Glitterati of 2025

Another group of budding illuminators gathered in mid-May 2025 for this year’s Illumination course at Sevenoaks in Kent. In 2024 half were from overseas but this year they were all from the UK – it varies every year which makes it always very interesting. The day before everything was ready and the rooms set up; most of the tools needed were in the pink boxes – those who’ve been on my courses will be familiar with the wet and dry boxes – and the rest were carefully arranged around individual work stations! It takes quite a bit of time to prepare for the course, not just what is required for the course itself of course, but we also provide a light lunch of homemade soup, bread and dessert, as well as homemade biscuits and cake during each day – these being a very necessary sugar hit to keep us going!

It is a very full first day! Gesso is made, laid and gilded, quills are cut, vellum prepared for painting, and two miniatures prepared for gilding. Both images are transferred to vellum using home made Armenian bole paper – everyone gets to take home their own piece for future use.

 

 

 

 

The practice miniature is done first with a modern adhesive used to attach the gold.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gesso is applied to the main miniature with a quill that each person on the course has cut themselves from a swan’s feather.

 

 

 

 

 

Then leaf gold is applied to the gesso and polished to a shine with a burnisher; after this the gold is cleaned up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally the painting is done using the wonderful jewel colours as in the original being copied and applied with a very fine Kolinsky sable brush.

We learned many things on the course, not least that gesso needs to be thick enough to allow for scraping down to achieve a smooth surface, and that modern adhesive needs to be applied either quickly over the whole surface, or in tiny tiny strokes.

These are the results with comments by those on the course. The comments don’t necessarily match the miniatures.

I would do it again! Highly recommended course with an excellent tutor and lovely people.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great explanations, very enjoyable and approachable for all questions. Great course! Perfect amount of time (longer would have been lovely too). Immersive and very educational!

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for your clear explanations and demonstrations. The course is perfect for providing an introduction to illumination and painting. It has given me the motivation to continue with this.

 

 

 

 

 

I enjoyed the additional information as well as the essentials – all very well explained. It was wonderful; could have done five days.

 

 

 

 

 

Brilliant; thank you. I cannot believe how well my miniature turned out.

 

 

 

 

 

Excellent, clear description and explanation of materials, techniques and tools. Brilliant – pure and simple.

 

 

 

 

 

Such an interesting and engaging experience, thoroughly enjoyable and I felt I learned a great deal that will be put into practice at home. Patricia was unfailingly patient and good humoured, like being with a lovely family. Thank you!

 

 

 

Lovely, informative, very interesting and fun. Great!

‘Illumino: a History of Mediæval Britain in Twelve Illuminated Manuscripts’ by Michelle Brown

Michelle Brown is a prolific author having written many books, but, having read most of them, I can say that every single book she produced is well worth reading. She is able to share her knowledge in the most user-friendly way, and her latest book ‘Illumin: a History of Mediæval Britain in Twelve Manuscripts’ is a case in point. It is slightly a misnomer though because it suggests that the book is about only those twelve manuscripts when in fact it covers so much more. It is a whirlwind tour of the history of Britain during that period including what was going on socially, the battles and wars, kings and queens, and all providing a backdrop and an introduction to not only the selected twelve manuscripts but so many more. I marked pages that I wanted to go back to look at and study again with coloured stickers – it is clear from the photograph how fascinating I found the book!

The books are: the Lindisfarne Gospels (as here), the Book of Cerne, Lives of St Cuthbert, Queen Emma’s Enconium, the St Albans Psalter, Topographia Hibernia, Chronica Majora, the Holkham Bible, the Luttrell Psalter, the Sherborne Missal, the Dictes and Sayings of Philosophers, and the Psalter of Henry VIII.

 

 

 

 

A number of these books have been studied before by Michelle with excellent publications as a result, but here each one is approached within the context of the events surrounding its production. As an example the chapter on the St Albans Psalter, shown here, picks up the death of Henry I’s son and heir with the ensuing civil war, Henry II’s quarrel with Thomas Becket and the latter’s murder, the Crusades, the influence of Arabic knowledge on the West, learning and teaching in Paris, glossed and the huge twelfth-century bibles, the Psalter itself and the life of Christina of Markyate, the Bury Bible and Master Hugo, sagas, romances and the Arthurian legend, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Marie of France, and even more. If this list suggests just that, a list, a name check of the long twelfth century then you would be much mistaken, the text is presented in not only an informative but also the most readable way, and it really is a page turner.

