SJLahey, 25 days ago to bookhistodons For #InternationalFirefightersDay, selections from the Sankt Florian Psalter—St Florian being the patron saint of #firefighters. (I love the ‘jewelled’ line-fillers in this codex). #MedievalManuscripts @bookhistodons @medievodons A medieval manuscript leaf: folio 57 recto in Warsaw, National Library, Rps 8002 III. 2 columns of text in Polish, each of 26 lines, in black ink. Every 2nd or 3rd line opens with a slightly enlarged initial in gold leaf and colours: blue, red, and green. Whenever the text does not reach the end of a line, the empty space has been filled with an (aptly-named) ‘line-filler’, a decorative shape intended to complete the line. Usually line-fillers are formed of simple, abstract, pen-work. The examples on this page are more elaborate. Some are dense blocks of coloured ink, with intricate geometric patterns meticulously picked-out by leaving some areas uncoloured. Others consist of bars of burnished gold leaf adorned with repeating patterns of interlocking geometric windows, each filled-in with translucent pigments in emerald green or rose pink. The gold catches the light, making the golden initials and line-fillers appear to appear to spring up off the page. Detail from a medieval manuscript leaf: folio 51 verso in Warsaw, National Library, Rps 8002 III. 2 columns of medieval Polish, each with 17 lines of text in black ink. Every second or third line opens with a slightly enlarged decorated initial in gold and colours, mostly blue, red, and green. Whenever the text does not reach the end of a line, the empty space has been completed with a decorative ‘line-filler’. Most line-fillers are fairly simple, created of abstract pen-work, but most of the examples here are truly luxurious: bars of burnished gold leaf adorned with repeating patterns made of tiny, interlocking geometric forms. Each form is filled-in with translucent pigment in rich, vivid hues—deep cobalt blue, ruby red, jade green—and then highlighted with white, to create a 3-dimensional effect. The technique creates the illusion of line-fillers made from enamelled jewels, floating above the parchment.
For #InternationalFirefightersDay, selections from the Sankt Florian Psalter—St Florian being the patron saint of #firefighters. (I love the ‘jewelled’ line-fillers in this codex). #MedievalManuscripts @bookhistodons @medievodons
A medieval manuscript leaf: folio 57 recto in Warsaw, National Library, Rps 8002 III. 2 columns of text in Polish, each of 26 lines, in black ink. Every 2nd or 3rd line opens with a slightly enlarged initial in gold leaf and colours: blue, red, and green. Whenever the text does not reach the end of a line, the empty space has been filled with an (aptly-named) ‘line-filler’, a decorative shape intended to complete the line. Usually line-fillers are formed of simple, abstract, pen-work. The examples on this page are more elaborate. Some are dense blocks of coloured ink, with intricate geometric patterns meticulously picked-out by leaving some areas uncoloured. Others consist of bars of burnished gold leaf adorned with repeating patterns of interlocking geometric windows, each filled-in with translucent pigments in emerald green or rose pink. The gold catches the light, making the golden initials and line-fillers appear to appear to spring up off the page. Detail from a medieval manuscript leaf: folio 51 verso in Warsaw, National Library, Rps 8002 III. 2 columns of medieval Polish, each with 17 lines of text in black ink. Every second or third line opens with a slightly enlarged decorated initial in gold and colours, mostly blue, red, and green. Whenever the text does not reach the end of a line, the empty space has been completed with a decorative ‘line-filler’. Most line-fillers are fairly simple, created of abstract pen-work, but most of the examples here are truly luxurious: bars of burnished gold leaf adorned with repeating patterns made of tiny, interlocking geometric forms. Each form is filled-in with translucent pigment in rich, vivid hues—deep cobalt blue, ruby red, jade green—and then highlighted with white, to create a 3-dimensional effect. The technique creates the illusion of line-fillers made from enamelled jewels, floating above the parchment.