Knjiga. The book. Il libro

Kada umjetnost pisanja i slikanja pronađe isti jezik, ljudskom umu i oku ne preostaje ništa nego diviti se crtežu i uživati u glazbi riječi koju nam šalje Brenda Rickman Vantrease i njen roman Iluminator.
Brenda Rickman Vantrease je bivša knjižničarka i profesorica emgleskog jezika iz Nashvilla, Tennesse..... više na http://www.brendarickmanvantrease.com/

Engleska, 14. stoljeće.

Vrijeme kada hir nekog plemića ili krivi biskupov pogled mogu zapečatiti bilo čiju sudbinu. Tiskarski stroj još nije izumljen. Knjige, sve na latinskom ili normanskom francuskom, rijetke su i cijenjene, teškom mukom prepisivane, oslikane prekrasnim iluminacijama i izvan dosega običnog puka. No previranja oko vlasti oslabila su zemlju, stari feudalni sustav polako počinje pucati, a apsolutna moć Crkve počinje se urušavati. Finn je majstor iluminacije i ne radi samo za Crkvu, već i za oksfordskog svećenika, heretika Johna Wycliffea. Iza leđa moćnog opata samostana Broomholm, Finn izrađuje iluminacije za Wycliffea – za prijevod Biblije na engleski, pa će tako Riječ Božja dospjeti i do običnih ljudi. Finn ima još jednu tajnu koja će njega i njegovu voljenu kćer dovesti u veliku opasnost. Životni će mu se put pritom susresti s lady Kathryn, gospodaricom posjeda Blackingham u Istočnoj Angliji, koja se, kao udovica koja živi sama, mukotrpno trudi ne bi li osigurala budućnost svojim petnaestogodišnjim sinovima blizancima. Iako se pokušava ne obazirati na pohlepno plemstvo ili Crkvu, lady Kathryn molbu Crkve da kao gosta u svoju kuću primi udovca Finna i njegovu kćer, neće smjeti odbiti. Iako u početku sumnja u njega, Finn će se uskoro pokazati kao iznimno društvo: obrazovan, perceptivan, ugodan i, kao takav, neodoljiv. Algoritam vam, kao izdavač iz čak četrnaeste zemlje koja je kupila prava na objavljivanje, u izvrsnom prijevodu Sandre Nikoletić i uz originalnu ilustraciju, predstavlja ovaj jedinstveni roman o ljubavi, umjetnosti, religiji i izdaji u vremenu koje je bilo velika prekretnica u ljudskoj povijesti. U srednjovjekovnoj Engleskoj Brende Rickman Vantrease pravdu kroji moć i onaj tko je ima, nasilje je prvo a ne posljednje utočište, a ljubav mora ustupiti mjesto dužnosti..

When the art of painting and writing find the same language the results is the music which we called reading and the name is The Illuminator, and the author is Brenda Rickman Vantrease.
Brenda Rickman Vantrease is a former librarian and English teacher from Nashville, Tennessee. Brenda is a graduate of Belmont College where she majored in English and minored in history. She also holds a masters degree and a doctorate from Middle Tennessee State University....more on http://www.brendarickmanvantrease.com/

