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Keywords: conservation, manuscripts,

sacredness, receptivity, assessment,

decision-making

AbstrActMedieval manuscripts can be described as

documentary sources that reveal the re-

ligious culture of the West. Since the first

centuries of Christianity, the Holy Books

have been progressively used to reinforce

religious convictions and religious author-

ity, which in turn have been increasingly

adapted to the demands of society. Having

survived several intellectual and even re-

ligious changes, medieval liturgical books

today – in museums, libraries and archives

– reveal the cumulative result of audience

receptivity. Finally, conservation environ-

ments are explored as focal points where

material evidence can be assessed to main-

tain traces of their identity and multidisci-

plinary significance, thus guaranteeing their

continuity through time.

résuméLes manuscrits médiévaux peuvent être dé-

crits comme des sources documentaires qui

révèlent la culture religieuse de l’Occident.

Dès les premiers siècles du christianisme,

les Livres sacrés ont été progressivement

employés pour renforcer les convictions

religieuses et l’autorité religieuse, elles-mê-

mes toujours plus adaptées aux exigences

de la société. Ayant subsisté à plusieurs évo-

lutions intellectuelles, voire religieuses, les

livres liturgiques médiévaux présents dans

les musées, les bibliothèques et les archives

révèlent aujourd’hui le résultat cumulatif de

la réceptivité des auditoires. Enfin, ces envi-

ronnements de conservation sont explorés

en tant que points d’intérêt où les preuves

matérielles peuvent être évaluées afin de

conserver des traces de leur identité et de

leur importance multidisciplinaire, ce pour

garantir leur pérennité.

Inês CorreIaDirecção-Geral de Arquivos (DGARQ), Torre do Tombo National ArchivesInstituto de Estudos Medievais (IEM), Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, Universidade de Lisboa Lisbon, Portugal ines.ineia@gmail.com

between mAteriAl conservAtion And identity preservAtion – the (sAcred) life of medievAl liturgicAl booKs

introduction

The conservation of liturgical medieval manuscripts and their traditional display are a good topic for the discussion of ethics. Societies have changed together with their cultural manifestations and cultural politics need to adjust to these new demands. The public is becoming more distant from its material heritage. With the increased use of new technologies and virtual displays in museums, the public is more receptive to ‘non-visible’ data and more sophisticated meanings. Several means can be used to equate philosophical issues about materiality to a historic, artistic or scientific approach; however, understanding traces of the identity concealed in the object can take us far from its original function. The main dilemma is not solved by any theoretical debate, because it is buried in conservation practice – where material conservation may not mean identity preservation. In fact, when we focus on liturgical books, identity preservation should deal with the lost sacred aspects of its religious derivation. This means that liturgical medieval manuscripts should perhaps also be preserved as anthropological items – witness to ritual practices and community behaviour – and not only as artistic or documentary heritage.

This article will build from these considerations, recognizing the contemporary motivation to preserve liturgical medieval manuscripts as cultural heritage and the role of museums, libraries and even archives in the conservation and display of their identity.

historicAl bAcKground

Liturgical medieval manuscripts are usually connected with Christian ritual practices and contain words and references to gestures that express divine actions. Containing descriptions of liturgical rites, formulas of consecration and Eucharistic prayers, the manuscripts were the result of thought from particular communions and observances.

Beginning with its basic definition, the term “liturgy” is quite a rich and full notion; on the other hand, it was not adopted in the West until the end of the 18th century. In Greek, the word leitourgia is formed by the words laos/leiton = people, and ergon (Latin opus) = work of service. In this communicative dialogue, the initiative always comes from God and that is the basis of Its sacred nature (Altermatt 2001). The holy intervention of

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resumenLos manuscritos medievales se pueden des-

cribir como fuentes documentales que reve-

lan la cultura religiosa de Occidente. Desde

los primeros siglos del cristianismo, los Libros

Sagrados se han utilizado progresivamen-

te para reforzar las convicciones religiosas

y la autoridad religiosa, que a su vez se han

adaptado cada vez más a las exigencias de la

sociedad. Habiendo sobrevivido varios cam-

bios intelectuales e incluso religiosos, los

libros litúrgicos medievales presentes hoy

en museos, bibliotecas y archivos, revelan el

resultado estratificado de la percepción de

la audiencia. Finalmente, se exploran estos

ambientes de conservación como focos de

atención donde la evidencia material puede

evaluarse para mantener las huellas de su

identidad y relevancia multidisciplinaria, ga-

rantizando así su continuidad en el tiempo.

God’s words (liturgical readings) awakens an echo in man, who is touched by this experience and links it to that of his brothers (liturgical chants), and together all respond through adoration and thanksgiving (liturgical prayers). In fact, all three dynamic axes are ritual expressions, performed by a community and influenced by that community’s identity – character, behaviours and aspirations which change together with transitions in society and mentality.

