The most widespread form of painting in the Middle Ages was executed neither on panels nor on walls, but on the pages of manuscripts. Handwritten books, both religious and secular, were decorated throughout this period. Hebrew manuscripts, commissioned by Jews for communal or home use, were often illuminated as well.

	Ready Reference
	Illumination The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia.

In the Christian world, the art of manuscript illumination flourished from late antiquity to the Renaissance. Among Jews, however, no examples of decorated manuscripts remain from the early Middle Ages. Although some scholars maintain that such works were produced, the earliest extant decorated manuscript bearing a date is a Book of Prophets written in Tiberias in 895 CE, which is now housed in the Karaite synagogue of Cairo. In Western Europe it was not until the thirteenth century that illuminated Hebrew books seem to have been commonly used. The production of liturgical manuscripts, like Haggadot, for use by individuals parallels a similar development that took place among Christians at that time. In the earlier Middle Ages, books were generally written and illuminated in monastic scriptoria or writing shops, for use by either the Church or royalty. In the thirteenth century, with the development of towns, universities, and a middle class, book production shifted to lay workshops, and wealthy individuals commissioned luxurious manuscripts, particularly the Psalter and Book of Hours.

Illumination procedures
The procedures employed in the illumination of Hebrew manuscripts do not differ from those used in Christian works. Although paper was used in the Islamic East, before the late fifteenth century most manuscripts in the West were written on animal skins. After the parchment was prepared and cut into sheets, the bifolios were arranged in groupings, known as gatherings or quires, which usually contained four to five sheets. After the leaves were ruled, the scribe, who was responsible for the layout of the page in general, copied the text, leaving blank the areas that were to be painted. The gatherings were then ready to be decorated by the artist, usually someone other than the scribe. The drawings were executed first, but before they were painted over, the areas that were to be covered with gold were prepared. Bole, a mixture of gesso and clay, was applied to the folio to form a somewhat raised surface to which the delicate sheets of gold leaf would adhere. The pigments, formed of various minerals and common elements like egg and urine, were then mixed and applied, one color at a time.

Some medieval recipe books still exist which list the ingredients and explain the procedures that were used to create different pigments. One of these was written by Abraham ben Judah ibn ayyim, a Jew. The Portuguese text, written in Hebrew characters, is found in a manuscript in the Biblioteca Palatina in Parma (Ms. De Rossi 945). The colophon states that the treatise was written in 1262, although this copy may have been written in the fifteenth century. The document is composed of 45 parts, with each section describing how to make a specific color. The treatise begins with an account of the production of various types of gold, and continues with the making of blues, reds, greens, yellows, and black. Different recipes and instructions are given for obtaining different shades of color.

Unfinished manuscripts that display the stages of decoration exist in various collections. Perhaps the most revealing example is the Prato Haggadah in the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York (Mic. No. 9478). This work, written in Spain around 1300, is an illuminated manuscript in the strictest sense of the word: it is a book that was painted with gold and brilliant colors that reflect light. It is not known why, but the manuscript's illumination was halted abruptly, leaving some folios decorated with only the underdrawings, while others were already fully painted. It is evident that the traditional order was followed of writing the text, executing the drawings, applying the bole, affixing the gold leaf, and finally adding the colors. The leaves were kept in gatherings and the artist worked from the outside in, painting the outer bifolio first and working his way toward the center. The pigments were applied one color at a time, beginning with blue. In one unfinished quire, therefore, the outer side of the bifolio was fully illuminated, while on the inside only blue was applied. Nearer to the center, the folios have gold and no pigment, then only bole, and finally, in the middle of the gathering, only the drawings have been executed.

Prohibited images
Decorations appear to have been commonplace in medieval Hebrew manuscripts, and are discussed in rabbinic literature. Rabbi Meir ben Baruch of Rothenburg (1215?-1293), for example, was asked why he did not protest the widespread inclusion of paintings in prayerbooks. He replied that the drawing of images is not forbidden, although he condemned the presence of illustrations because they distract the worshipper. In fact, few images were strictly prohibited. The Talmud and rabbinic responsa forbid the depiction of the four creatures of the merkavah from Ezekiel's vision. These figures, which are frequently represented in Christian works as attributes of the four Evangelists, do however appear in Hebrew manuscripts. A depiction of the Heavenly Chariot is found, for example, in the Ashkenazic Ambrosian Bible (Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan, Ms. B. 32, Inf.), 1236-38, and in Maimonides' Moreh Nevukhim (Guide to the Perplexed) from Barcelona, 1348 (The Royal Library, Copenhagen, Cod. Hebr. XXXVII).

