Join me in an artistic journey of sculpting a medieval manuscript by hand. A project that’ll undoubtedly span the next eight to ten years of my life. My goal: to create an authentic bestiary according to medieval traditions. This project will reveal the meticulous methods, materials, and inspiration that shapes each page. Methods I’ve spent the past five years practicing just for this endeavor, by honing my skills in both calligraphy and painting. In this blog article, I’d like to explain why I’m doing this and what my plans are.
Why I’m making this bestiary…
I’ve always yearned to possess an illuminated medieval manuscript ever since my fascination with them began. […] Today, I believe I’m (finally) ready to start work on the next project…
I’ve always yearned to possess an illuminated medieval manuscript ever since my fascination with them began. I’m not sure when, but it was certainly there by 2016. This was the year that saw me embarking on my first manuscript project: the Wisdom of Sirach. Though completed, I couldn’t help but feel that the final result fell short of my own expectations. My second attempt, the Book of Ecclesiastes, though showing considerable progress, didn’t achieve my desired standards either. By this point, it’d become something of an obsession: I dedicated the next five years to relentless practice in preparation of the next manuscript. Today, I believe I’m (finally) ready to start work on the next project that’ll fulfill my own expectations.
During the past five years, I’ve developed another motivation for undertaking this project. It’s my desire to showcase my accumulated knowledge on the subject of creating a medieval manuscript. Furthermore, I aim to fill a gap in online resources by providing practical guidance for aspiring manuscript makers (and, perhaps, researchers) on how to approach a project like this.
I aim to fill a gap in online resources by providing practical guidance for aspiring manuscript makers […] on how to approach a project like this.
This is because I’ve found that while there’s a wealth of theoretical information available, practical insights and instructions are few and lacking. Therefore, this blog will serve as a medium to collect and publish that information as this project goes. As such, the coming years will see me blogging not only about my progress in this project, but also the steps, materials, tools and methods used to manufacture a manuscript.
What bestiary it’ll become…
…a leather-bound bestiary made of parchment, written using a goose feather quill and decorated with colored illustrations on a gold background in a late Romanesque/early Gothic art-style.
Initially, my goal was to faithfully recreate a medieval bestiary in its original form. However, after five years of practice, I have come to realize the immense challenges inherent in such an effort. Therefore, I decided to change my approach in the creation of my own bestiary. Instead, I will adhere to medieval traditions while still allowing for some adaptations. Still, my vision remains rooted in the essence of a traditional medieval manuscript. That is: a bound volume crafted from fine parchment, written using a goose feather quill, and adorned with vibrant illustrations. The whole showcasing a distinctive late Romanesque/early Gothic art style.
The art style of both illustrations and decorations were initially intended to be based on the Ashmole Bestiary. The reason being that I’d obtained a physical facsimile for this source. But, encountering difficulties in obtaining a license for the available English translations, not finding license-free versions, I explored alternative options. That’s when I turned to Ashmole’s sister manuscript, the Aberdeen Bestiary. This particular manuscript offered a significant advantage—the University of Aberdeen provides a license-free translation under the CC-BY-4.0 license. This played a pivotal role in my decision to shift towards adhering to medieval traditions, rather than pursuing a replica. The manuscript I’ll make is going to fuse the decorations in both manuscripts together, stylistically speaking.
Changes to the original plan…
I originally intended to create an accurate reproduction of the Ashmole Bestiary. However, I’ve changed my mind after an assessment of the expected difficulties in pursuing an accurate replicate (I’ll discuss these in a later blog). By merely adhering to medieval traditions, some adaptations are allowed, even within a historical context. These shouldn’t change the final result of the bestiary in its overall appearance, too much. As such, there are two major changes that I’d like to introduce in my own bestiary, compared to the source material.
A Modern Translation
The first significant change […] is the use of a modern English translation…
The first significant change I’m introducing is the use of a modern English translation of a second family ‘Physiologus’. This decision stems from my intention to avoid spending countless hours copying a text I’m unable to understand. Some may argue that a modern translation deviates from the project’s goal. However, my justification is that there exist medieval bestiaries that’d been translated into vernacular languages. Therefore, my justification is that, rather than copying the Latin text, I’m technically making a vernacular translation of a Latin, second-family Physiologus.
Material Use
The second significant change […] the decision to avoid using period authentic pigments that contain poisonous materials such as lead, mercury, and copper salts.
The second significant change that I’d like to describe relates to the materials used in the creation of the bestiary. The short of it is that I’ll be substituting period tools and materials where necessary. In particular, I’ve long ago made the decision to avoid period authentic pigments that contain poisonous substances. Essentially, pigments made of or containing traces of lead, mercury, and copper salts. They’ll be replaced by modern alternatives emulating their color as closely as possible. Furthermore, I will be using carbon ink, a departure from the more ‘correct’ iron gall ink. This is to avoid deterioration of the parchment in the future due to the acidic nature of this ink.
When I’ll finish the bestiary?
…we can optimistically expect its completion at the earliest somewhere around 2030.
When people learn of this project, I often enjoy leaving them astounded by casually mentioning the range of “somewhere between 2,800 and 4,300 hours.” However, it’s important to note that this is merely an optimistic estimate. I anticipate dedicating ‘only’ around 300 hours to preparing the pages and transcribing the text by hand. The true work of this endeavor lies in the decorative elements of the manuscript, which will consume the majority of the time. Drawing from past experience, I estimate that it takes approximately 20 to 30 hours at minimum to execute each miniature with the level of precision and attention they deserve. Considering there are 133 illustrations in the Ashmole Bestiary, we can derive a rough estimate ranging from 2,600 to 4,000 hours for the decorations.
If I were to commit 10 hours per week to this project, it would take approximately 8 years to reach the finish line. In other words, we can optimistically expect its completion at the earliest somewhere around 2030.
Ashmole Bestiary
“The Ashmole Bestiary is a late 12th or early 13th century English illuminated manuscript Bestiary containing a creation story and detailed allegorical descriptions of over 100 animals.”
Aberdeen Bestiary
“The Aberdeen Bestiary is considered to be one of the best examples of its type due to its lavish and costly illuminations. The manuscript, written and illuminated in England around 1200, is of added interest since it contains notes, sketches and other evidence of the way it was designed and executed.”