Documentation for Pearl Scroll for Violante de Sant Sebastian
Calligraphy & Illumination by Lady Amie Sparrow
Introduction
I decided I wanted to so some artwork from a book of very colorful, unusual manuscripts found in “Early Spanish Manuscript Illumination” by John Williams. I chose to do a peacock because of its color and also because I’m trying to learn to draw freehand. The peacock was a nice simple shape to start with.
Source Material for Illumination & Calligraphy
The source for the artwork is the illuminated manuscript “Moralia in Job of Gregory the Great” (A.D. 945). The Peacock is found on fol. 3v. The sample text is the page known as Initial B, found on fol. 408v.
The modern book in which I found the artwork is “Early Spanish Manuscript Illumination” by John Williams, published by George Braziller, Inc. New York, NY, 1977, pages 21-22, 52, 53.
Materials
- Acrylic paints
- Bristol board
- Pigma pens
- Schaeffer calligraphy pen
A Brief Discussion of Moralia in Job of Gregory the Great
Pope Gregory the Great ruled the Catholic Church from 590-604. His most ambitious work was a series of lectures on the Book of Job. Pope Gregory expounded the text in a threefold manner: the historical, typological and moral meanings. His preference was for moral meanings and he considered the commentary primarily a discussion of moral theology and its practical application. It became one of the principal theological textbooks of the Middle Ages and survives in many manuscripts.[1]
Illumination: The Peacock as a Christian Symbol
The material about the Peacock as a Christian symbol (page 53 in the book) is clear and succinct. I am copying it wholesale here:
“Only in scientific illustration does the history of book illumination offer a parallel for Florentis’ decision to devote a full page to a depiction of a Peacock. Given the traditional meaning of the peacock in Christian art, there was a logic behind his choice, unusual as it was. In the City of God ([plate] XXI, 4) Saint Augustine testified to the belief in his day that the flesh of the Peacock was incorruptible. This notion, together with a Roman association of the Peacock with apotheosis and an Eastern view that identified its famed tail with the starry heavens, made it a natural Christian symbol for immortality and paradise. As such it had a great popularity, especially in the Early Christian period, and it appeared in various media. In manuscripts it was used as part of the repertory of celestial or paradisiacal symbols in the arcades of Cannon Tables, but it is unlikely that Florentius’ peacock was inspired by a manuscript version. If any specific model stands behind the conception, it may have been some Early Christian mosaic example. These habitually included a vine scroll beneath the feet, as here, and the manner of rendering the feathers of these wings even resembles mosaic tesserae.
“By the tenth century the popularity of the Peacock had declined in the Christian world. The resurrection of the motif by Florentius is possibly to be explained by the important role played by the Peacock in Islamic depictions of celestial or royal settings. This peninsular association of the bird with the iconography of Majesty may explain Florentius’ decision to add it to the full page Christological images, the Alpha and Omega, Chi-Rho, and Christ in Majesty (Plate 8a), with which he embellished the Moralia.”
Calligraphy
Williams is far more concerned about illumination than he is about the calligraphy that goes with it. There is a brief passage on page 21 that highlights the fact that Spain was running behind the times as far as keeping up with advances in calligraphy. “The full impact of the Carolingian Renaissance was belatedly felt in Spain, around 940. The consequences were substantial. Although the distinctive ‘Visigothic minuscule’ script was not displaced, decorated initials became decidedly Carolingian in style.”
The book then goes on to discuss the illuminated letter, but not the script itself. To recreate the script used in the source document “Moralia in Job of Gregory the Great” (A.D. 945), I found the closest style to be insular minuscule described in the Mark Drogin book on page 116. The ascenders and descenders look very close to the original document’s script.
Bibliography
Drogin, Marc. “Medieval Calligraphy: Its History and Technique,” Dover Publications, 1989. Page 116.
“Moralia in Job of Gregory the Great” (A.D. 945), Madrid, Bibliotech Nacional, Cod.80. 502 fols. 488 x 337 mm.
Williams, John. “Early Spanish Manuscript Illumination,” George Braziller, Inc. New York, NY, 1977. Pages 21-22, 52, 53.