Morgan Beatus
Encyclopedia
Illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...
with miniatures by the artist Magius of the Commentary on the Book of the Apocalypse
Commentary on the Apocalypse
Commentary on the Apocalypse was originally an eighth century work by the Spanish monk and theologian Beatus of Liébana. Today, it refers to any of the extant manuscript copies of this work, especially any of the 26 illuminated copies that have survived. It is often referred to simply as the Beatus...
by the eighth-century Spanish
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
monk Beatus, which described the end of days
End of days
End of days may refer to:* End of Days , a religious concept* End of Days , a 1999 horror film* "End of Days" , a 2003 television episode* "End of Days" , a 2007 television episode...
and the Last Judgment
Last Judgment
The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, or The Day of the Lord in Christian theology, is the final and eternal judgment by God of every nation. The concept is found in all the Canonical gospels, particularly the Gospel of Matthew. It will purportedly take place after the...
. Having been created at some time in the 10th century, the Morgan Beatus is the oldest example of a revived Spanish apocalypse
Apocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
tradition. The Apocalypse and the commentary on this scripture by Saint Beatus of Liébana
Beatus of Liébana
Saint Beatus of Liébana was a monk, theologian and geographer from the Kingdom of Asturias, in modern northern Spain, who worked and lived in the Picos de Europa mountains of the region of Liébana, in what is now Cantabria and his feast day is February 19.-Biography:He created an important...
became one of the most important religious texts of the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, and was often illustrated very fully.
The Sealing of the Elect and the Last Judgment are two notable illuminations contained in the Morgan Beatus.
Contents
The Morgan Beatus contains preliminary material with brilliantly painted Evangelist portraitEvangelist portrait
Evangelist portraits are a specific type of miniature included in ancient and mediæval illuminated manuscript Gospel Books, and later in Bibles and other books, as well as other media. Each Gospel of the Four Evangelists, the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, may be prefaced by a portrait of...
s (ff. 1-9), Beatus's Commentary on the Apocalypse, (ff. 10-233), excerpts from Isidore of Seville
Isidore of Seville
Saint Isidore of Seville served as Archbishop of Seville for more than three decades and is considered, as the historian Montalembert put it in an oft-quoted phrase, "le dernier savant du monde ancien"...
's De ad finitatibus et gradibus and of his Etymologies
Etymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
(ff. 234r-237r), St. Jerome's Commentary on Daniel, (ff. 239-293), and a third exposition of the Apocalypse (ff. 294-299). This last is a synopsis of a variety of sources and, apparently, a later addition. Its current dimensions are 387mm x 285mm (15 3/32 x 11 1/8 inches). Early folios indicate the removal of the original gold and redrawing of letters by Magius, the creator of the manuscript, and his assistants.
The 300 leaves of the manuscript are of fine-quality parchment
Parchment
Parchment is a thin material made from calfskin, sheepskin or goatskin, often split. Its most common use was as a material for writing on, for documents, notes, or the pages of a book, codex or manuscript. It is distinct from leather in that parchment is limed but not tanned; therefore, it is very...
, thick and uniform in color. Margins are wide, script and illuminations, generally well preserved. Several folios are damaged by dampness or fire. The colors are remarkably well preserved and vibrant. Magius is identified as the works maker by means of a colophon
Colophon (publishing)
In publishing, a colophon is either:* A brief description of publication or production notes relevant to the edition, in modern books usually located at the reverse of the title page, but can also sometimes be located at the end of the book, or...
on f. 293 and a memento on f. 233. The colophon also provides a cryptic date and references to the commissioning abbot and the monastery of St Michael.
The collation of the original quires is difficult to determine due to the loss of some leaves. In the course of combining bifolios into quires, the medieval bookmakers needed a system by which they could keep the various quires in their proper order. Catchword
Catchword
A catchword is a word placed at the foot of a handwritten or printed page that is meant to be bound along with other pages in a book. The word anticipates the first word of the following page. It was meant to help the bookbinder or printer make sure that the leaves were bound in the right order or...
s eventually became the standard tool for this purpose. The Morgan Beatus, however, does not utilize this technique. Instead, this manuscript makes use of signatures consisting of Roman numerals
Roman numerals
The numeral system of ancient Rome, or Roman numerals, uses combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet to signify values. The numbers 1 to 10 can be expressed in Roman numerals as:...
followed by the letter "Q" There are two miniature bearing folios signed in this fashion. Intact quires consist of eight leaves (four bifolios). Most signatures are in the corner of the lower margin of the final verso. The fact that these signatures are Roman numerals
Roman numerals
The numeral system of ancient Rome, or Roman numerals, uses combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet to signify values. The numbers 1 to 10 can be expressed in Roman numerals as:...
, and not arabic, suggests against the bookmakers being local or Mozarab
Mozarab
The Mozarabs were Iberian Christians who lived under Arab Islamic rule in Al-Andalus. Their descendants remained unconverted to Islam, but did however adopt elements of Arabic language and culture...
vocations to the monastery scriptorium. At the same time it is seen as evidence dating the manuscript to the first half of the tenth century. The opening folios (ff. 1-9) seem to be a later addition, not only because they lack these signatures, but because they are composed of two sets of three bifolios.