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ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT TREASURE BINDING This book cover was based on study of the lavish covers that were made for especially important religious books. This cover is most like those from the 9th and 10th centuries, when Charlemagne and his successors reigned as “Holy Roman Emperors” in the areas of present-day France and Germany. Carolingian and Ottonian covers were sometimes made of carved ivory but often were made of wood covered with finely worked metal and gems, like this one. In the medieval mind there was a close connection between the physical materials and the spiritual. Thus, the costly, fine metalwork and gems conveyed special honor to the Word of God contained in the book. The symmetry of the cover design reflected the medieval Christian’s sense of order in the created (and especially the Christian) universe. Christ’s central placement brings clarity to the composition and expresses his central importance in Christianity. The manuscript within the binding was a spiritual treasure for which the material treasures of the cover provided a suitable container. |
Illuminated Manuscript Treasure Binding, 2004.
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