by Sing Wei Xuan, Wavern
This manuscript likely originated from a Roman Breviary. The purpose of a Breviary lies in its chronologically-organised lists of prayers and readings, to be referenced by priests during daily service. This leaf likely comes from a section describing the prayers to be recited during the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. Essentially, this serves as a script or a lyric book for religious occasions.
Written on parchment (dried and stretched animal skin, like leather but left untanned), close observation allows one to distinguish between both sides of the leaf. Fig. 1.1 shows the recto, front side of the manuscript, wherein one can identify the textured spots of now empty hair follicles. This suggests this to be the outward-facing, once hairy, grain side of the animal skin. Fig 1.2, on the other hand, show the verso, back side of the manuscript. The absence of these textured spots on this side suggests this to be the inward-facing, flesh side of the animal skin.
Unlike modern-day paper, parchment, as a medium for writing, is thicker and more durable. Thus, in an age before correction tape, scribes would use knives to scrape off writing that is to be rewritten. The large area of alteration as in Fig 2.1 and 2.2 perhaps implies a larger shift in the theological canon, that would warrant a larger-scale overhaul of the text. While it is difficult to identify what exactly was removed, we have a few clues as to why it was. Firstly, the replacement text in Fig 2.2 starts with “Ave decus virgineum ave jubar”, the beginning of a sequence of hymns sung during the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, that dates as far back as the 12th Century (centuries before this manuscript is dated to have been first produced, and later altered). This thus is not new material. Secondly, theological debates surrounding the veneration of the Virgin Mary were common in the 15th Century, and thus a shift from the unknown original text to a 12th Century prayer song hints at the fluctuating conclusions of the Church at the time.
Most striking to a modern reader are the formal and stylistic features of medieval manuscripts, of which this leaf is a perfect example (Fig 3.1). Even in medieval times, financial and logistic practicality drives most of the decisions made in manuscript production, leading to a common set of features we often see in medieval books. Parchment is expensive and time-consuming to produce. Instead of paragraphing, which we use in the modern day to organise ideas, manuscripts cannot afford the luxury of wasting precious parchment-real-estate on empty space, and thus decorated initials are used to denote the beginning of new ideas. This manuscript also highlights all capital letters in yellow, denoting the beginning of each new sentence as well. The use of red ink, referred to as rubrication, was used to draw attention to important details, used here when referencing other religious texts such as the Bible. Scribes also often use abbreviations, adding squiggles or letters above and below shortened versions of words, to imply a longer word. This can be seen in multiple instances in Fig 3.2, with “pś” and “añt” being rubricated abbreviations for “psalms” and “antiphon” respectively. Close observation of the layer of ink colours can also tell us more about the process in which decorated initials are made, with Fig 3.3 suggesting the ink was added in the order of black first, then blue, and lastly red.
Often, especially with breviaries, medieval books are shared and thus must be easy to understand. Many medieval manuscripts were written in two columns of text, which made it easier to follow for readers. This also became characteristic of religious texts, with the first printed bible having two columns as well. Modern-day texts that reference the medieval period often adopt these stylistic choices too, proving that these formal features have transcended being merely practical decisions, now having become wholly emblematic of books of the period.