Illustration and Ornament
The Anglo-Saxon period may be divided into several phases in terms of cultural development, and especially where decoration and script are concerned. The phase from the late sub-Roman period (c.550) and prior to the Alfredian revival and its aftermath (c.900) is often termed 'insular', in recognition of the close cultural interaction of Britain and Ireland. The term 'Hiberno-Saxon' is also used to denote the area of closest overlap--Ireland, Scotland and Northumbria (with its influence also being felt abroad in the mission-fields). 'Northumbrian' and 'Southumbrian' (denoting the areas north and south of the River Humber, rather than a political unit) also denote the two predominant cultural divisions of England at this time, although they obviously interacted. The period following c.900 is generally termed 'Anglo-Saxon' in artistic terms (denoting a pan-English, rather than a largely Anglo-Saxon/Celtic cultural environment).
The British Library | The Vespasian Psalter.
Eighth century, second quarter; Canterbury.
David, author of the Psalms, with his scribes and musicians. The historiated initial to Psalm 26 depicts David and Jonathan and is one of the earliest examples of this form of decoration in western art. This is the earliest representative of the 'Tiberius' group of Southumbrian manuscripts. (BL Shelfmark Cotton MS Vespasian A.I, ff.30v-31.) |
A characteristic feature of insular illumination is the integration of decoration, script and text. The earliest example of such decoration occurs in the Codex Usserianus Primus (late sixth-early seventh centuries) and consists of colophon decoration (simple graphic marks and lines, often in red, designed to emphasise the major textual divisions), in this case a chi-rho symbol (X and P, the first two letters of 'Christ' in Greek) surrounded by decorative boxes.
The next major early-seventh-century (Irish) monument, the Cathach of Culumcille, begins to incorporate the Celtish love of ornament into the new vehicle--the book. It features enlarged pen-drawn initials adorned with Celtic motifs (peltas, trumpet spirals etc.), known as 'ultimate La Tène' as they are derived from the Celtic Iron Age culture of that name, and with Christian symbols (crosses and fish) culled from near-contemporary Roman books.
Decorated initials and carpet pages
The scene was thus set for the development of the insular decorated initial, which was to exert a major influence upon later medieval manuscript art. These initials soon acquired more elaborate ornament, including beast-headed terminals, and the earliest examples of western historiated initials (i.e. those which contain a scene illustrating the text) are found in the Vespasian Psalter (a Canterbury product of c.730) and the Leningrad Bede (made at Wearmouth/Jarrow around the same time). Nor was the insular contribution to the decorative articulation and elucidation of text limited to this. Line-fillers (decorative devices used to fill the end of lines which remain short, perhaps to emphasise a verse-form or the like) and run-over symbols (similar, but used to allow the remainder of short lines of text to be filled by text which is over-run from an adjacent line, the symbol serving to distinguish the two separate parts of the text occurring on the same line) appear to have been developed in Southumbria during the latter part of the eighth century.
 | | The British Library |  The Royal Bible.
Ninth century, second quarter; Canterbury.
Detail of the opening of St Luke's Gospel, from a fragmentary Gospels, probably originally a Bible. Its purple pages, gold and silver script and illusionistic painting style are ultimately reminsiscent of Mediterranean (especially Byzantine) works, although a product of Carolingian Court School probably furnished the immediate inspiration and English 'Tiberius' group decoration is added. (BL Shelfmark Royal MS 1.E.VI,f.43.) |
In addition to this minor decoration, major components were also introduced to emphasise the beginnings of texts. In the Book of Durrow, the first of the great Hiberno-Saxon Gospel-books, probably dating to the latter part of the seventh century, the distinctive insular programme for introducing each Gospel emerges. A carpet page (a page of abstract design--although crosses may be woven into the design--named for their resemblance to eastern carpets), probably of Coptic (Egyptian) inspiration, marks the text break, with a full-page symbol of the appropriate evangelist (Matthew the Man, Mark the Lion, Luke the Calf or Bull, and John the Eagle, derived from the vision of Ezekiel).
The depictions of the evangelists were to assume several forms in insular art: zoomorphic (the beast symbols); anthropomorphic (portraits of the evangelists in human guise, often accompanied by their identifying symbols); and zoo-anthropomorphic (human figures with the heads of beast symbols). In the Lindisfarne Gospels of c.700 the artist-scribe, Eadfrith, introduced the practice of depicting the evangelists as scribes--an extremely influential form, of Mediterranean inspiration.
The opening words of the Gospels (incipits) were given enlarged major decorated initials, followed by decorative display script, and by the time of the Book of Kells (c. 800?) the initials or first few letters or words had grown to virtually occupy the whole folio in a blaze of ornament (often incorporating details which were imbued with a symbolic meaning). Other less important textual breaks would also be marked by smaller initials and perhaps by panels of display script (display or continuation panels). From the Book of Durrow onwards, canon tables (a Gospel concordance system devised in the fourth century by Eusebius of Caesarea) were also subjected to a decorative treatment, often being set within arcades.
