ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT

Illuminated manuscript: translation

A manuscript hand-written on parchment with the text complemented by miniature painted scenes, decorated initials, and borders. The earliest illuminated manuscripts date from the Early Christian era. Most were created by monastic communities who, through the medium, were able to preserve the Greco-Roman literary culture and disseminate religious doctrine. With the invention of the printing press in the 15th century, the need for illuminated manuscripts was eliminated as printed books became a more practical and economical way to disseminate information. Examples of illuminated manuscripts created in the Renaissance are thePsalter of the Duke of Berry(c. 1380-1385; Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale) for whichAndré Beauneveupainted a series ofprophetsandapostles, theBook of Hoursof Jean le Meingre,Maréchal de Boucicaut(beg. c. 1409; Paris, Musée Jacquemart-André, Ms. 2) by theBoucicaut Master, theLimbourg brothers'Les Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry(1416; Chantilly, Musée Condé), and theRohan Hours(c. 1414-1418; Paris Bibliothèque Nationale).

See alsoJean, Duc de Berry.