The times., 1901-05-05
ART OF THE MIDDLE AGES
Rare Old Manuscripts at the Con
gressiOnal Library.

The Richardson Collection on EXIT
bItion-Hinintures Of Great Deli
cacy of EXecutiOn-Chorai Leaves
From the Fourteenth Century.
The Thomas T. Richa rdson collection Of
Illuminated manuscripts now on eXhi-
bition IN the southwest gallery of the Lii
brary Of Congress affords splendid illus
trations OF beautiful art of the Middle
Ages The collection embraces choral
leaves formerly used in churches and
monasteries and mostly of the fourteenth
and fifteenth centuries: capital letters each
one OF which is an elaborate work of art;
miniatures of great delicacy Of execution.
engraved on copper and colored by hand,
and forming the earliest specimens Of
copper plate engraving; pages from old
bibles and missas. etc. The specimens
date from the twelfth To the fifteenth cen
turies and therefore illustrate the best
periods of the art of Illuminating manu-
scripts.
The pictures and script, the former still
glowing in ali their wonderful richness
and delicacy Of tint. are upon vellum.
which in connection with the lost art of
giving the Colors permanency. accounts
for the marvellous state Of preservation of
even the oldest specimens.
II is known that all the mouasteries of
the Middle Ages contained writing rooms
or scriptoriums as they were called, in
which the monks wrote from dictation,
the copy being revised by q competent
person. and then placed in the hands of
an imitator, or painter in vermiiion- who
decorated il and added the fanciful capital
letters. The earliest writing was entirely
Il.
ing each other continuously without any
punctuation or spaces between the words.
A smaller running character. called
rmscule. began 10 appear occasionally
during the fourth and NTH centuries but
was not in frequent use until the close
of the eighth century. The vellum, or
prepared skin Of the calf. was also whittier
and finer i'm tho earlier ages. and the fiE-
est Velum vet discovered belongs to
period previous 10 the end of the eighth
century.
In the eleventh century parchment be
came very scarce, and it was usual for
the monks TO erase the manuscript copies
of the profane authors in order 70 use the
material for the sacred writings. This re
writing has been termed the palimpsest
and art has lately been able in some
cases. 10 remove the upper writing and
recover the manuscript which lay be-
meath
In the twelfth century. to which the
earliest specimens i'm the Richardson col
lection belong. and especially in England,
the letters became longer and the lines
heavier. and toward the close of the
century the angular character. generally
known as the modern Gothic began TO
take the place of the clear and beautiful
Roman, which it entirely superseded in
the thirteenth century.
Although the handwriting Of the dir-
ferent centuries can be distinguished
with considerable eNactness. the peculiar
tiles Of Ornamentation prevailing at dif-
ferent periods and in various countries are
considered a more reliable means Of de-
Gliding upon the date OF manuscripts. The
earliest style OF ornament was the intro
ducton OF NeFnllllon peculiarly bril-
liant ana permanent red. called in Latin
.TninUm. and used TO mark the titles
or commencements Of manuscripts. This
red was afteTwaTd used To distinguish
the most important words. and such pOr-
tiOnS were cUstOmarily known as the
rubricated or red letters, from whence
the modern expression red letter to
denote special occasion. as well as rubTc
used to signify the order Of the litanV
both in the Catholic and English
churches.
Those scribes skilled in the use Of the
minimum and called miuiatOrs. intro
duced a delicate and minute Ornamental
tiOn suited To small sheets Of velum and
from these pictures and Illustrations Is
derived the modern word miniature"
COlOred veilum was also used al an early
date. that Of the purple and rose tiuts
being much more brilliant in the first
Christian centuries and losing brilHauce
and purity Of tone in the eighth and ninth
centuries. Purple manuscripts Were un-
known in England until the close Of the
seventh century Writing in FURNISHED
gold and silver was also usual in the
fourth and several subsequent centuries
the most ancient example known being
the COdeX Argenteus of Ulphilas written
in gold on purple veIlum at the close of
the fourth century. The early Christian
fathers and particularly those who were
employed in prea ching the gospel among
the heather, decorated their manuscripts
Of the Scriptures with the utmost spIen-
dor, and lavished gold, silver. and even
Jewels upon them as a means OF convey
ing 10 the heathens the esteem in which
the sacred works were held
Il IS 10 be regretted that there is not in
the Richardson collection any specimen
OF the beautiful and unique style of
manuscript decoration which existed in
Ireland at a very remote period. In this
style Intricate interiaciDgs of narrow