UH College of Education Special Projects

Illuminated Manuscripts & their Patrons

A CONTEMPORARY LEGAL MANUSCRIPT PAGE

This mock legal manuscript page, not unlike medieval manuscripts themselves, uses traditional formatting and other devices adapted to address contemporary events. It draws specifically on early fourteenth century civil law manuscripts and their decoration (see photograph).

The subject of this page is the 2004 trial of Martha Stewart (whose face can be recognized in the figure of the defendant). Accused of insider trading of ImClone stock, Martha became the object of much discussion in the media, even before the trial. The primary scene depicts Martha in a courtroom with judge and legal representation for the defendant, and Martha’s friends and confidants, Mariana Pasternak and Peter Bocanovic. Across the page is Stewart’s accuser, Doug Faneuil. Each of these figures makes a gesture of query, response, contradiction, discuss, assent, or negation.

The Trial of Martha Stewart
Ray Ogar
Materials : goatskin, digital collage, gold leaf, india ink,
red thread, hot iron, water mist, sand paper, awl for pin holes

The judge holds a scepter and sits cross-legged on a cushion - a northern European tradition demonstrating his authority. The chalice Martha holds denotes that she was caught in the act of stealing. She also grips a column of the architecture, an element used in medieval copies of legal manuscripts to legitimate the copy.

Typical of such manuscripts forms is the mirroring style, in which the inner columns of text are identical in width and length and are surrounded by “gloss” or commentary texts that also mirror each other. The two columns of central text remark on the specifics of the defendant’s case; the columns of gloss discuss or comment on the main text. The regularity and symmetry of the text columns in medieval legal manuscripts was so important that sometimes gibberish was inserted to fill them out. If you look closely, to see that convention used here.

Every page refers symbolically to issues that surrounded Martha’s trial – e.g. the Hermes Berkins bag that stimulated much controversy because of its price, is represented, as in the media, as a symbol of Martha’s true intent to increase her own wealth.

Printable version