Scriptoriums were the elite universities of their day. Clergy often came from wealthy families, because a religious leader serves as a conduit to political power as well. An abbey houses the greatest intellectual, scientific and creative minds of the day. There would be gardens, bakeries, stables, a medical lab, blacksmiths, leatherworkers, each kind of craftsman and artisan, with the most current libraries and sophisticated technologies from every corner of the earth.
Benedictine Abbey of Reichenau
These were the junctures for great minds to meet, where kindred spirits and brethren from the most advanced, thriving civilizations came to work. Illuminators from all corners of the known world would come there to speak, write and talk in any language that would best convey the massive amounts of information that passed through their hands. So when I come across a piece that shows their softer, more human side, it warms me through. A rich spiritual life is quite the opposite of loneliness. It's a busy productive life with many obligations and duties—quite earthy, in stark contrast to typically held ideas regarding those who live a life with a higher calling. Around the time illuminated manuscripts flourished, abbeys were hot spots indeed. Not only would the clergy and workers be international, but so would the travellers, missionaries, emissaries, diplomats, courtiers, family, and trades people who passed through.
They would pen not only religious works, but those for entertainment. Let's meet the Irish monk stationed at the Benedictine Abbey of Reichenau, in Germany. Far from home, he brings a cat for companionship. At the end of another full day, working on the most serious and scholarly of texts, what would someone like him do for amusement? Sport and play with his feline friend! He wrote a quaint and charming tribute to his cat, a subject still beloved by children today. Books about pets and other animals remain the best selling ones for children. "White Fuller" or Pangur Bán, survives as an example of Irish Literature for all ages. It is a story that continues to inspire, like this animated version from The Secret of Kells.
They would pen not only religious works, but those for entertainment. Let's meet the Irish monk stationed at the Benedictine Abbey of Reichenau, in Germany. Far from home, he brings a cat for companionship. At the end of another full day, working on the most serious and scholarly of texts, what would someone like him do for amusement? Sport and play with his feline friend! He wrote a quaint and charming tribute to his cat, a subject still beloved by children today. Books about pets and other animals remain the best selling ones for children. "White Fuller" or Pangur Bán, survives as an example of Irish Literature for all ages. It is a story that continues to inspire, like this animated version from The Secret of Kells.
