{"id":8967,"date":"2020-08-07T08:31:18","date_gmt":"2020-08-07T07:31:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.facsimilefinder.com\/articles\/?p=8967"},"modified":"2021-02-10T11:03:58","modified_gmt":"2021-02-10T10:03:58","slug":"magnificent-exuberant-illuminations-st-albans-psalter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.facsimilefinder.com\/articles\/magnificent-exuberant-illuminations-st-albans-psalter\/","title":{"rendered":"The Magnificent and Exuberant Illuminations of the St Albans Psalter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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This psalter was crafted between 1123 and 1135 in England or Northern France. The extraordinary painted cycle of this psalter makes of this lavish luxury manuscript a unique example of English Romanesque Illumination<\/a><\/strong>. The abbot of St. Alban\u2019s abbey, Geoffrey de Gorham<\/strong>, probably commissioned the St Albans Psalter<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The manuscript is traditionally associated with a wealthy woman, Christina of Markyate<\/strong>, who is believed to be the original owner of this precious codex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The psalms, poetic compositions contained in the Old Testament<\/strong>, were extremely popular prayers in the Middle Ages<\/strong>. The psalms were read in both secular and ecclesiastical environments. Recited throughout the day, they were even used for teaching children to read and write<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although psalms constituted common material for manuscripts, only later in the history of the book production were they widely illustrated. The St. Alban Psalter<\/strong>, with its 46 full-page miniatures<\/a><\/strong>, stands out within the tradition of illuminated psalters<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The outstanding cycle of miniatures might explain why the codex includes unusual texts focused on the educational function of images<\/strong>. Along with the 150 Psalms of the Gallican<\/strong> version and the Life of St. Alexis<\/strong>, an antique text of literature in Old French, the codex contains the letter of Pope Gregory the Great<\/strong> written in defense of the use of images.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/span>The illustrations in the St Albans Psalter were meant to explain the text to those who could not read<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This letter explains that those who are not able to read<\/strong> can find in pictures what they cannot understand in the texts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The impressive sequence of 46 illuminations is representative of the English Romanesque illumination style<\/strong>. Elegant and extremely elongated figures characterize the scenes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The illuminators used deep colors enlightened by a few rays of light<\/strong>. The lightening effect is probably derived from Byzantine works<\/strong>. The architectural constructions are important in the pictorial compositions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Influenced by Ottonian art<\/strong>, the colors blue, green, and purple are dominant. Displaying a variety of decorated frames, the miniatures combine elements of Ottonian<\/strong>, Byzantine<\/strong>, and Anglo-Saxon<\/strong> art in their iconographies. More than one artist probably painted the decoration of the St Albans Psalter<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The extension of the pictorial embellishment and the variety of styles displayed in the illuminations are evidence that a certain number of painters worked on this manuscript. More than two hundred vividly historiated initials<\/strong> blend the letters and the painting in a rich combination of text and image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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