In the Ambrosian Bible the image of the man from Ezekiel's vision was replaced with that of a bird. In fact, throughout the manuscript an accurate rendering of the human form was avoided. Figures were often portrayed with their heads viewed from behind, or with faces that were left blank, or articulated with the features of animals or birds. This was a specifically Ashkenazic approach that was prevalent in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The avoidance of realistic human forms was manifested in different ways in the manuscripts from Germany. Not surprisingly, almost all of the people in the Bird's Head Haggadah (Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Ms. 180/57) were given bird-like features. In the Tripartite Mazor, which is divided into three volumes housed in Budapest (Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Ms. Kaufmann A384), London (British Library, Add. Ms. 22413), and Oxford (Bodleian Library, Ms. Michael 619), men were generally represented with human features while women were depicted with animal-like heads. In some manuscripts, however, neither people nor angels were portrayed in a distorted manner, and by the fifteenth century, as is indicated by the Darmstadt Haggadah (Hessische Landes- and Hochschulbibliothek, Ms. Or. 8) and the First Cincinnati Haggadah (Hebrew Union College, Ms. 444), there was no longer an avoidance of complete representations of humans. In Spain and Italy the accurate depiction of the human form seems never to have been considered problematic.

	Thinking Point
	Both Christian and Jewish illuminators worked on Hebrew manuscripts. How do you think decorations varied depending on the religion of the illuminator?

It is only the personification of God that appears to have been strictly prohibited in all artistic centers in the Middle Ages. When an allusion to the Divine presence was important to the scene, as in the depiction of Moses receiving the Tablets of the Law, God's hand alone was depicted. In one notable exception, the Kaufmann Mishneh Torah (Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Ms. Kaufmann A77), a complete personification of God was initially portrayed, undoubtedly by a Christian artist who was unaware of the Jewish restrictions. The image was then concealed by a representation of Mount Sinai which was painted over the forbidden form.

Jews were not permitted to belong to the craft guilds, and not much is known about Jewish illuminators. Colophons providing information about the scribe sometimes mentioned the vocalizer but rarely referred to the artist. There are some notable exceptions, particularly in the Cervera Bible (Biblioteca Nacional, Lisbon, Ms. Hebr. 72) from 1300 and the Kennicott Bible (Bodleian Library, Oxford, Ms. Kennicott 1), which was inspired by it in 1476. In both of these manuscripts from Spain, a full page is devoted to the artist's colophon, in which his name is written in large zoomorphic and anthropomorphic letters. Unfortunately there are generally no colophons in Haggadot before the fifteenth century, even on the part of the scribes, so little can be gleaned concerning the artists' identities. The best-known medieval scribe and artist was Joel ben Simeon, who was active in Germany and Italy and is believed to have had a workshop. Of the many manuscripts that have been attributed to him, nine have colophons, and in two of these he stated that he was the illuminator. In one of his manuscripts, in the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York (Mic. No. 8279), Joel ben Simeon specified that he wrote, vocalized, and illustrated the Haggadah, which he completed in 1454.

Decoration styles, forms and motifs
In most cases the motifs that were depicted in Hebrew manuscripts did not differ significantly from those found in works of art in general. Some representations were based on midrashic sources, but these depictions appear in Christian manuscripts as well. Pictorial Jewish sources were not necessarily needed by Christian illuminators because aggadic literature was already known to the Church Fathers. Some subjects, especially eschatological images, do have a specifically Jewish nature. As Joseph Gutmann, one of the authors of this seminar, has pointed out in numerous studies, different regions expressed the desire for the coming of the Messianic era in different ways. In Spanish Bibles, depictions of the sanctuary implements conveyed the desire that the Temple in Jerusalem be built once again. Ashkenazic Bibles and prayerbooks included representations of the battle between the Leviathan and Behemoth and the subsequent feast of the righteous. The Talmud (Baba Batra 74b) recounts that at the end of time the enormous fish and the mythical beast will engage in a battle unto death. The righteous will then feast on the flesh of these two animals while seated under a tent formed from the skin of the Leviathan. In the fifteenth century a new eschatological motif was depicted in German and Italian Haggadot: the figure of Elijah or the Messiah was portrayed riding on a donkey.

