Decoding illuminated manuscript masterpieces of medieval England

This course will explore the materiality of one of the most complex manifestations of medieval culture – the manuscript book. Taking the form of five case studies of important individual manuscripts, ranging in date from c.800-1500, it will Introduce the techniques used in making books by hand and will assess the techniques used and the relationships between those who commissioned these works and those who made them. It will explore how the contexts of book production varied across time and place in medieval Britain and Ireland and broadening into the Europe of the ‘northern Renaissance’. The manuscripts will be arranged in broadly chronological fashion, allowing the to be placed in its socio-historical, economic, intellectual and aesthetic contexts.  

The input of authors and patrons will also be examined, to determine how their agendas impacted upon and interacted with the practicalities of managing and implementing projects. The case studies will commence with dedicated individuals fired by their ethos to compose or copy works that would change their world, sometimes as solitary feats of patience, producing books that became places of public assembly as cult-books or ambassadors for their nations. They will then range across the benches of the communal monastic scriptorium and court schools to the urban landscape, with numerous craftspecialists working in neighbouring streets to cater for the needs of a wide range of patrons and ‘off the peg’ sales. Populating these themes with real people and projects will allow them to serve as vibrant portals into the mindsets of their age, as will the range of subject matter these diverse books contain.  

Following the successful format of last year's course on this theme, the case studies this year will be the Book of Kells, the Anglo-Saxon Scientific Miscellany, Giraldus Cambrensis's Topography of Ireland, the Aberdeen Bestiary and the Rothschild Hours.  

Learning outcomes

The learning outcomes for this course are:

• To gain an overview of the manufacture of medieval illuminated manuscripts  
• To gain insight into the project dynamics between patrons and makers of medieval books through detailed case studies  
• To explore a number of case studies that populate the themes above with real people and projects which serve as portals into the mindsets and historical contexts of their particular age and societies and which demonstrate methodologies used.

Classes

1. The Book of Kells (Trinity College Dublin, MS 58), a world treasure and an Irish national icon in the form of a Gospel book probably made in the Celtic monastery of Iona, off the western coast of Scotland, around 800 in the face of Viking raids.  
2. The Anglo-Saxon Scientific Miscellany (British Library, Cotton MS Tiberius B.v, pt ii), a collection of illustrated texts pertaining to knowledge of the natural world and the heavens, compiled at Canterbury in the 1020s and including one of the earliest medieval world maps.  
3. Giraldus Cambrensis's Topography of Ireland (BL, Royal MS 13 B.viii, etc), an early 13th-century Lincoln copy, made under the personal supervision of the author, Gerald of Wales, of a new scholastic work of travel writing, recounting his tour of Ireland preaching Crusade with Prince John in the 1180s It pioneers the use of the marginal counter for illustration and visual commentary.  
4. The Aberdeen Bestiary (Aberdeen University Library, Univ Lib. MS 24) is a 12th-century English illuminated bestiary. Due to similarities, it is often considered to be the "sister" manuscript of the Ashmole Bestiary in the Bodleian. It probably originated in southern England in the 13th century and was owned by a wealthy ecclesiastical patron from north or south England.  
5. The Rothschild Hours made in Ghent / Bruges c.1500-1520 for an unknown patron by leading Flemish artists including Gerard Horenbout and Simon Bening, this opulent prayerbook, now in Canberra and owned by Australian media magnate, Kerry Stokes stands at the junction of the medieval and early modern worlds. 

Required reading:

C. de Hamel., The British Library Guide to Manuscript Illumination: History and Techniques. (British Library: London, 1988) 

J. M. Backhouse, The Illuminated Page (London & Toronto: British Library & Toronto University Press, 1998) 

M. P. Brown, The British Library Guide to Writing and Scripts (London & Toronto: British Library & Toronto University Press, 1998) 

C. de Hamel,  Scribes and Illuminators (London: British Museum, 1992) 

Typical week: Monday to Friday

For each week of study you select a morning (Am) and an afternoon (Pm) course, each course has five sessions, one each day Monday to Friday. The maximum class size is 25 students. Your weekly courses are complemented by a series of two daily plenary lectures, exploring new ideas in a wide range of disciplines. To add to the learning experience, we are also planning additional evening talks and events.

Evaluation and Academic Credit 

If you are seeking to enhance your own study experience, or earn academic credit from your Cambridge Summer Programme studies at your home institution, you can submit written work for assessment for one or more of your courses. 

Essay questions are set and assessed against the University of Cambridge standard by your Course Director, a list of essay questions can be found in the Course Materials. Essays are submitted two weeks after the end of each course, so those studying for multiple weeks need to plan their time accordingly. There is an evaluation fee of £65 per essay.

For more information about writing essays see Evaluation and Academic Credit.

Certificate of attendance

A certificate of attendance will be sent to you electronically within a week of your courses finishing.