England, Northumbria, early 8th century. Corpus Christie College, Cambridge, MS 197B, fols. 1v–2 (cat no 1). Image courtesy of the Master and Fellows of Corpus Christie College, Cambridge.

These pages come from one of the few surviving Gospel books made by missionary monks in England and Ireland between the 7th and 9th centuries. The opening words of the Gospel of St John, ’In principio erat verbum’ (In the beginning was the Word), are transformed into a decorative design with motifs that were developed in ancient stone and metal work before their application to the Christian sacred book. Twisting animal forms of Scandinavian origin and Celtic scrolls and whorls mingle with Mediterranean interlace in a sophisticated art that relates this manuscript to the Lindisfarne Gospels in the British Library, London, and anticipates the marvels of the Book of Kells.

England, c 1200. Trinity College, Cambridge, MS B.5.3, fols 4v–5 (cat no 3). Image courtesy of Master and Fellows, Trinity College, Cambridge.

The fine initials, executed in gold and costly pigments, in this Gospel book are characteristic of the high-quality work found in books made for St Albans Abbey, whose ownership inscription appears on folio 2v. The scholarly commentaries or glosses accompanying the Gospels are written in a smaller script and the page layout is organised to facilitate study. The angel, symbol for St Matthew, introduces his Gospel. Acting as the evangelist himself, he writes with one hand and holds out a scroll with the other. The lion, eagle and ox – the winged symbols of the three other evangelists – are joined to the angel, signifying one divinely inspired source for all four Gospels.

Italy, Bologna, c 1260 – c 1270. Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, MS 1056-1975, fols 4v–5 (cat no 6). Reproduction by permission of the Syndics of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.

This Bible was made in Bologna, probably for a Benedictine community since monks in black appear in the margins. Each of the biblical books begins with an historiated initial from which springs elegant coloured tendrils. The initial ‘I’ introducing the text of Genesis combines a narrative cycle of creation with images at the base of the letter showing the Lord in Majesty, the Crucifixion and the four evangelist symbols around the Lamb of the Apocalypse, thus summing up the biblical theme of Christ the second Adam who brings salvation. Decorative and whimsical motifs of birds, hybrids, fighting warriors and the like mingle with monastic and biblical figures in the margins.

England, London, c 1380 – c 1390 and c 1400–20. Trinity College, Cambridge, MS B.10.2, fols. 21v–22 (cat no10). Image courtesy The Master and Fellows, Trinity College, Cambridge.

The illustration of the Apocalypse in chivalric terms was popular in medieval England. This manuscript was at Westminster Abbey, and a series of wall paintings in the chapter house are based on its illustrations. Some 24 coloured drawings of the Life of St Edward, whose shrine is in the Abbey, were also added in the early 15th century. These pages show the woman ‘clothed with the sun’ on the left. She symbolises Mary and the Church, and she and her newborn child are being rescued from the seven-headed dragon. Opposite, in the battle between good and evil, the spear and shield of the large confronting angel display a crusader’s cross.

England, London, c 1425 – c 1430. Trinity College, Cambridge, MS B.11.11, fols. 150v–151 (cat no 13). Image courtesy The Master and Fellows, Trinity College, Cambridge.

In this English missal the Sacrifice of Isaac appears in the initial at the Canon of the Mass, the prayer which commemorates the passion, death and resurrection of Christ. The Old Testament account of Abraham preparing to sacrifice his son at God’s command and receiving a last-minute reprieve by an angel was seen as foreshadowing Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross. The coat-of-arms of Anne Plantagenet (1382–1438), daughter of the Duke of Gloucester, features in the lush acanthus-leaf border. Historiated initials and decorated borders by two leading London artists introduce the main feasts. The manuscript was later owned by Anne’s son, Thomas Bouchier (1404–86), Archbishop of Canterbury.

France, Besançon, c 1470 – c 1480. Auckland City Libraries, Special Collections, Med MS G139, fols 123v–124 (cat no 14).

