn't tend to bead up. I have noticed over the many years that a lot of SCA scribes tend to use very thinned out washes of color, as would a watercolor artist. It is appropriate way less often than not. Even thin medieval colors were usually thin because of a higher proportion of binder plus water to color, not just higher proportion of water. The later tends to cause underbinding. And yes, I do know of later period sources advising to cut paint with just water when shading, etc., but if you look at the actual manuscripts, you will see that for general laying in of most color, most of the time the color went on thick and was lightened with white, not by thinning. Also, a couple of strokes with a brush on the gold with anything watery will erode the gold off a traditional gesso, but I do not rely on that. Ranthulfr Asparlundr Randy Asplund-Faith Science Ficion & Fantasy Illustration 2101 S. Circle Dr. Ann Arbor, MI. 48103 (734) 663-0954 http://www.provide.net/~randyaf ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 18:25:12 -0500 From: randyaf@provide.net (Randy & Melody Asplund-Faith) Subject: [scribes]: Oil on Gold BTW, I encourage you to use oil on the gilding INSTEAD of any aqueous media. It depends on your gesso, but if your gesso uses water to initially adhere the gold leaf, you are going to have a tendancy to wash off god when you brush on a water based paint. Oil will not have that problem. Also, since the oil goes on metal and not the paper, and there is a layer of gesso beneath the gold, there should be a minimal problem with oil creeping into the page fibers. That is, if you stay within the lines and dont get sloppy. Ranthulfr Randy Asplund-Faith Science Ficion & Fantasy Illustration 2101 S. Circle Dr. Ann Arbor, MI. 48103 (734) 663-0954 http://www.provide.net/~randyaf ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 18:37:47 -0500 From: randyaf@provide.net (Randy & Melody Asplund-Faith) Subject: Re: [scribes]: Tools of the trade >Thanks so much for your response! Now - how would I go about finding out the >ph of the paper in question? How do I go about finding out the fiber content? >The source that I have here in Richmond is of course a retail store that uses >starving art students for its clerks, and although they are art students, they >may not yet understand the difference between ph-neutral and acid-free..... >suggestions? > >Thanks again, > >Margaret Cameron Ha! I remember being one of those art students working at the art store and not knowing diddly squat about what I was selling! Well, surprise surprise. That's what you get in modern art schools where they don't bother teaching tools and technique. I learned it all the hard way, just like you, while studying about medieval illumination in the SCA. I read Ralph Mayer's book THE ARTIST'S HANDBOOK an d did the art tradeshow thing where I actually talked to the company reps. Your best bet is to ask at the art store for any brochures or other technical pamphlets they may have tucked in a drawer somewhere. Usually there is a sheet which tells about the ph and content of the manufacturer's products. Most art stores are too cheesy about this, so failing that, you can at least get company contact info from the art store and call or write to them in care of either customer service or the technical department. They can answer questions like "What products do you make which follow this criteria:?" and "Where can I buy it?", or they may just mail you a pamphlet. If you are lucky, there may be a website for your target manufacturer. Try searching the net. Ranthulfr Asparlundr Man, I need a vacation. How long 'til Pennsic? Right. Randy Asplund-Faith Science Ficion & Fantasy Illustration 2101 S. Circle Dr. Ann Arbor, MI. 48103 (734) 663-0954 http://www.provide.net/~randyaf ------------------------------ End of scribes digest V2 #176 *****************************