Abbey of the Arts

Transformative Living through Contemplative & Expressive Arts

  • Welcome
    • Prayer Cycle
    • About the Abbey
    • About Christine Valters Paintner
    • About John Valters Paintner
    • About the Wisdom Council
    • Monk Manifesto
    • Join the Holy Disorder of Dancing Monks
    • Subscribe to Our Love Notes
    • Website privacy notice
  • Books
    • Breath Prayer:
      An Ancient Practice for the Everyday Sacred
    • Sacred Time:
      Embracing an Intentional Way of Life
    • The Wisdom of Wild Grace: Poems
    • Earth, Our Original Monastery:
      Cultivating Wonder and Gratitude through Intimacy with Nature
    • Dreaming of Stones: Poems
    • The Soul's Slow Ripening:
      12 Celtic Practices for Seeking the Sacred
    • The Wisdom of the Body:
      A Contemplative Journey to Wholeness for Women
    • Illuminating the Way:
      Embracing the Wisdom of Monks and Mystics
    • The Soul of a Pilgrim:
      Eight Practices for the Journey Within
    • Eyes of the Heart:
      Photography as a Christian Contemplative Practice
    • The Artist's Rule: Nurturing Your Creative Soul with Monastic Wisdom
    • Desert Mothers and Fathers: Early Christian Wisdom Sayings Annotated & Explained
    • Lectio Divina–The Sacred Art: Transforming Words and Images into Heart-Centered Prayer
    • Water, Wind, Earth & Fire: The Christian Practice of Praying with the Elements
    • Awakening the Creative Spirit:
      Bringing the Arts to Spiritual Direction
    • Lectio Divina: Contemplative Awakening & Awareness
  • Poetry | Art | Music
    • Music + DVD
    • Poetry by Christine Valters Paintner
    • Poetry Videos
    • Dancing Monk Icons
    • Other Art Collaborations
      • Monk in the World art series by Kristin Noelle
      • Saints & Animals art series by David Hollington
      • Sacred Time art series by Alexi Francis
      • Mary block print art series by Kreg Yingst
  • Programs
    • Lift Every Voice: Contemplative Writers of Color Book Club
    • Community Online Retreats
      • Harriet Tubman and Howard Thurman-on Being Free
      • Writing Into Bloom
        with Christine Valters Paintner
      • Revelations: The Mysticism of Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe
      • The Wisdom of Wild Grace: A Weekend Retreat Online
      • The Spiral Way:
        Celtic Spirituality and the Creative Imagination
      • Sacred Balance:
        Aligning Body and Spirit Through
        Yoga and the Benedictine Way
    • Self-Study Online Spiritual Retreats
      • Creative Flourishing in the Heart of the Desert:
        An Online Retreat with St. Hildegard of Bingen
      • Dreaming of the Sea:
        A women’s discernment journey through the story of the Selkie
      • Earth, Our Original Monastery
        A Companion Retreat to the Book (SELF-STUDY)
      • Exile and Coming Home:
        An Archetypal Journey through the Scriptures
      • Eyes of the Heart:
        Photography as Contemplative Practice
        (Companion retreat to the book)
      • Journey with the Desert Mothers and Fathers
        (SELF-STUDY)
      • Honoring Saints and Ancestors:
        Online Retreat for the Season of Remembrance
      • Lectio Divina:
        The Sacred Art of Reading the World
      • A Midwinter God:
        Making a Conscious Underworld Journey (SELF-STUDY)
      • Sacred Rhythms of Sky, Sun, Sea & Stone:
        A Creative Retreat with the Elements (SELF-STUDY)
      • Sacred Seasons:
        A Yearlong Journey through the Celtic Wheel of the Year
      • The Soul of a Pilgrim:
        Eight Practices for the Journey Within
        (a companion retreat to the book)
      • The Soul's Slow Ripening: 12 Celtic Practices for Seekers of the Sacred (a companion retreat to the book)
      • Water, Wind, Earth & Fire
      • Watershed Moments
        in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures
      • Way of the Monk, Path of the Artist:
        A 12-Week Companion Retreat to The Artist's Rule
      • The Wisdom of the Body:
        A 10-Week Online Companion Retreat to the Book
      • The Wisdom of Mary and the Sacred Feminine
    • Live Programs: Pilgrimage & Retreats
      • Writing on the Wild Edges (Ireland)
      • Hildegard of Bingen (Germany)
      • Awakening the Creative Spirit: Experiential Education for Spiritual Directors in the Expressive Arts (Northwest)
  • Calendar
  • Reflections
  • Contact

Uncategorized

Abbey Bookshelf: Illuminated Manuscripts


Today I am continuing our theme this week of illumination.  Several weeks ago I did my Sacred Artist Interview with Jan Richardson.   I shared the kinship I have felt with Jan because of her love of illuminated manuscript and the way they serve as inspiration for her own work.  Several years ago Phil Cousineau edited these two wonderful books (which you can still find used copies of) — The Soul of the World: A Modern Book of Hours and The Soul Aflame: A Modern Book of Hours, which was really the first place I had ever seen anyone create a contemporary version of the medieval Book of Hours.  These two small volumes are filled with beautiful poetry and photos — one of my favorite combinations!

