Incunabula and Illuminated Manuscripts

One of the great words we in the book trade get to use is the word "incunabula". It rolls out like 40-weight motor oil, full of the mysterious sound of a world long gone by. Translated literally, incunabula means "in the cradle"; thus, it refers to a thing's origin. Used by a bookseller, the word denotes the 50-or-so year period subsequent to Gutenberg's printing of the famous 42-line Bible, whose fame rests on its being the first book printed in the West using moveable type.

From then on, the production of books exploded across Europe [and in due time the New World], hastening the great awakening and its results, both fair and foul. Only a handful of "Gutenbergs" are known to exist in modern times, although individual sheets of this book from time to time appear on the market. Of course, the history of books themselves goes back many thousands of years, all the way back to the clay tablets of Mesopotamia. How about a 1st edition of the Gilgamesh?

Between these two extremes, that is, between the first printed book, and the first "book" (period!), lies a vast region wherein book collectors have ample room in which to maneuver. This is the world of the Illuminated Manuscript.

Following the fall of Rome and the ravaging of Europe at the hands of barbarian hordes in the 6th century A.D., the light of civilization was all but extinguished on the continent, ushering in the most appropriately named "Dark Ages". Somehow Ireland, thanks primarily to location, was spared, and a reseeding of knowledge across Europe was gradually able to proceed in the following centuries, culminating in the renaissance some 800 years later. The vehicle which bore the light across these years was made of two parts. First was Christianity, which came through the conflagration intact, even strengthened; second was the institution of Monasticism, whereby the Holy books were copied out for distribution among the kingdoms and principalities of Europe. Historians of all stripes, in religion and art especially, point to this period as producing some of the finest books ever to appear, anywhere, anytime; our debt to these scribes is incalculable.

What, exactly, is an "illuminated manuscript"? Until the advent in the west of a true "paper", and after it became impractical to use papyrus, all books were written on vellum: generally the skin of sheep, goats, or calves, washed, dressed, and rubbed smooth on special stones. Smaller books or more delicate works were written on the finer uterine vellum, which is the skin of an unborn calf or lamb. Vellum is one of the best materials ever used in book production. It is smooth, white, tough and lasting; the only disadvantage is its high cost. Picture this: it requires the skins of about 225 sheep to provide sufficient vellum to produce a single copy of the Holy Bible, each sheep yielding somewhat more than a square yard of usable vellum.

The scribe would write on lines ruled with a blunt instrument called a "scriber", which makes hollows on one side of the leaf, ridges on the other, the spacing of the lines having first been indicated along each margin with an awl. The pen was a reed or quill, cut with a penknife; the ink was made of soot, gum and water or, alternatively, galls, sulfate of iron and gum. The incredible colors applied to initial letters, margins and illustrations point to an art lost among the mass-production techniques of later centuries.

While no complete manuscript books are to be found this side of the British Museum, single sheets of stunning beauty (and surprising affordability) are only a phone call or visit away. Take the time to view our stock of these truly significant artifacts of Christian-European culture.

Copyright 1996 - 2001 C. Dickens Fine, Rare and Collectible Books, Atlanta, Georgia