E0023 Leaf from a Breviary (Breviarium)
Title
E0023 Leaf from a Breviary (Breviarium)
Subject
Breviary
Description
France; Middle 14th Century. Latin Text; Angular Gothic Script.
In the middle of the 14th century many of the manuscripts show influences from other countries. Illuminators, scribes, and other craftsmen traveled from city to city and even from country to country. While the script of this leaf is almost certainly French, the initial letters and filigree decoration might easily be of Italian workmanship, and the greenish tone of the ink suggests English manufacture. The dorsal motif in the bar ornament is again decidedly French, and the lemon tone of the gold is a third indication of French origin. In England, the burnished gold elements are generally of an orange tint, due to the presence of an alloy; in Italy, they are a rosy color because the underlying gesso or plaster base was mixed with a red pigment.
The gold on this leaf has an unusual foil appearance when compared to that of other leaves in the portfolio. The red and blue tracery escapes like stray hair into the upper and lower margins. Compare the decoration along the left of each column to that of Leaf 18, from a French breviary of a generation or two earlier.
Text: Not yet identified.
In the middle of the 14th century many of the manuscripts show influences from other countries. Illuminators, scribes, and other craftsmen traveled from city to city and even from country to country. While the script of this leaf is almost certainly French, the initial letters and filigree decoration might easily be of Italian workmanship, and the greenish tone of the ink suggests English manufacture. The dorsal motif in the bar ornament is again decidedly French, and the lemon tone of the gold is a third indication of French origin. In England, the burnished gold elements are generally of an orange tint, due to the presence of an alloy; in Italy, they are a rosy color because the underlying gesso or plaster base was mixed with a red pigment.
The gold on this leaf has an unusual foil appearance when compared to that of other leaves in the portfolio. The red and blue tracery escapes like stray hair into the upper and lower margins. Compare the decoration along the left of each column to that of Leaf 18, from a French breviary of a generation or two earlier.
Text: Not yet identified.
Source
Fifty Original Leaves from Medieval Manuscripts
Date
Middle 14th century
Rights
Item in public domain. Description provided by Dr. Fred Porcheddu-Engel via the Otto F. Ege digital collection. http://ege.denison.edu/denison_leaf_23.php
Format
300 dpi JPEG; 18 x 12 cm
Language
Latin
Type
Medieval manuscript leaf
Identifier
Denison University Leaf 23, Fifty Original Leaves from Medieval Manuscripts
Collection
Citation
“E0023 Leaf from a Breviary (Breviarium),” Digital Exhibits | Denison University Archives & Special Collections, accessed April 19, 2024, https://exhibits.denisonarchives.org/items/show/45.