This seminar has two presentations, by Francesca Demarchi and Maria Grasso.
A book for an archbishop: Arnulph II of Milan and his Treasured Prayerbook
Francesca Demarchi discusses The Prayerbook of Arnulph II (London, British Library, Ms. Egerton 3763), an extremely small book only 115 x 75 mm in size, and a unique example of the genre in respect of both content and miniatures. This paper will show how the manuscript was conceived as a compendium of the Ambrosian rite and is an unadulterated expression of Ambrosian values in its content. It also demonstrates how these values are reflected in its decoration and how they represent the ultimate expression of the idiosyncratic style that developed in Milanese scriptoria at the end of the tenth century.
Follow the folio: The incorrect binding and preliminary drawings in Valenciennes, Bibliothèque Municipale MS 500
The late twelfth-century vita of Saint Amand, Valenciennes, Bibliothèque Municipale MS. 500 has at its centre a cycle of miniatures. The miniatures are, however, incorrectly bound, unfinished and have suffered some damage.
During Maria Grasso’s research, she discovered a series of previously undocumented preliminary drawings beneath the more prominent set of preliminary drawings. Analysis of the relationship between these drawings, the more prominent drawings and the miniatures demonstrates conclusively that alterations were made to the planning of the cycle of miniatures. Her discussion includes the result achieved by the alteration and suggestions as to why the changes may have been made.