Bury St. Edmunds Psalter
Type:
Illuminated manuscripts,
Psalters
Date:
ca. 1050
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
United Kingdom
Medium:
Parchment
Description:
The private prayers, calendar, and other contents of this Anglo-Saxon Psalter all indicate that it was made for use at Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk. There are two full-page painted initial pages in the Winchester style, framed in acanthus friezes with corner rosettes. These introduce Psalm 1 and Psalm 51. There is also a third page, left blank, where a third such opening would have preceded Psalm 101. The page introducing Psalm 1 has a roundel incorporated into the B of "Beatus vir" (Blessed is the man). Inside sits a cowled monk in the act of writing—possibly the manuscript's scribe or artist.
Forty-seven additional pages include marginal line drawings of a type sometimes called "literal illustration," "word images," or "word pictures." The premise behind such terms is that the Psalms, in being highly poetic and metaphorical, do not suggest to an artist any particular narrative scenes. Instead, the artist responds to words or phrases by selecting images that can be associated with them in the mind by one means or another. Such illustrations would have helped monks memorize the texts and apply Christian interpretations to the Psalms.
For example, in Psalm 12, the narrator says, "Enlighten my eyes that I never sleep in death." A figure with his arms outstretched holds a scroll on which appear the words of the illustrated verses. On his shoulders stands a cross-nimbed figure with a torch in one hand and a cross-staff in the other (both identifying him as Christ). He points the golden flames of the torch down onto the face of the man below, literally casting illuminating light into his eyes. For the illustration of Psalm 86, the artist focuses on a single part of a phrase, "homo natus est" (man is born), and places a Nativity scene right above those words. This type of illustration encourages specific readings of the text. In this case, the generic "homo" becomes the newborn Jesus.
Forty-seven additional pages include marginal line drawings of a type sometimes called "literal illustration," "word images," or "word pictures." The premise behind such terms is that the Psalms, in being highly poetic and metaphorical, do not suggest to an artist any particular narrative scenes. Instead, the artist responds to words or phrases by selecting images that can be associated with them in the mind by one means or another. Such illustrations would have helped monks memorize the texts and apply Christian interpretations to the Psalms.
For example, in Psalm 12, the narrator says, "Enlighten my eyes that I never sleep in death." A figure with his arms outstretched holds a scroll on which appear the words of the illustrated verses. On his shoulders stands a cross-nimbed figure with a torch in one hand and a cross-staff in the other (both identifying him as Christ). He points the golden flames of the torch down onto the face of the man below, literally casting illuminating light into his eyes. For the illustration of Psalm 86, the artist focuses on a single part of a phrase, "homo natus est" (man is born), and places a Nativity scene right above those words. This type of illustration encourages specific readings of the text. In this case, the generic "homo" becomes the newborn Jesus.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
6
Repository and Online Resources:
• See the entire manuscript on the website of the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana.
• Visit the British Library page to read "How to Make a Medieval Manuscript."
