Life and Art in 15th Century Bruges: The Illuminator’s Tools and Techniques

Hey, all! Today, let’s step inside the bustling 15th-century Bening workshop in Bruges. In this episode we’ll take a look at the tools Jehanne and others used daily. You’ll discover the many materials that bring manuscripts to life. The things that were essential to this art form.

Materials and Tools
While many elements of manuscript production have remained consistent over centuries. The 15th century saw refinements in techniques and materials. Many of these were documented in famous manuals like:.

• Gottingen Model Book (mid-15th century, online copy of original) modern book
• Theophilis:On Divers Arts (12th century)
• The Craftsman’s Handbook by Cennino Cennini (late 14th century)

These guides outlined processes for everything—from preparing parchment to making quills, inks, pigments, and applying gold leaf. Now, let’s dive deeper into some of these methods.

Parchment and Vellum
Parchment and vellum, both made from animal skins, were used as the writing surfaces for manuscripts. William Horman, a 16th-century writer, described their interchangeable use. “That stouffe that we wrytte upon: and is made of beesties skynnes: is somtyme called parchment somtyme velum.”

The process of making parchment was labor-intensive and smelly. Animal skins were first soaked in clear water, then in lime water for several days to loosen the hair. After repeated scraping, rinsing, and stretching, the skin was dried, sanded, and pumiced. All this to create a smooth, perfect surface for writing that was clean, smooth and white.

Quills and Brushes
Quills, made from large bird feathers, were the main writing tools. Feathers were plucked fresh, trimmed, and then hardened by soaking them in water then plunged into hot sand. The scribe would then scrape away the outer layer and carefully slit the tip. A well-prepared scribe kept several quills on hand, sharpening them up to sixty times a day!

But writing wasn’t the only part of the job. For painting and applying fine details in miniatures, brushes were just as important. Illuminators used brushes made from squirrel hair or other fine animal fur. Those fine fibers gave them control over the intricate details of their work. But the quills and brushes required careful maintenance to keep the tips sharp and clean. It was Jehanne’s job to do that.

Ruling and Layout
Before any writing or painting began, the manuscript’s layout was carefully planned. Ruling lines were used to guide scribes, ensuring that the text stayed straight and evenly spaced. This was often done using a lead stylus or a thin blade. For miniatures, artists sometimes used a grid system to proportionally transfer designs onto the page.

Pigments and Binders
Medieval pigments were taken from a variety of minerals and plants. Some were even poisonous. For instance, verdigris was a common green pigment made from copper, and vermilion was a vibrant red derived from mercury. These materials were ground into fine powders and mixed with binders like egg glair or gum Arabic. Sometimes other resins were used such as those from cherry, plum, or almond trees.

Gesso and Gold Leaf
Gold leaf, beaten into impossibly thin sheets at the goldbeater’s shop, gave manuscripts their brilliant shine. Applying it was a delicate process. First, a gesso mixture—made from plaster, bole (a pink clay), sugar, gum, and water—was brushed onto the page. Once dry, it was reactivated with a warm breath, allowing the gold leaf to adhere perfectly. The result? A stunning, luminous finish that brought the artwork to life.

For more affordable projects, shell gold—made from powdered gold mixed with gum—could be applied with a brush. Both types were burnished with a traditional burnishing tool to make the gold gleam. They might choose less pricey tin leaf or metallic substitutes to mimic gold or silver. These alternatives were less brilliant but still gave the manuscript a luxurious appearance.

Medieval Inks and Paints
Inks used in medieval manuscripts were just as varied as the pigments. Carbon ink was made from burnt materials like bones or wood. Thick and dark, it needed tempering to adhere properly to parchment. Oak gall ink produced a rich, dark black ink that was long-lasting. And walnut ink created warm brown tones. Each ink had its own recipe and preparation time, with some requiring months of fermentation.

Purple, Blue, and White
The coveted color purple was notoriously difficult to make. It came from a laborious process involving shellfish. It was incredibly costly and time-consuming, taking pounds of raw material to yield a small amount of dye. Other methods to create purple, like mixing red and blue pigments, existed but could’t match Tyrian purple’s vibrancy.

One of the most expensive and sought-after colors in the medieval palette was ultramarine blue. Ir came from lapis lazuli stones imported all the way from Afghanistan. The stone had to be carefully ground by hand, separating its colors to obtain different shades of blue. The brilliant ultramarine was often reserved for the most important elements of the manuscript. That’s why the Virgin Mary to this day is dressed in blue.

For white, the poisonous lead paint was the standard. It was produced by exposing sheets of lead to vinegar or urine in a warm, damp environment. This process took weeks but yielded a dense, opaque pigment that mixed easily with others. Less toxic alternatives like gypsum or lime were also used. They also required months of preparation to be suitable to use.

Final Thoughts
This is just a glimpse into the materials and tools used to create a 15th-century manuscript. From the preparation of materials to the careful application of gold, every step was done with precision and care. I’ve included a few more resources below if you choose to dive deeper into the world of medieval bookmaking.

Resources

“A Palette of Period Pigments.” The Complete Anachronist #43.

Medieval Craftsmen–Scribe and Illuminators. Christopher de Hamel, 1993.

Scribes, Script, and Books—The Book Arts from Antiquity to the Renaissance. Leila Arvin, 1991.

Understanding Illuminated Manuscripts—A Guide to Technical Terms. Michelle P.
Brown, 1994.

The Medieval Book. Barbera A. Shailor, 1991.

Bibles and Bestiaries—A Guide to Illuminated Manuscripts. Elizabeth B. Wilson, 1994

Art Conservator Digital: Illuminated Manuscripts Medieval Culture of Bookmaking in Paris