Influences from abroad
The decorative motifs poured into the insular melting-pot were largely drawn from the Celtic (ultimate La Tène) and Germanic repertoires which had been evolved during the pagan past for use on metalwork, and in the case of the former occasionally stone. Celtic abstract curvilinear ornament was fused with Germanic interlace, inhabited by a plethora of beasts drawn from both traditions (although the amorphous Germanic repertoire was initially predominant in works such as Durrow). Frankish art also contributed some influence (seen, for example, in the independent beasts favoured in southern English illumination such as that in the Vespasian Psalter, which are liberated from the interlace which enmeshed their northern counterparts). The more naturalistic animals of Pictish art also seem to have exerted an influence, for example in certain of the evangelist symbols of the Book of Durrow, and the Lindisfarne Gospels heralded the arrival of a new brand of more identifiable birds, dogs and cats into Hiberno-Saxon art.
Antique, Mediterranean and Oriental art also exerted an influence. The vinescrolls (symbolic of the eucharist and often inhabited by the beasts of creation) so beloved of the Anglo-Saxon artist had their roots firmly in antiquity, and many other foliate motifs sprang from these or more recent exotic sources. The mythical creatures which sometimes occur were drawn from similar sources, and may often have been imbued with symbolic meanings drawn from texts such as the Marvels of the East and the Physiologus (the manticore, a human-headed lion, for example, being the harbinger of death).
 | | The British Library | The Royal Prayerbook.
Early ninth century; Mercia (Worcester?).
One of a group of Mercian prayerbooks whose texts are compiled around a central theme, in this case Christ as the healer of mankind. It has been suggested that it was owned by a physician, possibly a woman. (BL Shelfmark Royal MS 2.A.XX,f.17.) |
Classical and Italo-Byzantine influence also found expression in the painterly, naturalistic figure-style encountered in many illuminations, especially those from romanising centres, such as the Codex Amiatinus from Wearmouth/Jarrow, the Vespasian Psalter and the Stockholm Codex Aureus from Canterbury, and the Barberini Gospels, possibly a Mercian book. Narrative miniatures may be found, in addition to evangelist portraits, such as the Crucifixion from the Durham Gospels (Lindisfarne, c. 700), the Last Judgement and Ezra the scribe from the Codex Amiatinus, and David and his musicians from the Vespasian Psalter.
The great Gospel-books
Perhaps the most notable Hiberno-Saxon manuscripts were the great Gospel-books. The Book of Durrow and the Book of Kells stand at either end of the insular period, both closely linked by features of their texts and perhaps from the same centre, for which Iona is a prime candidate. However, these are the most controversial pieces of the period and are often, alas, the subjects of rather nationalistic arguments concerning origins (demonstrating how useful the term 'insular' can be).
Three splendid Gospel-books were also produced at Lindisfarne: the Durham and Echternach Gospels, both the work of an artist-scribe termed the 'Durham-Echternach Calligrapher', thought to be an elder contemporary and possible master of Eadfrith, the maker of the third such book, the Lindisfarne Gospels. Other major monuments include the Cambridge-London Gospels, the Lichfield or Chad Gospels, the Leningrad Gospels (although this idiosyncratic work may also have been produced south of the Humber), and a number of books including a series of remarkable pocket-size Gosepl-books made in Ireland and, in a couple of cases, Scotland (the Book of Deer) and perhaps Wales (the Hereford Gospels).
Southumbria produced a number of important illuminated manuscripts during the eighth and early ninth centuries, including the Vespasian Psalter, the Stockholm Codex Aureus, three Mercian prayer books (the Royal Prayer book, the Book of Nunnaminster and the Book of Cerne), the Tiberius Bede and the Royal Bible, with the Barberini Gospels being an important influence within the group and perhaps also a member of it (the Gospel-book having been made by a collaborative team including Northumbrians and a Mercian). These form the nucleus of what is known as the 'Tiberius' group (from the Tiberius Bede, which stood upon a bookcase surmounted by a bust of the Roman emperor Tiberius in the library of the bibliophile, Sir Robert Cotton, who died in 1631).
 | | The British Library | The Book of Munnaminster.
Early ninth century; Mercia.
End of Gospel extracts and beginning of a prayer attributed to Gregory the Great, from one of a group of Mercian prayerbooks, this one focusing on the life of Christ. (BL Shelfmark Harley MS 2965, f.16v.) |
The Tiberius group was particularly influential during the Alfredian revival. Late-ninth-early tenth century initials feature the beast-headed terminals of the earlier works, although they are now often given bodies too and are interwoven with a lacy foliage, perhaps inspired by that of Carolingian manuscripts from Tours and Metz. A different sort of initial was also introduced during the tenth century, composed of a rich, fleshy acanthus-like plant ornament derived from ninth-century Carolingian art. These are found at their finest in works of the so-called 'Winchester school'. During the eleventh century these three essential styles fused to form the basis of the English Romanesque initial, characterised by a lively, gymnastic quality, which had its roots firmly planted in the insular world.
