J. Henry Middleton

“ Guilds in the XVth century. By degrees the Guilds became more numerous and more specialized in character, till their fullest development was reached in the first half or middle of the fifteenth century. Much interesting information about the miniaturists' Guild in Bruges during the second half of the century has been published by Mr Weale [22] .
This was the Guild of Saint John and Saint Luke; and every painter, miniaturist, illuminator, rubricator, copyist, maker of vellum, binder or seller of books who lived and worked in Bruges was obliged to belong to this Guild. ”

“ Conditions of life. Now the fact is that the countless illuminated manuscripts which were produced in so many of the Benedictine and other monastic Houses of Europe were executed under very exceptionally favourable circumstances [1] . In the first place the monastic scribe lived in a haven of safety and rest in the middle of a tumultuous and war-harassed world. ”

“ During most of the mediaeval period, however, and in England down to the suppression of the Abbeys by Henry VIII., the system was to devote one whole walk or alley of the cloister, that nearest to the church, to the double purpose of a Scriptorium and library. This was naturally the warmest and dryest portion of the cloister, at least in most cases when the usual arrangement was followed of placing the cloister on the south side of the nave of the Abbey church [10] .
Monastic library. This north walk (as it commonly was) of the cloister faced south and so received plenty of sun ”

“ In the sixteenth century, especially in Italy, during the last decadence of the illuminator's art, very magnificent and costly manuscripts were produced by professional miniaturists, but these are merely monuments of wasted labour. Some account is given at page 202 of Giulio Clovio, the most skilful though tasteless miniaturist of his age. ”

“ Decadence of MS. art. Thus it happened that, though fine manuscripts were still written and illuminated in many of the principal monasteries of Europe, a large class of secular illuminators grew up, especially in Paris and the chief towns of Flanders and northern Germany. In this way the production of manuscripts, especially illuminated Books of Hours, became a regular commercial process, with the inevitable result that a great deal of work of a very inferior character was turned out to meet the rapidly growing demand for cheap and showy books. ”

“ At the end of the thirteenth century, in London, in Florence, and in many other cities no man could possess the rights of a citizen and a share in the municipal government without becoming a member of one of the established Trade-Guilds. ”

“ Every possible scheme of decoration is to be found in these manuscripts; but in all cases the illuminator is careful to make his painted ornament grow out of and form, as it were, an integral part of the written text, which thus becomes not merely a book ornamented with pictures, but is a close combination of writing and illumination, forming one harmonious whole in a united scheme of decorative beauty [6] .
Monastic Scriptoria. The Scriptoria of Monasteries. ”

“ Women artists. In some cases, we find that women learnt to be manuscript illuminators of great skill and artistic taste. For example Cornelia, the wife of Gérard David of Bruges [24] , was, like her husband, both an illuminator of manuscripts and a painter of altar retables. ”

“ Towards the latter part of the thirteenth and throughout the fourteenth century, secular artisans in all varieties of arts and crafts were gradually throwing off the bonds of the old feudal serfdom under which they had for long been bound. ”

“ The Dominican House of San Marco in Florence, of which Fra Beato Angelico was a member, throughout the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries was famous for the magnificent manuscripts that were illuminated there; see above, p. 190. And various other Convents of Dominican Friars in Italy were important centres of manuscript illumination. Some of the Regular Canons were also famous as illuminators, especially the Austin Canons.
The Secular Scribes and Illuminators.
Growth of Guilds. ”

“ Hence in many cloisters one sees the stone benches cut with marks for numerous "go-bang" boards—a favourite monastic game.↑ No monk could borrow a book to read without the express permission of his superiors given in the Chapter House.↑ The word carrel is probably a corruption of the French carré, from the square form of these little rooms.↑ When the great Benedictine Abbey of Gloucester was suppressed, Henry VIII. made the Church into a Cathedral by creating a new See ”