Gudkov Aleksei

The pen and the scroll: the tools of medieval scribe and their symbolic and allegorical interpretations

Abstract

The article is devoted to the medieval bookmaking toolkit and its symbolic and allegorical interpretations in the context of sacred texts and interpreting artifacts. This paper lists the basic tools of medieval calligraphy and miniature painting and discusses their historical, technical and symbolic haracteristics, presenting original medieval recipes of sharpening a pen, ink preparation as well as paint recipes for bookmaking craft. The traditional Eastern Christian culture is considered as a holistic phenomenon: all its elements are related to each other by a plurality of inseparable links and generally determined by an appropriate sacred doctrine. Bookmaking craft is treated as ultimately based on the symbolism of the Eucharistic Sacrifice

Keywords

art of manuscripts, traditional calligraphy and miniatures, scribes and miniatures, medieval materials and technology, Christian symbolism

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Gudkov Aleksei