Brenda Rickman Vantrease's new historical novel, THE ILLUMINATOR, is quite good, and there's really nothing wrong with it. But it's one of those books that is pointed towards a specific audience, and there's nothing anyone can do about it now. If you are in that audience, you should enjoy it and recommend it to your friends.
That specific audience, I must tell you, is women. I am not one. I do read, and enjoy, historical novels, and THE ILLUMINATOR is definitely one of those. It's set in fourteenth-century England, the time of Chaucer, the period right before the Reformation. Its first chapter features John Wycliffe, the "morning star of the Reformation," who translated the Bible from Latin into Middle English. Its title character illuminates, or illustrates, the pages of the translation, as well as Latin bibles and other projects.But the title character isn't the main character; that's Lady Kathryn, widow of a knight killed in a battle in France over who the next pope would be (the "Avignon Schism," for those of you who remember your medieval church history). Talking about knights in armor would be a good foundation for a historical novel, you'd think, but nearly all of the action in THE ILLUMINATOR --- including a peasant's rebellion --- takes place well off-screen. The only real battles that are fought are of home, hearth, and love, and those can be as tragic and injurious as any other.Lady Kathryn is the lady of the manor of Blackingham, the owner of some good land for grazing sheep, and makes her money by selling the wool. But to maintain her independence, she must rely on keeping the men around her happy. That includes her two sons, one of whom dreams of being a knight-at-arms while the other dreams of romance and chivalry. To protect their birthright, she has to balance the other forces --- her serfs, the local lords, and most importantly, the Catholic Church, which demands its tithes and peddles its indulgences. When the abbot of a nearby monastery asks Lady Kathryn to house Finn, the illuminator, she agrees as a way to keep the Church happy. But a powerful and militant bishop wants his services as well and uses the pretext of a murdered priest to imprison him unjustly.This brief summary of the plot is more than a little unfair; it's actually a bit more intricate than that --- as is the writing. There are a number of points of view and subplots, including a tragic romance involving Lady Kathryn's youngest son and the illuminator's daughter.
THE ILLUMINATOR is interesting enough to keep the reader's attention and knowledgeable enough to impart information about the manners and mores of the time. But the novel is informed by a particular point of view:
--- two of them, to be exact --- and if you can't wrap your mind around that, then THE ILLUMINATOR may be a long, hard slog.The first of these, as I said, has to do with the target audience. THE ILLUMINATOR is informed by the medieval version of a feminist sensibility; its focus is on the various tragic plights of Lady Kathryn and other female characters. The ups and downs of those characters are contrasted by Julian of Norwich --- an actual historical character --- who was the anchoress of that church. (The job description of "anchoress" reveals quite a bit about the character of the age.) Julian --- the first woman author to write in the English language --- is a steady, loving presence that counterbalances much of the domestic turmoil in the book.Julian the anchoress also contrasts with the other point of view of the novel; she's the only ecclesiastical character represented positively. THE ILLUMINATOR is determinedly anticlerical, pointing out the worst abuses of both the established, patriarchal Catholic Church and the fanatical preachers who stirred up the peasant rebellion. The villain of the piece, the cruel bishop, is just at the top of a pyramid of abuses of power.THE ILLUMINATOR is a sad book, full of regrets, lost love and cruelty. It is accurate to the extent that it is a mirror of a cruel age, but it also shows some of the beauty and reflected love. It is not for everyone, but who wants to read a book that's for everyone?

...... Reviewed by Curtis Edmonds, who writes movie reviews at txreviews.com.

Hrvojev misal. Messale di Hrvoje. Hrvojev missal.

- glagoljski iluminirani rukopis za bosanskoga vojvodu Hrvoja Vukčića Hrvatinčića, to je ujedno najljepši i najbogatije ilustrirani glagoljski rukopis hrvatskog srednjeg vijeka. 15. st. (1404.). Split.

Quando la pittura ed la narrazione diventano una sola cosa, il risultato e' solo musica che ti trasporta nell medioevo, quando l'amore non ha il diritto di vincere........ questo lo descrive Brenda Rickman Vantrease in uno dei suoi romanzi, Il miniaturista

Brenda Rickman Vantrease prima di diventare scritrice era bibliotecaria ed insegnava inglesse a Nashville, Tennessee.....di piu http://www.brendarickmanvantrease.com/