NYPL, Spencer Collection Book of Isaiah from the Xanten Bible by Joseph ben Kalonymus (Xanten, 1294).

NYPL, Dorot Jewish Division Om asher bakh (Yotser for Shabbat Parah) by David bar Pesah from the Padua Ashkenazi Mahzor (Germany, 14th century).

NYPL, Spencer Collection Book of Genesis from the Xanten Bible (Xanten, 1294).

Of the many types of medieval Hebrew books that were decorated, the manuscripts most frequently illuminated were Bibles, prayerbooks and Haggadot. Other texts found worthy of ornamentation include rabbinic writings, particularly Maimonides' Mishneh Torah and to a lesser degree his Moreh Nevukhim, Jacob ben Asher's Arba‘ah Turim, Rashi's commentary on the Bible, medical and astronomical treatises and Isaac ibn Sahulah's book of animal fables entitled Meshal ha-Kadmoni. The type of decoration found in these works varied enormously from simple scribal designs to lavish illuminations. Decorations could be pure ornamentation or carefully depicted text illustrations. As was typical of medieval manuscripts in general, the illuminations at times occupied a full page, or part of a page, and at other times appeared in the margins. Unlike the practice in Christian manuscripts, however, the initial letter was rarely a major field for decoration. As Hebrew does not have capital letters, usually the entire word at the beginning of a text, rather than the opening letter alone, was painted or illustrated.

NYPL, Dorot Jewish Division Atah heartah (Yotser for Passover) from the Padua Ashkenazi Mahzor (Germany, 14th century).

NYPL, Dorot Jewish Division U-netaneh tokef (Siluk for Musaf for First Day of Rosh ha-Shanah) from the Padua Ashkenazi Mahzor (Germany, 14th century).

NYPL, Dorot Jewish Division Atiti le-hanenakh (Kerovah for shaharit of second day of Rosh ha-Shanah) from the Padua Ashkenazi Mahzor (Germany, 14th century).

Another type of decoration found specifically in Jewish art is micrography, which means, literally, small writing that forms designs. The decorations, which could be either abstract or representational, were made in all regions where Hebrew manuscripts were produced. Frequently, masoretic texts indicating the correct spelling, writing, and reading of the Bible were written in a decorative manner. In some cases the text was incorporated into full-page decorations known as carpet pages, because their abstract designs contained patterns that were similar to those found in rugs. On other occasions the masorator, who was not necessarily the scribe, formed ornamental patterns, or illustrations, from the lines of text at the upper and lower borders of the folios.

The style of the decorations of medieval manuscripts varied greatly depending upon where the books were produced. No distinctive Jewish style ever developed; Jewish artists painted in whatever manner was prevalent in the region where they worked. It might be a reflection of the traditional taste of Jewish patrons, but the illuminators of Hebrew manuscripts often tended to be conservative and sometimes continued to paint in a style long after it had ceased to be fashionable. This phenomenon is exemplified in the Kennicott Bible, which reflects not only the imagery but also the style of the Cervera Bible of more than a century and a half before. In Italy, the style of Joel ben Simeon continued to be used late into the fifteenth century, and appears in the Rothschild
Mazor from Florence, 1492 (Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary, New York, Mic. No. 8892), alongside illuminations executed in the latest Renaissance style.

The region from which the earliest decorated Hebrew manuscripts are extant is the Islamic East, particularly ninth- to thirteenth-century Palestine and Egypt, and fifteenth-century Yemen. Stylistically and programmatically the manuscripts are similar to others produced in this part of the world; in fact, the decorations often reflect those found in copies of the Koran. An example of this type of ornamentation exists in the small copy of the parashah of Shela-lekha (Jewish National and University Library, Jerusalem, Ms. Heb. 8° 2238) where both the palmette motifs in the margins of the text and the full-page designs at the beginning and end of the manuscript, which possibly echo the decoration of the book's binding, are typical of other Islamic manuscripts of the period.

Most of the decorated writings from this region are Bibles, but some other texts were adorned as well. Children's primers are extant in which the large display letters of the alphabet are filled in with different colors. In one noteworthy example (University Library, Cambridge, T-S. K5. 13) a menorah is depicted opposite the beginning of the alphabet. This motif, as well as other sanctuary implements, is sometimes represented in Bible manuscripts. The designs are often nonfigural, however, in keeping with the artistic practices in the Islamic milieu in which they were created.

