Illustrated Manucripts
The the Middle Ages books often included drawings and pictures to illustrate the text. These pictures were important as many of the people who looked at the books could not read or write. In some cases the writer of the book did his or her own illustrations. However, most books were produced in a team rather than an individual. Often based in a monastery, the team would include an author, scribe and artist.
The most common picture books produced by monks were bibles. These bibles would be illustrated with famous scenes from the life of Jesus. Books on the lives of famous saints such as Thomas Becket were also popular. These religious books were used to teach people about Christianity. One of the books that has survived was produced by Holkham, Leicestershire. The book includes 230 scenes from the Old and New Testaments and would have been very helpful to priests teaching illiterate peasants about religion.
Rich people sometimes commissioned scribes and artists to produce books for them called psalters. These books contained the person's favourite psalms (religious songs that were sung or chanted in church). As well as religious pictures these books often included illustrations that were personal to the person who commissioned the book. One of the most important of these was the one commissioned by Sir Geoffrey Luttrell, in about 1325.
These books were very expensive to produce. We know this because some of the account books of people who commissioned the illustrated books have survived. In 1383, Abbott Nicholas of Westminster decided he wanted a new missal (a book that contains details of the masses to be performed during the year). The book took two years to produce and cost £34 (several thousand pounds in today's money).
In the early Middle Ages nearly all illustrated manuscripts were produced by monks. However, by the 15th century artists in the towns began to takeover this work. Although they rarely signed their work, tax records suggest that these artists were often women.