This richly illustrated, two-volume missal was made for Charles de Neufchâtel, Archbishop of Besançon from 1463 until 1480, when he was exiled by Burgundian supporters because of his royalist sympathies. The missal remained in Besançon, but the arms of Neufchâtel in the decorative borders were largely effaced. The artist responsible for this Crucifixion (vol. 2) illuminated several books for both clergy and laity in Besançon. The grouping of his short, sturdy figures on either side of the Crucified, set high above them, helps to contrast Christ’s supporters and attackers: on the left, a loyal band gathers around the distressed Mary, while the soldiers and questioning centurion are ranged on the right.

Italy, Lombardy, first half of the 15th century. State Library of Victoria, RARESF 096 IL 1 (cat no 23).

This initial is bound in a volume containing 49 historiated initials cut from four different Italian manuscripts of the 14th and 15th centuries. In the cutting from a psalter displayed here, the Ascension of Christ is set within an initial ‘C’ of Psalm 97, ’Cantate Domino canticum novum’ (Sing to the Lord a new song). The image of ‘the disappearing Christ’ originated in 11th-century England, but by the 15th century it was a widely used way of representing the Ascension, effectively encouraging the viewer to imagine Christ rising bodily into the heavens, especially in close-up depictions such as this. The delicate interplay of naturalism and decoration is characteristic of Lombard illumination.

France, Paris, c 1335–45. State Library of Victoria, RARES F 096. 1 R66A, fols. 294v–295 (cat no 25).

This choir book was made for the nuns of St Louis de Poissy near Paris, a Dominican monastery founded by King Philip IV in 1304 in honour of his grandfather, St Louis IX. He also provided the community with liturgical books. The style of this book’s 23 historiated initials, which mark important feasts, its elegant ivy-leaf borders and finely flourished filigree initials associate it with the late work of the Master Parisian illuminator Jean Pucelle, whose atelier continued after his death (1334). The depiction of St Dominic being conducted up a ladder to heaven by angels (folio 294v), though rare elsewhere in France, appears in several manuscripts made for Poissy.

Central Italy, late 13th century. State Library of South Australia, rbr 096 d++, fols. 5v–6 (cat no 28). Image courtesy of the State Library of South Australia.

This splendid manuscript contains the music and chants of the Office from Christmas to Epiphany, together with the feasts of the saints for Christmas week. The Nativity illustrates the responsory at Christmas matins, which begins: ’Hodie nobis caelorum rex de virgine nasci dignatus est ...’ (Today the king of heaven is born of a Virgin ...). Based on Byzantine tradition, the scene shows a reclining Mary and a swaddled Christ Child in a box-like manger attended by an ox and an ass. Above the mountainous landscape appear three angels. Below, the two midwives bathing the Christ Child and a seated pondering Joseph are based on legends popular both in Byzantium and Italy.

Pacino di Bonaguida (act 1303–30), The last communion of St Mary Magdalene, Florence, Italy, c 1330 – c 1340. Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, MS McClean 201.4 (cat no 36). Reproduction by permission of the Syndics of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.

This miniature once belonged to a Laudario, or lay choir book, which consisted of Italian hymns of praise (’laude’) to Christ, the Virgin and the saints. It belonged to the confraternity of Saint Agnes at the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence. According to legend, Mary lived as a penitent in the wilderness around Aix for 30 years. This scene shows her at the moment of death being brought by angels to receive the body and blood of Christ from the saintly bishop Maximim. Her long hair, once the source of her beauty, and with which she dried the feet of Christ after washing them with her tears, is now a penitential garment. In keeping with the legendary account, Mary is raised above the ground in ecstasy as she receives her Lord. 

Murano Master (act. c 1420–40), Venice, Italy, c 1420. Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, Marlay Cutting It. 18 (cat no 35). Reproduction by permission of the Syndics of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.

This image of the death or dormition (falling asleep) of the Virgin comes from a gradual made for the Camaldolese monks of San Mattia in Murano, near Venice. The composition is framed within the ‘G’ of ’Gaudeamus’ ('Let us rejoice'), the first word of the introit chant for the feast of the Assumption. Seated beside the prostrate Virgin in her gold-patterned robes and surrounded by the other apostles, St Peter reads the Office of the Dead. In the foreground, cripples stretch out their hands to the body of the Virgin, who, legend says, brought them miraculous healing. Above, God receives the Virgin’s soul in the form of a child. 