Two of my favorite books are by Robert Wieck about the medieval tradition of the Book of Hours: Painted Prayers: The Book of Hours in Medieval and Renaissance Art and Time Sanctified: The Book of Hours in Medieval Art and Life both provide a fascinating window into the creation of these treasures.  You can also purchase reproductions of certain volumes, such as Illuminations from Books of Hours (British Library), Books of Hours (Phaidon Miniature Editions), Book of Hours: Illuminations by Simon Marmion, The Bedford Hours (Medieval Manuscripts in the British Libr Series), and A Treasury of Hours: Selections from Illuminated Prayer Books.

Last summer I went to Ireland and loved being able to go see the The Book of Kells, although after waiting in a very long line outside in the rain and then squeezing through crowds to see the exhibit and only having a few minutes in a large group to gaze at a couple of pages of the original text through glass, it was a little anti-climactic. 

My absolute favorite discovery in Dublin however, was the Chester Beatty Library.   Chester Beatty was a wealthy American mining engineer who retired to Dublin with his vast collection of illuminated manuscripts from across religious traditions, including Christian, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, and a few Jewish.  I fell in love with this place where hardly any people were to be found, and I could spend hours  in silent reverence lingering over the beautiful images and words.

I find Hebrew and Arabic calligraphy especially beautiful.  At the Chester Beatty, the Islamic manuscripts were my favorite with their amazing intricate work.  Qur'an Manuscripts: Calligraphy, Illumination, Design and Hebrew Manuscripts: The Power of Script and Image are two nice volumes of introduction to the manuscripts of other traditions.  In my searching for more resources, I also discovered Sacred: Exhibition Catalogue from the British Library which also includes work from across religious traditions and I may just have to purchase for myself.

The Saint John's Bible, which is a contemporary project of creating contemporary illuminated texts for the scriptures is also stunning.  I have had to satisfy myself with a copy of The Art of Saint John's Bible: A Reader's Guide to Pentateuch, Psalms, Gospels and Acts (Saint John's Bible) since I can't afford the full volumes.  They have published the Pentateuch, Psalms, Prophets, Wisdom Books, and Gospels and Acts.  Maybe I'll ask for one for my birthday.

Even more exciting, for those of us who live in the Seattle-Tacoma area, is the upcoming exhibition of the Saint John's Bible at the Tacoma Art Museum from July 12-September 7, 2008. I already have it on my calendar!

Images from Top to Bottom:
"At Her Table: Mary Magdalene with a Book of Hours" by Jan Richardson
*Illuminated Frontispiece (18th C, North Africa)
*Illuminated Initial B(eatus vir), Psalter, c. 1235, German
*A Leaf from an Italian Dogale, c. 1530, Venice, Itlay
*Sunburst Motif (shamsa), Qur'an, Early 16th C. Iran
(*above four images are from the Chester Beatty Library Collection)
Baptism of Jesus (detail), by Donald Jackson, from the Saint John's Bible

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

You Are Invited! 

Coming in December I will be offering a four-day Contemplative Art & Movement Retreat with an Oblate friend of mine who is also a yoga teacher.  The retreat will be structured around the monastic tradition of praying the hours with a creative twist — we will be praying them through blessed movements, a gentle series of yoga-inspired movements to help us embody the Psalms.  In between, I will lead poetry writing and collage work to create our own contemporary versions of the Book of Hours.  I have long dreamed of offering such a program, so I am excited to finally have committed to making it happen.

So consider marking your calendars and coming to the beautiful Northwest to join us!

-Christine Valters Paintner @ Abbey of the Arts

** For more illumination, please visit this week's Poetry Party! **

«
»

3 Comments April 16, 2008

Upcoming Programs

  • Writing Into Bloom with Christine Valters Paintner
    • May 1, 2021
  • Revelations: The Mysticism of Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe
    • May 13, 2021
  • The Wisdom of Wild Grace: A Weekend Retreat Online
    • May 15, 2021 - May 16, 2021
  • View All Upcoming Programs

Recent Reflections

  • Monk in the World Guest Post: Reverend Deb Goldman
  • A mini-poetry reading from Christine plus other publishing news
  • St. Kevin Holds Open His Hand and Radical Hospitality ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess
  • Monk in the World Guest Post: Greta Kopec
  • Monk in the World Podcast + Harriet Tubman Mysticism ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Connect with the Abbey

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
JOIN THE HOLY DISORDER OF DANCING MONKS
SIGN UP FOR UPDATES
DONATE TO SUPPORT OUR MINISTRY

Copyright © 2021 BY ABBEY OF THE ARTS · WEBSITE PRIVACY NOTICE

Copyright © 2021 · Flourish Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in