The paintings in
illuminated manuscripts were called miniatures, not because they were small,
but because red paint, "minium" in Latin, was often used in their
decoration. When parchment replaced papyrus in manuscripts, illustrations
became elaborate and the manuscripts became more expensive. (This was
because of materials, not man-hours— monks' time was not chargeable!)
Parchment and vellum were made from goat, sheep and calf skin; the color and
quality depended upon the age, texture, and country of origin of the skin.
Two different
artists did the illustrations and the text. Pens for the finest work were
made from the quills of a crow, with very long slits. Writing was done
with goose or weed quills that had a shorter slit. Colors came from
natural materials: black from twig or candle soot; white from white lead; blue from lapis lazuli and indigo; red from sulfur, quick silver (mercury) or red lead; green rather
than brittle. Gold and silver were natural and usually used in leaf form.
An expert monk could do
fifteen pages of script a day. Artists and scribes rarely signed
their work, but did add dedication or warnings of a curse should anyone destroy
the work. Despite the enforced silence in the scriptorium, monks found a
way to communicate: in the margins of some books are notes from one monk to
another.
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