Uncial Hand Of Calligraphy

Have you ever heard of the Book of Kells? This is one of the oldest examples of a biblical manuscript in tact today.  It contains the four Gospels. It is written in Latin and was written by medieval monks around the 8th century. Some scholars say that it was most likely written in scriptorium of a monastery on the Isles of Iona, off the northwest coast of Scotland. It was moved to the village of Kells, in Ireland after a Viking raid to keep it safe around 680AD.  Later in the 11th c. it was stolen, where the cover was torn off and the remainder of the book was discarded in a ditch. Sadly, the cover has never been recovered. It is believed, that it was stolen for the gold, precious stones and gems that encrusted its cover.

St Colum Cille Monastery- founded 561 AD, Isles of Iona, Scotland

It contains 680 vellum pages! Vellum was painstakingly made from calfskin. Then those pages were stacked into folios, 340 of them, and then sewn together to create this extraordinary book. What is even more remarkable is that all but two of the pages contain illuminated artwork and intricately painted Celtic knot work, some of which, is so refined it can only be seen with a magnifying glass!

Details of Celtic Knot work

 There were 10 different colors of ink used. The inks were natural dyes made from plants, roots, bark, minerals, shells and other things found in nature, some of which had to come from other continents. Many of the pages are illuminated with gold. There are pages that feature what is referred to as "carpet"
pages because of their graphic layout.

Carpet page

 The book also includes portrait pages and partially decorated pages as well.

Portrait page laid out like a carpet page

Partially decorated page

 This is such a fine example of the artistry and craftsmanship of medieval Europe.  It is an inspiring model for us to use as we study for our next project!

Details of above corner

If that alone isn't enough to make it awesome, then maybe this will interest you. It is also a great example of Uncial calligraphy, the second hand of calligraphy that we will be working on.

 Today the book of Kells is on display in the old library,located at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. It is visited by 500,00 people each year.

Please come to class prepared with your calligraphy pen in your art box.  This will be an instructional day with some practice time to it.

(abouteducation.com, "The Book of Kells" Melissa Snell-Medieval History Expert)

(tcd.ie/Library/bookofkells/book-of-kells/, Book of Kells)

photos taken from Google for the purpose of education

Calligraphy- The Roman Hand

Inscription on Column of Trajan 

photo from Google images for educational purposes

 For translation go HERE

Hello Art Students! I am sorry for getting this out a bit late.

For this coming Co-op day we will be introduced to our first hand of calligraphy study, the Roman hand. I have uploaded our practice sheet to the co-op web page so if you need an extra copy for practicing, download and print another at home.

 I will instruct you some in class, as well as, give you time to practice.  Some practice will need to be done at home 20-30 min. throughout this week would be great.  I will be collecting your practice sheets from home next week and looking at your work. You will not be graded, but I would like to give you some feedback on your progress. We will use the best set to fix in our Book of Hours.

I also want you to also answer the following questions on the back of your practice sheet that you will be turning in to me next week. (This assignment will earn a bonus card so if you are short please do this assignment for make up)

1. Why did the Romans write this way? Look in your History of Writing document if you get stuck.

2. What can you tell about the Romans just by looking at the way they write?Explain.

Here is a link to a website that has further explanation. Look at the first photo, inscriptions and translations to give you more information to answer the questions above. Think in general terms. What can we learn about the Romans from what they wrote about and the way it looks? If you wish to know more about the Column of Trajan go to the website listed below.

http://www.dartmouth.edu/~trajan/?page_id=11

Chinese Calligraphy-Introduction

Chinese Calligraphy is an ancient Chinese art form. Why is it  considered an art form? Come to class ready to discuss your observations.  We will look at the 4 Treasures in class and also try to make some characters for ourselves.  Please be sure to have your Sumi brush with you or bi!

Here is another short clip about the Importance of Chinese Calligraphy to the Chinese.