A rabbit attempts to play a church organ, while a knight fights a giant snail and a naked man blows a trumpet with his rear end. Painted with squirrel-hair brushes on vellum or parchment by monks, nuns, and urban craftspeople, these bizarre images populate the margins of the most prized books from the Middle Ages.
Seekor kelinci memainkan organ gereja, sementara seorang kesatria melawan seekor siput raksasa dan seorang pria bugil meniup terompet dengan bokongnya. Dilukis dengan kuas bulu tupai di kertas kulit atau perkamen oleh para biarawan, biarawati, dan pengrajin kota, gambar-gambar aneh ini memenuhi pinggir halaman buku-buku paling berharga di Abad Pertengahan.
Their illustrations often tell a second story as rich as the text itself. Some images appear in many different illuminated manuscripts, and often reinforce the religious content of the books they decorated. For example, a porcupine picking up fruit on its spines could represent the devil stealing the fruits of faith-- or Christ taking up the sins of mankind. Medieval lore stated that a hunter could only capture a unicorn when it lay its horn in the lap of a virgin, so a unicorn could symbolize either sexual temptation or Christ being captured by his enemies. Rabbits, meanwhile, could represent human’s lustful natures— and could redeem themselves through attempts to make sacred music despite their failings.
Ilustrasi mereka seolah-olah menuturkan kisah sekaya teks buku itu sendiri. Beberapa gambar muncul di banyak naskah beriluminasi yang berbeda, dan sering memperkuat konten agama buku yang dihiasinya. Contohnya, seekor landak yang mengambil buah dari duri-durinya bisa menggambarkan iblis mencuri buah keyakinan -- atau Kristus menanggung dosa manusia. Legenda abad pertengahan menuturkan pemburu hanya bisa menangkap unicorn ketika ia membaringkan tanduknya di pangkuan seorang perawan, jadi unicorn bisa melambangkan godaan seksual atau Kristus yang ditangkap oleh musuh-musuhnya. Sementara itu, kelinci melambangkan hawa nafsu manusia— yang bisa menebus dosa-dosanya dengan menggubah musik kudus walau dengan segala celanya.
All of these references would have been familiar to medieval Europeans from other art forms and oral tradition, though some have grown more mysterious over the centuries. Today, no one can say for sure what the common motif of a knight fighting a snail means— or why the knight so often appears to be losing. The snail might be a symbol of the inevitability of death, which defeats even the strongest knights. Or it could represent humility, and a knight’s need to vanquish his own pride.
Semua simbol-simbol ini tak asing bagi bangsa Eropa abad pertengahan dari bentuk seni lainnya dan tradisi lisan, meski beberapa menjadi lebih misterius seiring abad berlalu. Saat ini, Tidak ada yang tahu pasti apa arti motif kesatria yang melawan seekor siput— atau mengapa si kesatria sering kali tampak kalah. Siput itu bisa jadi simbol kematian yang tak terelakkan, yang mengalahkan kesatria terkuat sekalipun. Bisa juga menyimbolkan khidmat, kerendahan diri sang kesatria.
Many illuminated manuscripts were copies of religious or classical texts, and the bookmakers incorporated their own ideas and opinions in illustrations. The butt tuba, for example, was likely shorthand to express disapproval with-- or add an ironic spin to-- the action in the text.
Banyak naskah beriluminasi merupakan salinan teks agama atau klasik, dan para pembuat buku menyertakan ide dan opini mereka dalam ilustrasinya. Si bokong tuba, misalnya, kemungkinan merupakan jalan pintas untuk menggambarkan celaan-- atau menambahkan ironi pada tindakan yang terjadi di dalam teks.
Illuminations could also be used to make subversive political commentary. The text of the "Smithfield Decretals" details the Church’s laws and punishments for lawbreakers. But the margins show a fox being hanged by geese, a possible allusion to the common people turning on their powerful oppressors. In the "Chronica Majora," Matthew Paris summarized a scandal of his day, in which the Welsh prince Griffin plummeted to his death from the tower of London. Some believed the prince fell, Paris wrote, while others thought he was pushed. He added his own take in the margins, which show the prince falling to his death while trying to escape on a rope made of bed-sheets.
Iluminasi juga bisa digunakan untuk membuat komentar politik subversif. Teks "Smithfield Decretals" merinci hukum Gereja dan hukuman bagi para pelanggar hukum. Namun pinggirannya menunjukkan rubah yang digantung oleh angsa, kiasan bagi rakyat yang menggulingkan penindas mereka yang kuat. Dalam "Chronica Majora," Matthew Paris merangkum sebuah skandal dari masanya, ketika pangeran Welsh, Griffin, tewas karena terjatuh dari Menara London. Beberapa orang yakin sang pangeran jatuh, tulis Paris, sementara sisanya mengira dia didorong. Dia menambahkan pendapatnya sendiri di margin, yang menunjukkan sang pangeran terjatuh saat berusaha kabur memakai seutas tali dari seprai.
Some margins told stories of a more personal nature. "The Luttrell Psalter," a book of psalms and prayers commissioned by Sir Geoffrey Luttrell, shows a young woman having her hair done, while a young man catches a bird in a net. The shaved patch on his head is growing out, indicating that he is a clergyman neglecting his duties. This alludes to a family scandal where a young cleric ran away with Sir Geoffrey’s daughter Elizabeth. The family’s personal spiritual advisor likely painted it into the book to remind his clients of their failings and encourage their spiritual development.
Beberapa pinggir kertas mengisahkan cerita yang lebih personal. "The Luttrell Psalter," buku mazmur dan doa yang dipesan oleh Sir Geoffrey Luttrell, menunjukkan seorang gadis yang menata rambutnya, sementara seorang pemuda menangkap seekor burung di jala. Bagian gundul di kepalanya mulai ditumbuhi rambut, menandakan dia seorang paderi yang mengabaikan tugasnya. Ini mengiaskan sebuah skandal keluarga ketika seorang paderi muda melarikan diri dengan putri Sir Geoffrey, Elizabeth. Kemungkinan penasihat spiritual pribadi keluarga itu yang melukisnya di buku sebagai pengingat kliennya atas kegagalan mereka dan mendorong penguatan spiritual mereka.
Some artists even painted themselves into the manuscripts. The opening image of Christine de Pisan’s collected works shows de Pisan presenting the book to the Queen of France. The queen was so impressed by de Pisan's previous work that she commissioned her own copy. Such royal patronage enabled her to establish her own publishing house in Paris.
Beberapa artis bahkan melukis diri sendiri di naskah. Gambar pembuka kumpulan karya Christine de Pisan menunjukkan Pisan mempersembahkan buku tersebut kepada Ratu Perancis. Ratu sangat terkesan dengan karya Pisan sebelumnya sehingga dia memesan satu untuknya. Perlindungan kerajaan memungkinkannya mendirikan penerbitannya sendiri di Paris.
The tradition of illuminated manuscripts lasted for over a thousand years. The books were created by individuals or teams for uses as wide-ranging as private prayer aids, service books in churches, textbooks, and protective talismans to take into battle. Across all this variation, those tricky little drawings in the margins are a unique window into the minds of medieval artists.
Tradisi naskah beriluminasi bertahan selama ribuan tahun. Buku-buku itu dibuat oleh perorangan atau kelompok untuk khalayak luas seperti bantuan doa pribadi, buku pelayanan di gereja, buku teks, dan jimat pelindung di medan perang. Di seluruh ragam jenisnya, gambar-gambar rumit di margin itu adalah jendela unik ke dalam pikiran para artis abad pertengahan.