Illuminated manuscripts in classical and mediaeval times, their art and their technique

by J. H. Middleton

Purple ink.

Purple ink.Purple ink was used largely, not often for writing, but for the delicate pen ornaments of the initials in certain classes of late Italian and German manuscripts. A vegetable pigment seems to have been used for this; the lines appear to be stained, and do not consist of a body-colour resting on the surface of the vellum.

Gold writing is usually executed with the fluid gold pigment, but in later manuscripts very gorgeous titles and headings are sometimes done with burnished leaf gold applied on the raised mordant, the writing being first done with a pen dipped in the fluid mordant.

The pencils and pens of the Illuminator. Two quite different classes of pencils were used for lightly sketching in the outline of the future floral design or miniature.

Lead point.

Lead point.One of these was the silver-point or lead-point[^[282]], very much like the metallic pencil of a modern pocket-book. The use of the silver-point was known in classical times; Pliny (Hist. Nat. XXXIII. 98) remarks as a strange thing that a white metal like silver should make a black line when used to draw with. It is, however, rather a faint grey than a black line that a point of pure silver makes, especially on vellum, and so it was more usual for illuminators to use a softer pencil of mixed lead and tin; Cennino recommends two parts of lead to one of tin[^[283]] for making the lead point, piombino.

Red pencil.

Red pencil.Another kind of pencil was made of a soft red stone, which owed its colour to oxide of iron. From its fine blood-red tint the illuminators called it haematita, lapis amatista or amatito, hence an ordinary lead pencil is now called either lapis or matita in Italy. This stone is quite different from the hard haematite which was used in classical times for the early cylinder-signets of Assyria.

Burnisher.

Burnisher.The harder varieties of the amatista or haematite were used to burnish the gold leaf in manuscripts, small pieces being polished and fixed in a convenient handle. They were also used as a red pigment, the stone being calcined, quenched in water and finely ground; see Cennino Cennini, § 42.