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Benedictional of St Æthelwold
10th-century illuminated manuscript / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Benedictional of St Æthelwold (London, British Library, Add MS 49598) is a 10th-century illuminated benedictional, the most important surviving work of the Anglo-Saxon Winchester School of illumination. It contains the various pontifical blessings used during Mass on the differing days of the ecclesiastical year, along with a form for blessing the candles used during the Feast of the Purification. The manuscript was written by the monk Godeman at the request of Æthelwold, Bishop of Winchester.
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The manuscript is decorated on an extremely lavish scale, and is generally accepted as the masterpiece of late Anglo-Saxon illumination, and of the Winchester style. There are 28 full-page miniatures, 19 other framed pages, and two full-page historiated initials, one framed. The programme is incomplete, and there were probably intended to be a further 15 full-page miniatures and more framed pages. As with most manuscripts, the illuminations, apart from the gold and silver, were painted in watercolour.[1]
A wide range of colours, many overpainted to achieve a different effect, and much gold and silver are used. The style of the miniatures is characterized by brilliant colour and exuberant acanthus ornament.[2] Influences from Carolingian illumination can be seen in the book's elegant Caroline script and its paintings which draw upon the schools of Ada and Reims; Ada in the "statuesque poses, the crumpled veils, and the diagonal folds of draperies", Reims in the eddying clouds. A strong sense of Englishness shines through, however, in the "exhilarating dance of colour and line" and the agile brushwork which frees the figures to "glide effortlessly over the frames".[3]