Until the 4th century, Christians used biblical texts to perform ritual expressions, creating small communities that tended to be influenced by or integrated with more dominant ones. Some canonical compilations from ancient documents (Egyptian and Syrian) were used to establish the beginning of an Apostolic Tradition. Nevertheless, only the production of new euchological texts and Latin versions of Greek manuscripts from the 4th century, as well as the emerging liturgy in use at the major pilgrimage centre of Jerusalem, had definitely marked the distinct liturgies adapted by Orient et Occident (Martimort 1984). The first so-called pure liturgical books were produced, after the 6th century, for each minister; these were the Sacramentary, with formulas to celebrate Eucharist and the Sacraments; the Lectionary, with selected bible texts, mainly from the Gospels; the Antiphonary, with mass chants for a single singer or chorus, which had no musical notations until the 8th century; and finally, the Ordines, a list of offices and feasts from the Church of Rome. Given the diversity of books that came out of distinct monastic observances throughout Europe, several proceedings and Councils tried to unify the practices of regular and even secular clergy, and the regulation of liturgical books was decreed more than once. From the 10th century, different books were mixed to form new ones, using some degree of canonical order. From this period on, we also find the Pontifical, dedicated to the celebrations performed by bishops; the Missal, gathering all the Eucharistic elements, includes the Sacramentary, the Lectionary and Ordinis; the Breviary composed of all the books that serve the Liturgy of the Hours – Psaltery, Homiliarium, Tonary, Antiphonary and late Orational. The list seems to be endless and diversity can be observed not only in the titles, but also in the content, even with the Roman Church’s efforts to unify Divine Offices and Mass. Of course these slight variations of text and format are direct consequences of the manual production of manuscripts, which was used until the advent of printing and its globalization in the 15th century. Until then, Council statements, the circulation of texts, and pilgrimages were not enough to standardize practices or regulate the production of liturgical books. Although this contributes to the enrichment of religious anthropology, it may influence the neglect, fragmentation and loss of identity of the books.

Therefore, some attention should be given to the behaviour of communities when Rome decreed the production of mixed books; used books were dismantled and mixed in new bindings, others were hidden or dismembered and re-used as writing supports, parchment covers, or endleaves (Heinzer 2005). On the other hand, the trend toward manuscript recovering and rebinding, after the 16th century, can be related to the proceedings of the Council

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of Trent, where special consideration was given to Sacraments and the Eucharist tradition. Promoting earlier Christian writings was an efficient way to confirm God’s word and the Church’s authority. Recovering and rebinding manuscripts was certainly one of the corresponding answers by religious communities.

For centuries, Christian expression has been based on the manifestation of God’s Word, made flesh in Christ. The Word is celebrated as witness of a living Man, Jesus, revealing the anthropological dimension of time and reason. As noted earlier, liturgical books have been preserved, changed or neglected to reflect the nature of a dynamic living Church (Sharpe 2001).

continuity And rupture of religious vAlue

After some baseline considerations regarding the production and use of liturgical texts, an overview is presented of the continued use of these texts, including in secular practices, and the rupture of their sacred life, as observed in monastic houses after the extinction of Monastic Orders in the 19th century. As we know, the extinction of these Orders had several consequences for the religious and cultural heritage, some of which were not favourable. From most of the monasteries, all kind of religious books were, at best, moved to different libraries, archives and museums. Archival collections and precious manuscripts had fallen apart during that period or were destroyed, sold, or reused by people for trivial purposes. Despite this disheartening scenario, the new custodial institutions gave them new possibilities as historic and artistic items, integrating them into their collections, describing them in inventories and displaying them through exhibitions and catalogues. Three principal reflections can be noted in relation to their new status as cultural object:

• Liturgical books have been approached differently according to the cultural politics of libraries, archives and museums, from which their preservation and availability depends to this day.

• The artistic value of rare or luxury editions of illuminated manuscripts, has stimulated interest in antique books and in their original locations.

• Classical studies and newer disciplines such as palaeography, manuscript studies or later codicology have promoted a scientific appreciation of the documentary heritage and identified it as a historical authority, particularly manuscript fonts.