The last chapter on the King’s Psalter, the psalter for Henry VIII not only focuses on the manuscript itself, shown here, and Henry’s own handwriting in it, but emphasises the importance of this book and the significance with which Henry regarded it both in terms of his own behaviour as king and him regarding himself as being similar in many ways to King David in the Psalms, but also his relationship to Anne Boleyn.

The book ends with the first exhibition of manuscripts at the Burlington Arts Club in London, arranged by Sir Sydney Cockerell (his wife, Florence Kate Kingsford had trained with the great calligrapher Edward Johnston), and is brought up to date with a consideration of the ways in which manuscripts have inspired calligrapher, illuminators, letter designers and even how they have influenced modern technology in tablet design.

I do have one criticism, however, which is that the illustrations in the review copy I was sent are in black and white only. With over 100 of them, it is not surprising that costs had to be kept down, but one of the most important joys of manuscripts is their glorious colours and brilliant gold. This should not, though, detract from a wonderful book, very highly recommended.

Mediaeval decorated letters to colour

I’ve been lucky enough to have worked closely with the British Library for what is now decades. Many years ago I was helping the Education Department which had a lot of school visits. The problem always with such visits is how to occupy those who finish any set tasks quickly before the rest of the class. I suggested producing a series of outline drawings taken from illuminated and decorated mediæval manuscripts that could be coloured in, and then produced six of them.

Having a clear-out recently, I came across them again, and thought that they could be shared with a wider audience, hence this blogpost. They are copyright, but free for personal and educational use, simply click on the picture/link below for a high resolution pdf to print out; they’re sized for A4.

I’ve copyrighted them because they mustn’t be used by anyone or an institution to print out or use in a publication and make money from them.

Please, though, feel free to print these outline letters for your own use, for children and grandchildren, for courses, and for classes.

As the British Library’s website, including the digitised manuscripts, is still not completely available, colour images are here if possible, otherwise black and white photos or similar images are posted.

Copy the original colours if you wish, or go freestyle – they’re your letters to colour, so your choice.

The first is the magnificent letter B from the Ramsey Psalter (BL Harley 2904).

 

 

 

 

 

And the outline letter is here, click on it to download the high-resolution PDF:

Worksheet 1

David and Goliath, mediaeval manuscriptI wasn’t able to get a coloured image of the miniature from BL Harley MS 2895, but this is from a similar period and indicates the colours that would be used.

 

 

 

 

And the outline letter is here, click on it to download the high-resolution PDF:

Worksheet 2

Again, no colour copy copy of the letter ‘N’ from the actual manuscript, but a black and white image is here, and below it a similar letter in colour:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the outline letter is here, click on it to download the high-resolution PDF:

Worksheet 3

Yet again there are no colour images available for the York Psalter; here it is in black and white:

 

 

 

 

 

And the outline letter is here, click on it to download the high-resolution PDF:

Worksheet 4

Hosea from the Worms Bible:

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the outline letter is here, click on it to download the high-resolution PDF:

 Worksheet 5

Finally, this magnificent lettering and decoration from the Lindisfarne Gospels:

 

 

 

 

And the outline letter is here, click on it to download the high-resolution PDF:

Worksheet 6

The Art of the Scribe

‘The Art of the Scribe’ is Patricia Lovett’s latest book published by the British Library in Spring 2025.

It is an informative as well as a practical book and focuses on the seven major periods of manuscript production in terms of script and page illumination and decoration – Uncials, Caroline Minuscule, English Caroline Minuscule, Gothic Textura (Black Letter), Bâtarde, Humanistic Minuscule and Italic. At the end of each of these chapters are three graded projects – foundation, intermediate and advanced – with clear photographs and step-by-step instructions covering layout and design, illumination, using shell gold, writing is a circle, and also in a spiral, as well as painting various manuscript styles.

The second part is comprehensive and detailed and includes materials, tools and techniques, covering everything from paper, vellum and parchment, quill curing and cutting, oak gall ink, making and using gesso and then gilding with leaf gold, painting a mediaeval miniature, and so much more; modern tools and materials are covered as well. There are also sections on analysing scripts, serifs, layout and design, spacing and book binding.

