Les Enluminures

Today, Dr. Kathryn Rudy speaks with host Sandra Hindman on a fascinating range of topics related to “touching” the book as well as the innovative techniques she has developed in her forensic approach to the study of manuscripts. Kathryn Rudy pioneered the use of the densitometer to measure the grime that original readers deposited in their books, but today she delves even further into her creative application of additional techniques such as RAK (Raking light) technologies to solve problems posed by “big dirty books” and the grubby face stains in books of hours. From her childhood discovery of inadvertent marks to tracing pollen dust, join Sandra Hindman and discover the most cutting edge technology in manuscript analysis.

Kathryn Rudy is a manuscript historian at the University of St Andrews, Scotland. She earned her Ph.D. from Columbia University in Art History, and a Licentiate in Mediaeval Studies from the University of Toronto. She has held research, teaching, and curatorial positions in the US, the UK, Canada, The Netherlands, and Belgium. Her research concentrates on the reception and original function of manuscripts, especially those manufactured in the Low Countries. She is currently developing new ways to track and measure user response of late medieval manuscripts. Dr. Rudy is the author of six books, including Image, Knife, and Gluepot: Early Assemblage in Manuscript and Print (Open Book Publishers, 2019); Rubrics, Images and Indulgences in Late Medieval Netherlandish Manuscripts (Leiden: Brill, 2017); Piety in Pieces: How medieval readers customized their manuscripts (Open Book Publishers, 2016); and Postcards on Parchment: The Social Lives of Medieval Books(Yale University Press, 2015). 

Resources:

Kathryn M. Rudy, "Dirty Books: Quantifying Patterns of Use in Medieval Manuscripts Using a Densitometer," Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art 2:1-2 (Summer 2010) https://jhna.org/articles/dirty-books-quantifying-patterns-of-use-medieval-manuscripts-using-a-densitometer/ 

“How the Grand Obituary of Notre-Dame (Paris, BnF, Ms. lat. 5185 CC) was Touched, Kissed, and Handled” Kathryn Rudy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixugb35bfcA 

“How medieval users handled their manuscripts” Professor Kathryn Rudy, Inaugural Lecture https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3FYjWov0gM 

Les Enluminures x TEFAF Online: https://www.tefaf.com/visitors/sign_up 

Medieval jewelry was luxurious and costly. It was a treasured element of an individual’s sense of community, identity and of course a display of status. But why might medieval people conceal little fragments of bone, skin, or hair inside of these gorgeous objects? How did this container function, and what made these tiny, portable and wearable reliquaries different from display reliquaries found in churches and shrines?  

Sources:

Meaningful Jewels: https://www.lesenluminures.com/publications/3-the-thing-of-mine-i-have-loved-the-text-by-cynthia-hahn-with-beatriz-chadour-sampson./ 

Treasures of Heaven: https://projects.mcah.columbia.edu/treasuresofheaven/relics/Reliquary-Pendant-76.php 

https://projects.mcah.columbia.edu/treasuresofheaven/ 

Les Enluminures Rock Crystal Pendant with Column:

https://www.lesenluminures.com/artworks/categories/3/9435-rock-crystal-pendant-with-column-16th-century/

Thame Ring: https://collections.ashmolean.org/collection/search/per_page/25/offset/0/sort_by/relevance/object/63737 

We all live with jewelry and encounter historical examples in paintings, photographs and pop culture. Yet, many types of historical jewelry are unknown because they have simply not been studied. Join Sandra Hindman today as she discusses a little known type of ring: the iconographic ring. What are these precious objects? How did they come to be named and what are they made from? Who would have worn these intimate medieval jewels? And what kind of iconography do we find on iconographic rings?

View our jewelry inventory on our website at: https://www.lesenluminures.com/ancient-jewelry-medieval-rings-and-necklaces-for-sale/

In this episode we cover the basic processes around the three most important materials applied to the parchment page: gold, ink, and pigment. Have you ever wondered what the difference is between a dye and a paint? How did scribes and artists cut their quills and make their brushes? And how, exactly, did medieval artists make their manuscripts shimmer and sparkle with gold?

Have you ever wondered which catalogues our Founder and President, Sandra Hindman, loves the most? Find out this week as she discusses two of her most favored catalogues and their contents, discussing everything from the colors the ancient Romans preferred, rose colored glasses, Hebrew manuscripts, Dora Maar, and her work reconstructing the life of an important medieval artist.