Around the end of the fourteenth century, manuscript illumination flourished in the Sephardic region (the Iberian peninsula and Southern France). Large, meticulously written Bibles were often decorated, either with the abstract designs reminiscent of those found in the Hebrew Bibles from the Islamic East or with text illustrations. The many ornamental carpet pages formed of symmetrical interlaced patterns and geometrical designs in a Bible written in Burgos in 1260 (Jewish National and University Library, Jerusalem, Ms. Heb. 4° 790) still reflect the influence of Islamic art. The decorative leaves were placed at the beginning and end of the manuscript, and before the Prophets, Hagiographa, and Psalms. The designs are often micrographic, with background areas illuminated in different colors. The figural representations decorating the signs at the beginning of the text's divisions into parashot and sidrot function as realistic text illustrations.

The decoration of the Cervera Bible, on the other hand, shows new developments in Bible design. Text illustrations play a more significant role, either as full-page images, like the prophet Zechariah's vision of the menorah between two olive trees, or as scenes for the opening of books. Before the text of the Book of Jonah begins, for example, the protagonist is shown being thrown into the mouth of a huge fish. Full-page decorations are no longer true carpet pages, but form an architectural framework for the texts at the beginning and end of the manuscripts. As was commonly the case in these Bibles, the scribe indicated his identity and the date of the manuscript, although in the Cervera Bible, as mentioned above, a full page was devoted to the artist's colophon as well.

It is not in the Bibles, but in the luxurious copies of the Haggadah which were made for private family use, that biblical cycles were depicted. The Rylands Spanish Haggadah, (John Rylands University Library, Manchester, Ms. 6), for example, begins with biblical illustrations on full pages, divided as usual into two registers. The cycle commenced with the scene of Moses and the Burning Bush and concluded with the crossing of the Red Sea. Likewise, the Kaufmann Haggadah (Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Ms. Kaufmann A422), whose folios were for many years not in their proper sequence, contains a biblical cycle which begins with the discovery of Moses in the casket and ends with the song and dance of Miriam after the crossing of the Red Sea. As is usually the case, both of these fourteenth-century manuscripts contain illustrations for the text of the Haggadah and show contemporary preparations for Passover.

An outstanding example of manuscript illumination from the fourteenth century is found in the Copenhagen Moreh Nevukhim. The beginning of each of the three sections of the text is decorated with a framed miniature. The first shows two scenes that were commonly portrayed in non-Hebrew medieval manuscripts: the scribe presenting his patron with a copy of his book and a teacher instructing his pupils. The second part shows a group of scientists, and the third, mentioned above, contains a representation of the four creatures of Ezekiel's vision. The illuminator was able to illustrate parts of the text itself, by literally representing individual words like "leg" and "man."

With its fine brushwork and lush foliate borders of brilliant colors, a copy of Maimonides' Mishneh Torah from 1472 (British Library, London, Harley Ms. 5698/5699) is one of the highlights of the fifteenth-century Portuguese school of illumination. It belongs to a group of Sephardic manuscripts that were decorated in a recently developed Renaissance manner. This type of manuscript illumination came to an abrupt end in this region with the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 and their forced conversion in Portugal in 1496. It was, however, transported to Italy where it continued to flourish.

In the Ashkenazic world, large Bibles with elaborate micrographic decorations were common. The Ebermannstadt Pentateuch (Royal Library, Copenhagen, Cod. Hebr. XI) displays a sophisticated use of micrography in the ornate decorations which surround the opening words of the Five Books. Text illustrations like the depiction of the ram caught in the thicket in the Duke of Sussex Bible (British Library, London, Add. Ms. 15282) were formed in micrography, using the words of the Masorah. This manuscript also contains brilliant full-page illuminations for the opening "The Books of the Bible." The decorations in the Ambrosian Bible, although generally smaller in scale, include historiated initial word panels containing biblical scenes.