This book is the result of decades of learning, researching and perfecting the craft.

The Art of the Scribe

‘The Art of the Scribe’

The Art of the Scribe cover‘The Art of the Scribe’ is the latest book published by the British Library in Spring 2025. It focuses on the scripts and the illumination and decoration used in the seven major periods of mediæval and Renaissance book production. Each of the seven chapters includes information about manuscripts of those times, what they were, who they were produced by – the scribes and illuminators – and the people associated with the books. There is also a detailed second section on tools, materials and techniques for calligraphy (including analysing texts, spacing of letters, words and lines, layouts, and serifs), illumination, painting, and simple book binding.

The Art of the Scribe, a pageFor each of the seven writing styles there are clear exemplar letters with guides for writing each one – here are Uncials as in the St Cuthbert Gospel in the British Library. Both the alphabet is shown as well as the letters arranged in families that have similar strokes – this makes learning and practising the letters much quicker.

 

The Art of the Scribe, a pageIllustrations are large, often taking up the whole page as here – a page from one of the huge bibles produced at the monastery of St Martin, Tours, in France. The script is Caroline Minuscule and is a lovely dancing script, very legible, and wonderful to write.

 

 

The Art of the Scribe, a pageAt the end of each of the seven chapters are three graded projects – foundation, intermediate and advanced. This is a favourite from Caroline Minuscule – a zig zag or concertina book using text from Dorothy Wordsworth’s ‘Grasmere Journal’ describing the walk when the ‘host of golden daffodils’ was seen. The illustration along the bottom matches the text, with a few daffodils to start with and then more and more.

 

The Art of the Scribe, a pageThe second section consists of a comprehensive consideration of materials, tools and techniques; for tools and materials – what is needed, how to use them and how to take care of them. The pages here are how to mix gouache for ink and paint and how to mix repeat colours.

 

 

The Art of the Scribe, a pageThis double spread is about vellum, how it’s made, types of skin – vellum and parchment – and the differences in thickness in the skin which affects the final result in use.

 

 

 

The Art of the Scribe, a pageIncluded in the section on tools is a section on quills, quill curing and quill cutting – all clearly illustrated with excellent photographs by the British Library photographer, Jonathan Vine, and with step-by-step instructions. Just visible on the left are the final steps for laying gesso, adding gold leaf (illumination) and painting a mediæval miniature.

Here is a sneaky peek inside the book showing the seven chapters – Uncial, Caroline Minuscule, English Caroline Minuscule, Gothic Textura (Black Letter), Bâtarde, Humanistic Minuscule and Italic – and also the second section of detailed information.

‘The Art of the Scribe’ is available from the British Library bookshop, and I have a limited number of copies for sale where I am happy to write in a name calligraphically; contact me through this website for this and for the cost of p+p (it is a heavy book, so that isn’t cheap!).

 

Stanford University Calligraphy Collection – Mary Noble

Everyone associated with the Stanford University Calligraphy Collection was delighted when UK Calligrapher, Mary Noble, donated three of her artworks to the growing Collection. Mary is a calligrapher at the top of her game and specialises in innovative lettering as well as beautifully written brush lettering as shown here with ‘Et Semel …’, a Latin quotation written by Horace.

Mary’s thoughts behind producing this piece were: ‘My love affair with Rustics drew me to seek an appropriate Latin quotation that would feature all my favourite letters! As I had recently witnessed words said then regretted, this quote was perfect. The pencil translation is in Rustics-inspired letterform focusing on the strong diagonals.’

Mary’s writing can also be free and expressive as here in this quotation by John Muir. Using a ruling pen and a pointed nib, the word ‘Wilderness’, as Mary writes, required a very free form to the lettering.

She says about this piece: ‘John Muir’s outlook on life and all living things always encourages hope, and at more than a century after his death they are potent reminders of what we may lose. the word ‘wilderness’ demanded free interpretation, grounded by the contrasted line of text. The gold is to hint at secrets to be enjoyed in nature.’

Mary’s third piece – ‘What do you do for your soul?’ – shows a different approach again. Using her favoured brushes, and this time with a lead pencil as well, Mary writes that she enjoyed making every letter!