England, probably London, c 1230. Trinity College, Cambridge, MS B11.4, fols xi verso–1 (cat no 39). Image courtesy The Master and Fellows, Trinity College, Cambridge.

The original owner of this psalter, an abbess of the Augustinian canonesses, is represented in the initials for Psalms 101 and 109. The psalms are preceded by a calendar and 10 full-page miniatures with 48 scenes, which include the Old Testament stories of Abraham, Jacob and Joseph, and the New Testament account of the life of Christ. The pictures end with the Last Judgement and the Torments of Hell, shown here. The placing of Old and New Testament narrative pictures before the psalms began in the 12th century, and is found in the most luxurious psalters of England, France and Germany in the 13th century. This is a fine example.

Liège, Southern Netherlands, 1270s. State Library of Victoria, RARES 096 R66, fols 19v–20 (cat no 42).

As well as a psalter, this extensively illuminated prayer book contains an illustrated calendar, four Offices, or Hours, in honour of the Virgin Mary, the litany of the saints, the Office of the Dead, the Marian psalter and a French poem in honour of the Passion. Its lay owner must have been a person of considerable means, who presumably devoted a substantial portion of the day to private prayer. A series of full-page miniatures of the life of Christ preface the psalter, leading up to the Ascension and Pentecost, which also serve to introduce Psalm 1. The illumination is by an artist who had a prolific workshop originating in Hainault.

England, London, c 1415 – c 1420. Trinity College, Cambridge, MS B.11.7, fols 32v–33 (cat no 46). Image courtesy The Master and Fellows, Trinity College, Cambridge.

Two picture cycles, one celebrating the Incarnation and early life of Christ and the other his Passion, illustrate the Hours of the Virgin in this book, which is one of the most richly illuminated English books of hours of the early 15th century. At the canonical hour of prime, the betrayal of Christ appears with the visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth. The book was completed for Henry IV’s sister, Elizabeth, and her husband, Sir John Cornwall, who fought at Agincourt in 1415. A petition for peace, concord and victory ‘for our king and princes’ appears in the Litany and a kneeling king (Henry V) at the prayer for peace.

Besançon, France, c 1430 – c 1440. State Library of Victoria, RARES 096 R66HM, fols. 12v–13 (cat no 53).

This book was illuminated by a Dijon artist working in Besançon, who influenced later local illuminators. Inscriptions indicate that it was prized by high-ranking officials at the court of Dijon. In this illustration to St John’s Gospel, the tessellated background, lavish gold border and initial decoration, together with the simulated metal chalice and haloes, reflect the particularly luminous character of this artist’s work. According to legend, St John was challenged by the priest of Diana to test the power of his God by drinking poison. John made the sign of the cross over the cup and consumed its contents unharmed. The serpents issuing from the cup indicate its death-dealing contents.

Simon Bening (1483–1561) and assistants, The annunciation: the hours of the Virgin, Bruges, Flanders, c 1522–23. Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, MS 294b (cat no 61). Reproduction by permission of the Syndics of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.

These miniatures come from a richly illuminated book of hours of Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg, Archbishop of Mainz, a great patron of the arts. In keeping with Flemish tradition, the Annunciation takes place in the Virgin’s bedroom. The spacious room evokes aspects of the Church setting which had also become popular first in French and then in Flemish art. The slenderly framed interior is set against a landscape where the pictorial narrative continues, with Mary on her way to visit her cousin Elizabeth. By contrast to the solemnity of the Annunciation, this image has a certain local and domestic air. An angel companion carries Mary’s trim baggage and at the end of the winding road a Flemish town awaits her.

Christ Church, Canterbury, England, c 1130–60. Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, manuscript collections, MSR-05, fols. 27v–28 (cat no 67).