Haggadot were also frequently illustrated, although, unlike their Sephardic counterparts, full-page representations were rare. Biblical scenes were incorporated into the text, rather than appearing as separate cycles, and illustrations were usually placed in the margins of the text. The scenes of preparation for Passover, illustrations for the text--including the traditional representations of the four sons, the matzah, and maror--images portraying the biblical events alluded to in the closing piyyutim, and eschatological depictions became somewhat standardized. One outstanding exception is found in the fifteenth-century Darmstadt Haggadah, where none of the traditional representations is depicted, and which is populated with numerous female figures.

Oversize mazorim, prayerbooks containing the complete cycle of liturgical readings for the entire year, were frequently illustrated. A traditional iconography developed in which specific readings were usually adorned with the same scene. For example, in both the Hammelburg Mazor of 1348 (Hessische Landesund Hochschulbibliothek, Darmstadt, Cod. Or. 13) and in the Tripartite Mazor, the piyyutim for the Sabbath before the beginning of the month of Nissan are decorated with a crescent moon and a star, and the reading for the morning of the first day of Shavuot is illustrated by the scene of Moses receiving the Tablets of the Law. In both manuscripts, the Prayer for Dew, which is recited on the first day of Passover, is accompanied by the signs of the zodiac, although in the Tripartite Mazor the corresponding Labors of the Months are also depicted. These motifs, borrowed from Christian imagery, were frequently represented in manuscripts of the Book of Hours and often adorned the facades of Gothic cathedrals.

Italian manuscript decorations, like the scripts that were used to write their texts, sometimes included distinctly Ashkenazic and Sephardic features. This is not surprising considering that a scribe like Joel ben Simeon, who came from Germany, continued to work there as well as in Italy. The style he used for manuscripts produced in both countries was basically the same. Similarly, the Aberdeen Bible (Aberdeen University Library, Ms. 23), which was written in Naples in 1493 or 1494, was executed by a scribe who apparently had been expelled from Spain; the handwriting, illumination, and micrographic designs are all in the Sephardic tradition.

The fifteenth-century apex of manuscript illumination
Fifteenth-century manuscript illumination in Italy is often considered the apex of this art form, and many Hebrew books were of the same caliber as those produced for Christians. That the Italian artistic vocabulary was used in Hebrew works is readily apparent in elements like the naked putti who inhabit the pages of the Rothschild Mazor and Joseph Albo's Sefer ha-‘Ikarim (Accademia dei Concordi, Rovigo, Ms. Silvestriana 220).

NYPL, Dorot Jewish Division Passover Haggadah from the Padua Italian Rite Mahzor (Italian square hand, Italy, 15th century).

NYPL, Dorot Jewish Division Title page of the Hamburg Haggadah copied by Jacob the Scribe, son of Rabbi Judah Leib Shamash (Ashkenazic square and semi-cursive hand, Hamburg, 1731).

The illustrations from the Italian manuscripts provide a wealth of information concerning contemporary Jewish life. In a copy of the Mishneh Torah which is today divided between the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (Cod. Rossiana 498) and a private collection in New York, each book begins with an illustration that is represented as a fifteenth-century scene. This is a very different approach from the one found in most Ashkenazic versions, where usually the only illustrations were diagrams of the Temple as described by Maimonides.

One of the most informative pictorial sources for fifteenth-century Italian customs is found in a palm-size prayerbook in Princeton (Princeton University Library, Garrett Ms. 26). As Erwin Panofsky wrote, in it is depicted religious life "from the cradle to the grave." Included in these depictions are scenes of birth, circumcision, the redemption of the firstborn, an engagement and marriage, the interpretation of dreams, prayers and repentance, death and burial. This manuscript and other related works in libraries throughout the world provide a wealth of knowledge concerning Jewish practices in Italy.

NYPL, Spencer Collection The Montalto Megillah copied by Raphael Montalto (Sephardic square hand, Amsterdam, 1686).

NYPL, Dorot Jewish Division Marriage contract of Beniamino Aviad Mortara and Gentile Pessele Sanguinetti (Reggio Emilia, 1770).

NYPL, Dorot Jewish Division Marriage contract of Abramo Fontanella and Gentile Carmi (Reggio Emilia, 1795).

By the end of the fifteenth century, the production of printed books began to eclipse that of illuminated manuscripts. In subsequent centuries, with the exception of a revival in eighteenth-century Central Europe, painted codices were generally no longer made. Manuscript illumination did continue, however, in decorated scrolls of the Book of Esther and in marriage contracts, a tradition that is still practiced today.