Figure 1.1 Bobbio, Northern Italy. The Abbey of St Columbano was founded by the Irish missionary St Columban (Columbanus) before AD 615. He had previously established a number of other monasteries around Europe.
St Benedict, or Saint Benedict of Nursia, founded the great Benedictine monastery of Montecassino in Italy during the 6th century (Fig. 1.2). In doing so, he established a new kind of monastery with the motto ora et labora – ‘pray and work’. The idea of working was very new for monks, who had until then been holy men living like hermits in caves or travelling about performing charitable acts.
St Benedict’s monastery became the model for many religious orders, but the Benedictines also greatly valued art and culture as a means of giving glory to God. This gave rise to a remarkable flowering of religious art, music, architecture and learning.
Illuminated manuscript: A handwritten book that has been decorated with gold or silver, brilliant colours, or elaborate designs or miniature pictures.
Historiated initial: An enlarged letter at the beginning of a paragraph or other section of text that contains a picture.
Research some important Irish or European illuminated manuscripts. Write your name in calligraphy or fine handwriting and decorate the initial letter in colour and gold based on an example of your choice.
Figure 1.2 An early 14th-century illuminated manuscript, featuring St Benedict on the left, as well as a number of historiated initial letters. Monks wrote or copied books in a scriptorium or writing room. They illustrated these and their handwriting was very skilled.