How did manuscript books come to be? What is a Manuscript? How does a manuscript differ from a printed book? Join us today in this introductory mini episode for an overview of the organization and production of medieval manuscripts from the monastic scriptorium to university stationers. 

From Roman inscriptions to digital typography, the study of handwriting and Latin scripts spans centuries and requires a deep knowledge of materials from copper plates to parchment, rings, wax and digital tablets. Join us today as our host Sandra Hindman sits down with Marc Smith, Professor of Paleography at the Ecole des Chartes in Paris to explore the history of handwriting. Have you ever wondered who studies the history and art of handwriting? How did medieval people learn to write, and why has handwriting fallen out of contemporary school curricula? What is the relationship between handwriting and renaissance ring inscriptions? Were medieval scribes ever left handed? You will find answers to these questions and many others in today’s podcast.

As one of the few outstanding professional paleographers in France, Marc is known for his creativity and desire to take on unusual paleographical projects. Today, he discusses some of his more eclectic pursuits with Sandra, including his collaboration with Les Enluminures on some particularly difficult inscriptions found on rings and jewelry. They discuss iconographic rings, gothic handwriting and the possible reasons why metalsmiths might employ such difficult lettering for the inscriptions of these tiny, intimate objects. The discussion ends with a few tantalizing thoughts about the future of paleography as well as the importance of how interdisciplinary work at the intersection of paleography and linguistics might lead to reforms of contemporary writing systems.

Filled with high quality paintings by notable Renaissance artists, the outstanding Burke Collection of Italian miniatures is the subject of this podcast.  Sandra Hindman sits down to discuss her work on the newly published Burke Collection catalogue with her co-editor Federica Toniolo and with Gaudenz Freuler. Federica Toniolo is Professor of the history of illuminated manuscripts and medieval art at the University of Padua and co-author of the recent catalogue of the Fondazione Giorgio Cini in Venice, among many other important publications.  Gaudenz Freuler is Professor Emerita at the University of Zurich and is a world-renowned expert on Italian miniature painting from the twelfth to sixteenth century. The Burke Collection is on deposit in the Special Collections and University Archives of the Stanford Libraries in California. 

Did manuscript illuminators ever produce monumental paintings? What is the relationship between the history of monumental painting and illumination? What makes printed collection catalogues special, as opposed to digitized collections? Through a glimpse at highlights from the Burke Collection, you can learn more about the versatile artists of the Renaissance many of whom skillfully worked in both media – hence the title “The Burke Collection of Italian Manuscript Paintings.”  Our host and her guests share their knowledge, covering artists such as Fra Angelico, Zanobi Strozzi, Battista di Biagio Sanguigni, Cimabue, Tommaso da Modena, and Lorenzo Monaco. They discuss the literature, paleography, music, and context of the paintings in the Burke Collection, with emphasis on reconstructing illuminations and panel paintings to contribute a more complete image of the artistic culture of late Gothic and Renaissance Italy. 

Order your copy of The Burke Collection of Italian Manuscript Paintings from Paul Holberton Publishing.

They were the bestsellers of the Middle Ages. In this episode, our host Sandra Hindman of Les Enluminures sits down with Richard Davies of AbeBooks to discuss books of hours. Sandra explains the contours of the bestseller: what books of hours contained, who owned them, how they were decorated and the purpose they served. These paraliturgical manuscripts provided access to private, personalized devotion. Sandra Hindman discusses the materiality of these manuscripts, the painting process for illuminations, and some of the most famous historical stories involving books of hours.  

Published by Abe Books March 8, 2021

Who is Christine de Pizan? Most know of her as a prolific medieval author, or at least know that she found a seat at Judy Chicago’s table. But how did she work and procure materials? Who worked for her and with her? How did she select her illuminators? Did she deal directly with the Queen? Find out with author and art historian Inès Villela-Petit and our host Sandra Hindman as they discuss the discoveries produced by Villela-Petit’s monograph on Christine de Pizan’s workshop, L'atelier de Christine de Pizan. They uncover the material processes behind the scenes of Christinian creation, the social dynamics of the atelier and Christine’s relationship with the royal court. Through author's drafts, pigment and parchment, traces and marks on the page, and the "stories" told in Christinian painting Inès Villela-Petit places Christine de Pizan's workshop in its material context. Today Sandra Hindman and Inès Villela-Petit explore International Gothic society, discussing Villela-Petit’s realization of an “ideal” Christinian manuscript–– from the purchase of the raw materials through the delivery of the manuscript to the Queen.

This conversation was recorded on Tuesday, April 14, 2021.