Inghilterra, ultimo scorcio del Trecento: un'epoca in cui ancora il volere di un nobile o il capriccio di un vescovo possono decidere del destino di chiunque. Il vecchio ordine feudale comincia però a scricchiolare: fra la gente, stremata dalle epidemie di peste, da lunghe guerre, ma anche dalle tasse dovute alla monarchia e dalle decime pretese dal clero, serpeggia uno spirito rivoluzionario che si esprime nelle rivolte contadine e in un fervido, talvolta "pericoloso" dibattito religioso. La stampa non è ancora stata inventata. I libri, scritti soltanto in latino o in francese antico, faticosamente copiati a mano e illustrati con squisite miniature, sono oggetti rari e preziosi, certo non alla portata del popolo. Finn è appunto un miniaturista, molto apprezzato dalle più alte gerarchie ecclesiastiche per le splendide decorazioni con cui impreziosisce i manoscritti dei testi sacri. Ma, dietro le apparenze di raffinato artista timorato di Dio, proprio lui sta miniando - sotto il naso del potente abate di Broomholm - la prima traduzione inglese della Bibbia fatta da Wycliffe, eminente teologo di Oxford e grande precursore della Riforma, per questo in odore di eresia. Rendere la parola del Signore accessibile a tutti è qualcosa di inconcepibile per la Chiesa, che si vede defraudata del suo potere assoluto. È l'abate a portare Finn nella tenuta di Lady Kathryn, una giovane vedova di Norwich che senza più la protezione del marito rischia di perdere la proprietà, stritolata com'è fra le tasse del re e i balzelli della Chiesa. Ed è solo per tutelare i propri eredi che lei accetta la proposta di ospitare Finn con la figlia, una magnifica sedicenne, unica ragione di vita del miniaturista da quando la moglie è morta di parto. Nelle severe sale del castello, dopo un breve periodo di reciproca diffidenza, Finn e Lady Kathryn capiscono di avere qualcosa in comune. Lui è un pericoloso sovversivo, lei deve lottare per salvare il suo patrimonio dalle rapaci mani del clero e della Corona: entrambi sono in contrasto con il potere costituito. Così stringono una tacita alleanza che inizialmente ha i connotati di una timida amicizia ma a poco a poco si tramuta in una passione travolgente che prima li stupisce poi li consuma, e che innesca un'inarrestabile catena di tragedie. Mentre sullo sfondo il vecchio Medioevo traballa e su ognuno gravano l'ombra del tradimento e il sospetto d'eresia, le tensioni sfociano nel delitto e nella violenza, segnando il destino di Kathryn, di Finn e del loro amore.Grandioso affresco storico narrato con intensità e dipinto con dovizia di luci e colori, "Il miniaturista" è uno splendido romanzo di passioni: per l'arte, per la religione, per la libertà, per una donna, per un uomo.

Hrvojev Misal. Messale.Missal


Idem. Hrvojev misal.

Minijatura Julija Klovića. Julius Clovis

Oslikani rukopisi su rukopisi urešeni zlatom izrađenim ornamentima, inicijalima, minijaturama i vinjetama.
U samostanima su redovnici rukom prepisivali biblijske tekstove i druge kršćanske knjige. Tekst su ukrašavali prelijepim ilustracijama i iluminirali važna slova (oslikavši ih jarkim bojama i pozlatom).


The manuscript were illuminated with ornamnets, miniatures and vignettes arround the important letters, first the scriba in monostery coppied the text, and than the illuminator ornated the important letter.

Manoscritti, erano illuminati con ornamenti, miniature ed vignette intorno alle lettere importanti, prima il scriba in monastero coppiava il testo poi il miniaturista ornava le lettere impostanti.

An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders (marginalia) and miniature illustrations. In the strictest definition of the term, an illuminated manuscript only refers to manuscripts decorated

Rabile su se prozirne ili mutne boje, a zlato se nanosilo u listićima ili u prahu. U početku se koristilo zlato boje mjedi, poslije zlato crvenkasta odsjaja.

Hrvojev misal. Messale. Missal.

The chemistry of colour.
The medieval artist's palette was broad;

a partial list of pigments is given below.

In addition, unlikely-sounding substances such as urine and earwax were used to prepare pigments.

Source(s)
Red
Mercuric sulfide (HgS), often called cinnabar or vermilion, in its natural mineral form or synthesized; "red lead" or minium (Pb3O4); insect-based colours such as cochineal, kermes and lac; rust (iron oxide, Fe2O3) or iron oxide-rich earth compounds
Yellow
Plant-based colours, such as weld, turmeric or saffron; yellow earth colours (ochre); orpiment (arsenic sulfide, As2S3)
Green
Plant-based compounds such as buckthorn berries; copper compounds such as verdigris and malachite
Blue
Ultramarine (made from the rock lapis lazuli) or azurite; smalt; plant-based substances such as woad, indigo, and folium or turnsole
White
Lead white (also called "flake white", basic lead carbonate (PbCO3)); chalk
Black
Carbon, from sources such as lampblack, charcoal, or burnt bones or ivory; sepia; iron and gall
Gold
Gold, in leaf form (hammered extremely thin) or powdered and bound in gum arabic or egg (called "shell gold")
Silver
Silver, either silver leaf or powdered, as with gold; tin leaf (from Internet - wikipedija)

Ugodno čitanje i surfanje želim.

Have a nice time in reading and enjoy in the wonderfull colours.

Buona lettura.