This manuscript contains two of the most influential works of musical theory from the Middle Ages: ’de Musica’ by Boethius (480–524) and ’Micrologus’ (11th century) by the monk Guido of Arezzo. In the 12th century, it belonged to the library of Christ Church Cathedral, Canterbury. In ’de Musica’, fantastic animal shapes decorate the labelled diagrams representing musical intervals and their mathematical proportions. The diagram illustrating the double octave and its lesser intervals appears on the back of an elephant, which shows, in keeping with the bestiary description, soldiers such as ‘Persians and Indians’ who ‘collected into wooden towers on them [elephants] sometimes fighting each other with javelins as if from a castle’.

Southern France, early 15th century. Parker Library, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, MS 395, fols. 49v–50 (cat no 70). Image courtesy the Master and Fellows of the Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.

The works of John of Rupescissa, a Franciscan alchemist who died at Avignon in 1362, became popular in England in the early 15th century. They focused on the medical uses of alchemy and the quintessences, based on the distillation of wine and other substances. This unusual portrayal of ‘lunaria grass’ demonstrates how the plant puts forth its 15 leaves with the waxing and waning of the moon. The caption in Catalan, held by the young man, explains its relationship to astrology and the special medicinal powers of the plant if administered on the 15th day of the moon. A Latin text in a later 15th-century English hand has been added.

School of Niccolo da Bologna, Bologna, Italy, late 14th century. University of Sydney Library, MS Nicholson 32, fol 1 (cat no 74).

Collections of papal pronouncements, or decretals, with commentaries formed the textbooks for the teaching of canon, or Church, law in medieval universities such as Bologna. Here, Pope Boniface VIII hands down his decretals (issued in 1298). The collection is called volume VI, as it builds on the five volumes of Gregory IX. Members of the Roman curia attend the pope and a notary copies the text. The hierarchical composition stresses the authority of the law-giver, and details expand the legal references, such as the purse held by the figure on the right. This is an allusion to simony, the sale of benefices to relations, which was forbidden by canon law.

Master Honoré (act 1289–1312), Virtues and vices: chastity and luxury, Paris, France, c 1290 – c 1300. Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, MS 368 (cat no 76). Reproduction by permission of the Syndics of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.

In 1279, the Dominican Frère Laurent, confessor of the King of France, compiled a manual of basic Christian beliefs and appropriate moral behaviour for his royal charge. A masterpiece of Gothic painting, the book is imbued with precious colours and rich narrative detail. Crowned Chastity holds a bird emblem, a symbol of purity, and tramples on a hog, which signifies impurity or uncleanness. The corresponding biblical example, below, shows Judith triumphing over Holofernes. Uncrowned Luxury holds a manacle and a towel and spits blood. Below, the Old Testament scene shows Joseph escaping the advances of the lustful wife of Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officers.

Paris, France c 1330. Cambridge University Library, MS Gg.4.6, fol. 3 (cat no 77). Reproduced by kind permission of the Syndics of Cambridge University Library.

This popular courtly love poem Le roman de la rose (Romance of the rose) was composed in two stages by Guillaume de Lorris, 1220s, and Jean de Meun, 1269–78. This copy was illuminated by Richard and Jeanne de Montbaston, a husband and wife team active in the commercial book trade in early 14th-century Paris. The frontispiece shows the chief character, Lover, dreaming of his idealised love, symbolised in the flowering roses above him. On the right, dressed first in orange and then with an additional blue mantle, he sets out on his quest, being initially confronted with hostile allegorical figures indicative of the difficulties ahead; the surrounding roses have closed their petals.

Mariano del Buono di Jacopo (1433–1504), Scribe: ‘omnium rerum’ (Neri di Filippo Rinuccini), Florence, Italy, 1479. State Library of Victoria, RARESF 096.1 AU 4, fol.1 (cat no 89).

This manuscript was made for Lorenzo de’ Medici in 1479 and is still in its original binding. The main text is a collection of biographies of the Roman emperors from Hadrian to Numerianus (AD 117–284). Medici motifs in the border of the title page include the ’broncone’ (pruned laurel branch), scrolls inscribed with 'Le tems revient’ (The times return), referring to the return of a golden age, and Medici family shields. An image of Hadrian, the first of 81 portraits of the emperors, also appears on this page. The scribe signed the fine humanist script with his customary motto from Terence: ’omnium rerum vicissitudo est’ (how all things do change).