#medieval illuminations

[anhorns-craft-supply]

I am clearing out my digital storage, and will be sharing the many, many little creatures I have cut out of medieval manuscripts!

I could not tell you where they came from, unfortunately.

[mistyjaeart]

Medieval illuminated manuscript illustrations from a title sequence project

1 | 2 | 3 | Colour script | Storyboard

[art-from-iso]

@emiimagination and I are creating an Hazbin Hotel Au called Deer Gods Au.

Hello! With a friend, we had an idea for a Radioapple AU (in French for now on AO3 but we can translate it if you like) In this AU that tak

And yeah it is RadioApple themed.

Synopsis:

In a remote Irish village, the population still worships two Cervitaurs, creatures half deer half man. One is blood-red, bringing Death, the other white, granting Life. Hidden in a sanctuary deep in the forest, they protect the village and its inhabitants… until the day the Crusader Knights arrive to bring the Good Word!

Between scheming and plotting, friendship and cruelty, the Deer Gods will have to fight to survive this invasion.

This one is a medieval illumination mock up of what happens in the beginning of the story of the AU. Husk is a huntsman and trapper and must chaperon a young girl with the help of his new apprentice Anthony to the altar in the Entrance of the Deers sanctuary. Husk is from the village and the little girl too but she's too new to their ways still, and Anthony wasn't born in the village and hasn't grown up with its beliefs, that's why he is mocking Husk who explains everything about the Deers and how to properly thank them.

I was inspired by Redwall outros and "previously on" but instead of going with tapestries I wanted to go with medieval illuminations instead because I was also inspired by The Secret of Kells.

[cuties-in-codices]

abbess st. madelbertha with a demon

in a german manuscript depicting various saints, ca. 1514-1519

source: Vienna, ÖNB, Cod. Ser. n. 4711, fol. 7r

[d-r-a-c--a-r-y-s]

This is how (probably) must looked like in reality the armenian prince Vakhtang of Khatchen, born around 1261 and died in 1347, according to his depiction in the Gospel commissioned by him (ms 155, Matenadaran). It’s the only painted portrait of a medieval prince of Artsakh that has come down us.

Vakhtang grandfather’s was the famous prince Hasan Jalal Dawla, and he was the youngest son of princess Mama-Khatun and Umek. This last was a wealthy merchant from Manazkert, active between Tbilisi and Khatchen. Umek in Tbilisi patronized a large church in 1251 (now Surb Gevorg, or St. George, Church, the cathedral of the Georgian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church) and maintained close ties with Artsakh and Utik. He also purchased the Monastery of Nor Getik for 40,000 ducats, and became, together with his successors, the singular owners of it.

After the death of his father Umek (1267), Vakhtang (at the young age of 5 or 6), together with his mother, Mama-Khatun, had to be more closely connected to the house of his grandfather, Hasan-Jalal, prince of Khachen. It is known that before 1287, Vakhtang’s uncle, Prince Atabek, ruled over the eastern parts of Armenia. Atabek was succeeded by his son Jalal, who ruled until 1318. From the sources we know that Vakhtang was not a merchant as his father had been (in some manuscripts he is referred as mets paron, “great lord”.) The last inscription related to Vakhtang is found on the tombstone near the Zorats‘ Church in the historical Yeghegis (Alayaz) Village of Syunik. The inscription reads, “1347. This is the final resting place of Prince Vakhtang, son of Umek”.

[petrasrevenge]

Today, I will try to copy a medieval drawing using watercolors. This is the original. Wish me good luck.

The original is from taccuinum sanitatis available online at the NYPL website

[thekpax]

Visual Innovations in Carolingian Manuscripts

Carolingian manuscripts are among the earliest surviving examples of Western sequential art. These illuminations from the eighth and ninth centuries demonstrate unique storytelling solutions that speak to the ingenuity of their artists. Indeed, the monks at Tours and Reims did not simply copy their early Christian prototypes, but devised original works that would resemble the five principles of modern visual storytelling: timing (or implied action/encapsulation), “the frame” (or the organization of visual elements), imagery (typology), expressive anatomy (acting), and image-text interdependence (captions). 

Take the Moutier-Grandval Bible, for example. Painted around the year 840, it contains four registers per page and depicts nine distinct scenes from the book of Genesis. The separated panels organize the visuals, drawing the eye from left to right and implying the passage of time. Likely inspired by Trajan’s Column, this technique was a novel application of the principles of timing and “the frame” to the page. While no text existed alongside the imagery, the artists of Tours provided summaries of the illustrations they preceded. 

Some scriptoriums, however, were more confident in their visual storytelling abilities than others. The Reims school of illumination relied on the principle of imagery to communicate stories with symbolism that would have been well-known to the people of the time. Utrecht Psalter, a work dated somewhere between 816 and 835, did away with frames in favor of energetic compositions directly above, below, or even in-between corresponding passages. This resulted in manuscripts imbued with energy and agitation, essential qualities associated with expressive anatomy that is a cornerstone of the Reims style.

When examining the differences between the schools of Tours and Reims, it is important to remember they enjoyed access to similar source material. They are united by a common thread: their innovations in communicating a visual narrative. How they differed in execution is where creative ingenuity lies.

[thematerialarchive]

The Sun and the Moon

[Tübinger Hausbuch, 15th c.]