Merovingian book illumination
The continental, Franconian art of illustration of the second half of the seventh and eighth centuries is called Merovingian book illumination . Ornamental designed, to the Illumination of late antiquity anknüpfende initials that were constructed with ruler and compass, and title images with arcades and adjusted cross are almost the only illustration shape figural representations missing almost completely. Since the eighth century, zoomorphic ornaments have increasingly appeared, which have become so dominant that, for example, in manuscripts from the Chelles women's monastery, entire lines consist exclusively of letters made from animals. In contrast to the simultaneous insular illumination with its rampant ornamentation, the Merovingian strove for a clear order of the sheet.
One of the oldest and most productive scriptoria was that of the Luxeuil monastery founded in 590 by the Irish monk Columban , which was destroyed in 732. The Corbie Abbey, founded in 662, developed its own distinctive style of illustration, Chelles and Laon were further centers of Merovingian book illustration. From the middle of the eighth century onwards, this was strongly influenced by island book illumination. A gospel book from Echternach (Trier, Cathedral Library, Cod. 61 olim 134.) proves that Irish and Merovingian scribes and illuminators worked together in this monastery. The founding of the Willibrord monastery had a strong influence on continental book illumination and carried Irish culture into the Merovingian Empire.
Merovingian illustrated manuscripts
| Illustration | Common name | Dating | Localization, painting school | Content; particularities | signature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Sacramentarium Gelasianum | Middle of the 8th century | Sacramentary | Rome, Biblioteca Vaticana , Reg. Lat. 316 | |
 |
Middle of the 8th century | Eastern West Franconia ( Bourgogne ?) | Bible | Autun , Bibliothèque Municipale, Ms 2 | |
 |
Gundohinus Gospels | 754/755 | Vosevio Monastery (not yet identified), Eastern West Franconia , possibly Bourgogne | Gospels | Autun , Bibliothèque Municipale. Ms 3 |
 |
around 780 | Saint-Pierre de Flavigny (Eastern West Franconia ) | Autun , Bibliothèque Municipale. Ms 5 | ||
 |
Sacramentary of Gellone | End of the 8th century | Meaux | Sacramentary | Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale , Lat. 12048 |
 |
End of the 8th century | Bourgogne | Gospels for the use of Saint-Pierre de Flavigny ( Bourgogne ) | Autun , Bibliothèque Municipale. Ms 4 |
literature
- Kunibert Bering: Art of the Early Middle Ages . 2nd revised edition. Reclam, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-15-018169-0 , ( Art Epochs . 2) ( Reclams Universal Library . 18169).
- Ernst Günther Grimme: The History of Occidental Illumination . 3. Edition. Cologne, DuMont 1988. ISBN 3-7701-1076-5 .
- Christine Jakobi-Mirwald: The medieval book. Function and equipment . Stuttgart, Reclam 2004. ISBN 978-3-15-018315-1 , ( Reclam's Universal Library 18315), (especially chapter history of European book painting, pp. 222-278).
- Book illumination . In: Severin Corsten / Günther Pflug / Friedrich Adolf Schmidt-Künsemüller (eds.): Lexicon of the Middle Ages 2: Beggars to the Codex of Valencia . License issue. Unchanged reprint of the 1999 study edition. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft , Darmstadt 2009, ISBN 978-3-534-22804-1 , Sp. 837-893, (contributions by K. Bierbrauer, Ø. Hjort, O. Mazal, D. Thoss, G. Dogaer, J. Backhouse, G. Dalli Regoli, H. Künzl).
- Otto Pächt : Illumination of the Middle Ages. An introduction. Edited by Dagmar Thoss. 5th edition. Prestel, Munich 2004. ISBN 978-3-7913-2455-5 .
- Ingo F. Walther / Norbert Wolf: Codices illustres. The most beautiful illuminated manuscripts in the world. Masterpieces of book illumination. 400 to 1600 . Taschen, Cologne et al. 2005, ISBN 3-8228-4747-X .