‘I was posed this question some years ago by Sue Cavendish, who was quoting a past friend in the calligraphy world. It gave me pause to think, and to enlarge the thought with the later-found proverb – ‘the desire accomplished is sweet to the soul’. Assembling this composition was my response to the question, as I enjoyed making every letter.’

We are all delighted that we have such excellent and different work from a truly inspiring calligrapher and are pleased that her work is represented in this most prestigious Collection which goes from strength to strength.

‘Mediæval Women in Their Own Words’ book

This five-star rated 2024–2025 blockbuster exhibition by the British Library is an incredible collection of many manuscripts and artefacts of the period demonstrating aspects of women’s lives. However, the accompanying book is mighty impressive too, including as it does additional images from the exhibition! The book follows the exhibition’s focus on four aspects: Private Lives, Public Lives, Working Lives, and Spiritual Lives. Each section in the book starts with essays giving more details of each of these, and then shorter accounts of individual women or a focus of one the items – and what items they are in the exhibition and in the book – some not seen before and likely not to be seen again.

 

There is much in the book that is truly amazing, but it is one small figure that particularly caught my eye. The Luttrell Psalter is by any definition an astounding book, made for Sir Geoffrey Luttrell of Irnham (and includes image of two women on the same page as him – his wife and daughter-in-law). The precise prescissus (cut off) strong script marching across the page is well balanced by jewel colours of weird and wonderful combinations of human and animal figures surrounding the text. At the bottom of some of the pages, though, in contrast to the ‘in yer face’ of the other images, are delicate paintings mainly of the work of ordinary people. In this image, women are harvesting corn with sickles, grasping a bunch of stalks, cutting it ready to be picked up by the man behind who is binding it into sheaves. But one of them has taken a break, and it was this that stood out. Look at how she’s standing stretching her back – you can almost feel the ache of many hours in the same tiring position – so well depicted!

One of the outright stars of the exhibition, and with a glorious double spread image in the book is a manuscript that hasn’t been on display before. It is a discoloured and stained piece of hand-made paper that shows the signature of Joan of Arc. It was held in the vaults in Riom and the content of the letter is Joan asking for military items and gunpowder for her army to fight against the English.

 

 

 

The book doesn’t just include amazing and eye-catching images of manuscripts – the artefacts included are pretty stunning too. Wouldn’t you feel a queen if you tried this crown on? Consisting of incredible gold work, single and quatrefoil pearls, and what look like sapphires and rubies. This was the crown of Anne of Bohemia, Queen of England and wife of Richard II.

 

 

 

 

Also in the Luttrell psalter is another image. A rather grumpy women having her hair done by her servant. What’s wrong to you think? Is she just generally grumpy? Has her servant just pulled out a tangle? You can see the comb she’s been using; it looks exactly the same as the two-sided ivory comb here which could possibly have been a love token as it shows scenes of romance.

One of the most unusual ‘artefacts’, beautifully photographed in the book, is the skull of a lion, but not just any lion. The Tower of London was famous for its menagerie and it housed over the years many exotic animals. This skull is that of a Barbary lion and was found in the moat at the Tower. It’s been dated to 1420–1480; that would cover the time that Margaret of Anjou who, when she travelled from France to England to marry Henry VI actually brought with her a lion. Could this be the skull of the very one?

But in a book about an exhibition in the British Library, manuscripts are obviously featured well. And there is nothing better than this absolute tour-de-force of an illuminated letter B. Look at the gold shining on that – another instance of the fantastic photographs in this book. It was created by Sister ‘Modesta’ in Germany in the 15th century. Feast your eyes on that – what a treat!

So is the book worth getting if you’re not able to visit the exhibition? Absolutely, without a doubt! First, the information is all inclusive, it is an amazing and informative read with contributions by many eminent scholars, but written in a very user-friendly way. Then the images are just outstanding – whole pages of colour wonderfully photographed by Jonathan Vines from the British Library. This is a book to buy soon, read it thoroughly and enjoy studying the photographs. You won’t regret it!

‘Maidens and Monsters’ by Chantry Westwell

How wonderful to have a whole book that focuses on women in mediæval manuscripts, but also in it being such an informative and comprehensive book. In the Middle Ages women were often put into very restrictive categories of virgin, saint, temptress and crone. Chantry enlarges these categories to Warriors, Murderesses and Femmes Fatales; Holy Women; Powerful Women; Tragic Heroines; Partners and Lovers; Mystical, Magical and Allegorical Women.

