The Unfathomable Love of Illuminated Manuscripts [Shorts]

[MsBettyRubble]

"Every single one of these that survived is like a love letter reaching out to you from 500 years ago." What a beautiful, poetic way of describing their effort and artistry.

[SharmClucas]

I love illuminated manuscripts. All that effort shines through, they're all so beautiful.

[skoldpa]

As a student in books conservation, it's always humbling to work on these objects. They've been through the hands of so many people over the course of so many centuries that you truly feel the weight of history when you've got one in front of you.

[Thermo_D]

One of the various reasons why the printing press was the greatest invention of the millennium, as books were more of a sign of extreme wealth and not of knowledge. (Although to be frank, i have a lot of books that i don't read anyway, haha)

[anthonyc]

I love her passion for history and our ancestors, this world needs more of that

[badbiker]

I have been aware of how much effort went into these illuminated manuscripts for most of my life. This is, however, the first time I have ever seen a video in which someone outlined, even briefly, the steps necessary to create one. Wow! That really drove home everything I already knew. I am even more impressed by them that I was before. Thank you for providing such historical clarity into the process.

[TAHINAZ]

I’m an illuminator in the SCA, a medieval reenactment group. Some of the scrolls take hundreds of hours just to paint, not to mention the calligraphy. And yes, some people do make their own parchment and paint. Definitely a labor of love.

[DavidCruickshank]

The printing press changed so much, it's incredible!

[tatianamelendez]

I saw the famed Book of Kells at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, around 6 years ago. It really was one of the most beautiful pieces of literature I had ever seen, even if I couldn't understand what it said.

[johnnyrotten]

Illuminated manuscripts are genuine works of art.

[Armatu]

And that is why the invention of the printing press was such a massively impactful event, arguably one of if not THE SINGULAR most impactful change to human society as a whole.

[Amy_Dunn]

Something I loved about these is that they were usually done by monks, and just like anyone else doing tedious writing for hours on end, they would often take breaks to doodle or write quips in the margins. One of the most famous are the knights fighting giant snails

[finnmcool]

Fun fact: that gall ink is clear when it goes on the parchment. The color comes from a chemical reaction. You don't see errors until you are a few lines along.

[cliffordleonard]

As an old school calligrapher. Thank you. I can't believe how many people say "oh that looks easy. I could do that."

[meteorx]

When I become a history teacher I’m definitely taking inspiration off you my god your passion shines

[emilybenton]

As a book and paper conservator, I appreciate your appreciation

[oscarjeong]

When you write something on the parchment,
there is no Ctrl + z.

[chaosnaiil]

I wrote my PHD on medieval manuscripts and I had the chance to see them in libraries. You think they are gorgeous in pictures ? It's even better when you have them in front of you. Every bit of gold shimmering and reflecting light as you turn the pages, the vivid colours, the beauty of images and the sheer precision of the tiniest leaves and pictures in the margin. Plus, consider how small some of them are : most of those I study are as big as the palm of my hand, and still full of very detailed images and pretty strands of flowers and ornaments. Truely amazing.

[ellablomfeld]

as a future cultural heritage conservator, this is why I want to focus on books as opposed to paintings, illuminated manuscripts are absolutely beautiful, i'm always in awe

[stalthyone]

Such beautiful artistry. I can’t believe how well they were made that they’ve survived for this long under the care of all those specialists.