Lighting the Subject: Illuminated Manuscripts
An introduction to illuminated manuscripts of both pre- and post-Conquest periods. This considers briefly how they were made and planned and the difficulties faced by the scribes, some of whom complained bitterly in writing. The lecture considers the importance of the Correct Text and how errors were corrected, how some manuscripts are linked artistically to others; we can track styles migrating and progressing over the years. Throughout the lecture, there is a theme of how the books were used, whether as sacred vessels for The Word or as memory joggers for day-dreaming monks. Overall, the audience should gain an awareness of the great diversity of styles and perhaps be surprised at the vast amount of material that survives and how much we know about the men and women who made them.