 

 

The research done by Chantry is really impressive, for example that on Salome considers that, in the Herodian dynasty, there were three women named Salome – which one was she? Intriguingly, Salome, despite her connection to John the Baptist, here holding his head on a platter, is not named in the New Testament, this happening only in the latter part of the first century by Flavius Josephus. There is, though, no mention of her suggestive or acrobatic dancing as in some stories and it is thought more likely that Herod executed John for political reasons rather than rewarding Salome for her cool moves!

 

Margaret of Antioch appears in the Holy Women section. In manuscripts she is often shown with a dragon, either with a foot on the dead body in victory or climbing out of its stomach. In fact Margaret had quite a tortuous journey before she got to this point, refusing the Roman governor of the province in which she was living resulted in her being put on the rack, beaten and raked with iron combs until her bones were exposed, attacked by this dragon and then a black demon, and also boiled in a cauldron as here – not the luckiest woman!

 

Hairy Mary, or St Mary of Egypt, enjoyed life to the full as it were until she joined a group of pilgrims, ‘servicing’ them along the way, until she had a sudden conversion. She then went into the desert with little food and eventually her skin became black, her hair white, and, in some versions, grown all over her body for modesty. In this image she really is miraculous being in the desert with monkeys!

This is such a marvellous and enjoyable book, full of information with the results of Chantry’s extensive research presented in the most user-friendly way. It is very highly recommended and not just for those interested in women, but also those who love stories, who are interested in manuscripts, and those who just like a good read!

Stanford University Calligraphy Collection – Susie Leiper

From ‘Bheinn Naomh’ by Kathleen Raine, Chinese ink and graphite on Chinese paper, 45 x 30 cm, £750 $1000

Entries are coming in for the Stanford University Calligraphy Collection, so if you’re a calligrapher or hand letterer at the top of your game, don’t miss out on being part of this amazing new collection of the best of the world’s calligraphy (in the western alphabet style – at the moment!). You can apply here. The latest work that’s been received has been from UK artist and calligrapher Susie Leiper. Her style is free, creative and precise, and her work has an energy and vitality to it as can be seen here.

 

 

And here:

Dry lightning

From ‘Demons and Men’ by Robert Bringhurst

Ink and resist on Chinese paper, 30 x 17.5 cm

 

 

 

Susie makes the most delightful books, full of invention and surprise. Here the use of colour, shapes and lettering are not only fascinating and intriguing but beautifully executed.

Vision of a city

Text from Ezekiel 40 – 48, King James Bible

Artist book: oil, graphite and casein paint on card; silk covers,

21 x 9 cm closed

Close up here:

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then this is:

A sense sublime

From ‘Tintern Abbey’ by William Wordsworth

Oil, casein paint and ink on board, 66 x 67 cm

 

 

With a detail here:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is wonderful that supreme artists such as Susie are part of this incredible Collection and the plan is that all will be online. But, again, if you’re at Susie’s standard, make sure you don’t miss out in being included.

The Stanford University Calligraphy Collection and Gemma Black

The Stanford University Calligraphy Collection is a remarkable initiative by Dr Benjamin Albritton in creating a unique collection of the calligraphy and lettering of the best calligraphers in the world. This collection is particularly significant because it is at one of the most prestigious universities already known for its focus on letters and lettering in all forms. This is truly an amazing project and all calligraphers and letterers at the top of their game are invited to take part; details here. One of those who has completely embraced this project is one of the prestigious judges, Gemma Black from Australia.

One of her ambitions since early days has been to write out the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. This was a daunting task, but in her characteristic inspiring manner Gemma produced a series of stunning separate pages, each page devoted to one declaration.

 

 

 

 

She devised a particular and unique style of letterforms, majuscules, or capital letters, with elements of Uncials, producing a rhythm and flow to the written sections. The text is remarkably legible despite the lines touching with no space between them and with letters nested or sharing strokes.

 

 

 

 

The illustrations consist of ‘figures’ of differing heights and shapes in various subtle colours placed on a straight line with a delicate wavy shape below. These tie the whole series of separate sheets together into one harmonious whole. Gemma is shown here; behind her the series of individual declarations have been hung creating what must have been a wonderful exhibition.

To see more of this amazing body of work, click here, and here.