The impact of Carolingian manuscripts
During the second half of the tenth century two new styles of figural art emerged, both ultimately of a classical character but indebted to Carolingian interpretation. These were the 'first' or 'Winchester' style, distinguished by an opulent painting style with much gilding and colours, featuring much heavy acanthus-like ornament and a naturalistic figure-style in which the drapery often assumed a fluttering quality with decorative 'flying' hems. Ivories produced by Charlemagne's Court School are among the likely sources of inspiration for this style. Insular influence was also reinforced by the re-importation of zoomorphic interlace in a formal and often rather static form popularised by Carolingian manuscripts of the 'Franco-Saxon' school, which had themselves responded to earlier insular influence. The apogee of this style is seen in the Benedictional of St Aethelwold, made at Winchester c.971-84, and this led to a primary association with Winchester, although the style is in fact found in other centres associated with the monastic reforms, such as Canterbury.
During the late tenth century the second major style was introduced to England, inspired by an important Carolingian manuscript known as the Utrecht Psalter. This had been made near Rheims, c.820, and featured a startling, agitated drawing style, indebted to a sketchy, illusionistic classical painting technique. The Utrecht Psalter was apparently available as a model, perhaps even in an unbound state, in the Christ Church scriptorium during the early eleventh century. There it inspired the first of three Canterbury copies, the Harley Psalter. A number of artists and scribes contributed to the latter, which was still being worked upon in the early twelfth century.
During the first half of the eleventh century the two major later Anglo-Saxon styles, the 'first', or Winchester, and the 'Utrecht', began to fuse, with the monumental 'Winchester' style assuming a more restless, mannered character, executed in a more impressionistic painting technique, as seen in the Psalter known by its shelfmark BL Harley 2904, in the Arundel Psalter, St Margaret's Gospels and the Gospels of Judith of Flanders.  | | The British Library | The Tiberius Psalter.
c.1050; Winchester.
The Harrowing of Hell, from an influential prefatory cycle of Psalter illustrations of the lives of Christ and David. Its tinted drawings exhibit the manneristic tendencies of late Anglo-Saxon art. The 'Harrowing' was a popular English theme and an inspiration for early liturgical drama. (BL Shelfmark Cotton MS Tiberius C.VI,f.14.) |
An accompanying heightened tendency towards pattern-making finds a dramatic expression in the Tiberius Psalter, a Winchester book of c.1050 which introduces an influential English cycle of prefatory miniatures.
One further element of eleventh-century stylistic development should be noted, namely Scandinavian influence. This is less marked in manuscript illumination than in other media, but Scandinavian zoomorphic interlace and foliate ornament, themselves largely inspired by Anglo-Saxon styles, do make a limited appearance. Initials characterised by less disciplined, meandering interlace and somewhat stringy foliage are indebted to the Viking Ringerike style (seen, for example, in the Winchcombe Psalter).
Anglo-Saxon styles on the continent
Around the mid-eleventh century a harsh, metallic figure style (seen in the Caligula Troper [Fig.8]) makes an appearance in English art, perhaps as a result of German or Flemish influence, contributing to the transition from Anglo-Saxon into Romanesque art. The Anglo-Saxon contribution to medieval art did not, however, end here. From the late tenth century the Anglo-Saxon 'first' or 'Winchester' style was practised in the Franco-Flemish area, notably at St Bertin, whilst the Winchester style of border decoration found popularity in northern and western France, and was introduced to the Weingarten scriptorium through the passage of Judith of Flanders. Normandy was particularly receptive to English influence (manifest in the Préaux and Jumièges Gospels) which was reimported following the conquest.
In addition to the stylistic elements already discussed, Anglo-Saxon art contributed some distinctive iconographic forms to the artistic mainstream. The Crucifixion, the Trinity, the Evangelists and the iconography of Mary and of David all received particular attention and were developed as complex images, often invested with layers of meaning, some of which may be glimpsed through exegetical (or interpretative) commentary. These and other more idiosyncratic features, such as the horned Moses (derived from a misinterpretation of the biblical passage concerning Moses's descent from the mountain, having received the Commandments, during which he appeared 'radiant', mistranslated as 'horned'), were to continue to influence medieval iconography.
Thus, through a subtle web of cross-fertilisation, Anglo-Saxon and, indirectly, insular manuscript painting made a major contribution to the evolution of Romanesque and, ultimately, Gothic art. |
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