The Orders’ extinction had a permanent consequence for liturgical medieval manuscripts, most of which predate the 15th century, elevating their sacred or devotional significance to another status. Religious heritage came out of monastic houses and went into museums, but the bibliographical value of the liturgical book should also be considered as this has influenced its placement in these collections together with archival records. For example, archives deal with monastic libraries as a whole, describing the items according to archival norms and institutional practices. With more

Figure 1Image of Trinity with the Book, representing the authority of the Holly Word. Bible from the 13th century. Ms. ANTT, Lorvao 11, f.26v

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emphasis on the intellectual content than the contextual significance, part of its identity is immediately reduced. On the other hand, museums usually display an item if it has obvious artistic elements or a noticeable historic connotation. However, this change in status upholds its historic meaning. Historians and art historians have relied on the accessibility of those liturgical books to expand knowledge and the connection between periods and places. Our reflection focuses on the fact that their relationship with users, ritual practice, and the evolution of meaning was rarely observed; their anthropological character has not been explored.

The third consideration relates to the uniqueness of manuscripts or rare documents – in this case, liturgical documents. The systematic interpretation of the material texts gives an idea of the manuscript execution project. In fact, codicology is shown to be useful in identifying production centres and diffusion routes by similar identification techniques and classification of styles.

The application of archaeology to the study of books provides complementary information as revealed by evidence of production, assessment of marks of use and reception of the manuscripts over time (Szirmai 2001). Manuscripts, and even prints, can give us distinctive information about the original state and subsequent alterations. These marks are not just a matter for conservation reports. They can indicate:

• frequency of reading, as revealed by the intensity of fingerprints

• users’ interpretations, shared in marginal notes

• subtle guide marks in the text, such as notations related to rituals, and

• disapproval of concepts, as expressed by the mutilation of text or images.

Other macroscopic signs would clearly indicate an item’s individuality, such as:

• truncated texts

• compilations of various texts, with possible discrepancies in the material

• restoration , and

• evidence of rebinding.

To every indication of change, we could ask questions, such as how and when, because the answers would inevitably provide traces of human relationship, the so-called anthropological character, as a prime step to achieve sacred identity or meaning.

present perspectives

At this time, one can realise that liturgical medieval manuscripts, or even later printed versions have been only partially displayed, not because we do

Figure 2Medieval Psalter removed from the 13th century Bible to facilitate routine readings. Ms. ANTT, Lorvao 11

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not have the means to recover their meaning, but because interdisciplinarity has not been practiced via a more inclusive cultural policy. This would not be evident if societies had stopped changing. On the contrary, children, students, scholars and the general public are over-stimulated because of the efficiency of modern technology and communications. In addition to the manuscripts’ historic or artistic materiality, integrated concepts and meanings are expected to produce multidisciplinary knowledge. Replacing captions that give name, date, technology and provenance are interactive displays or virtual reconstructions, since third-generation museums are no longer novel. Information should be increased and repackaged to justify and maintain new displays and today’s “search” is often complemented by “advanced search”.

This new cultural transition is inevitably accompanied by a transition in the status of the artefacts. If we can infer that preservation and conservation are conditioned and proportional to the cultural education of communities, this issue becomes substantial not only with regard to liturgical medieval manuscripts, but to the human heritage in general for which we have an imperative responsibility to:

• guarantee multidisciplinary policy, integrating as much as possible the cultural meaning of our heritage

• promote versatile networks and accurate assessment of manuscript materiality

• endorse and display interdisciplinary databases in museums, libraries and archives

• interact in private or public practice to improve the use of ethical guidelines.

Both good and bad experiences have revealed interdisciplinarity as the most sustainable way to achieve these goals.

conservAtion theory – whAt to expect?

When we talk about sharing responsibilities, we talk about connecting behaviours around some procedures though conservation codes of ethics. Cultural resources and cultural environments are definitely changing and if we stand upon the considerations noted above, we may increase receptivity toward manuscripts today, recognising them as something worth preserving.

Many more related approaches, than those that are enumerated here, have been undertaken in this field in the last 20 years (Batori 2003). However, most of the literature appears to underline the importance of the artefacts’ religious meaning to the communities by means of anthropological connections (Kaminitz 1995). We can also recognize the importance of the conservation code of ethics suggested by conservators of contemporary art as a direct consequence of their dialogue with the artists. Conservation is more successful when cultural value or impact is maintained. Either in

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ritual ceremonies or in the creative process, we see the appreciation of primary concepts and meaning in response, naturally following conservation standards (Derlon 2008). In order to answer those concerns, as long as we expect to answer the sacredness of medieval liturgical books, we must evaluate our decision-making models – when they are used. Several proposed interactions to characterize or treat this kind of manuscript are commonly based on conservation procedures for graphic documents. As demonstrated here, liturgical manuscripts are far from being understood as an object of communication. Their materiality is frequently assessed through a variety of key fields, such as:

• parchment, inks or pigments by spectral analysis

• texts and codicological features by humanistic studies

• production technique and painted images by art historians

• custodial history by archivists, librarians or curators

• material condition by paper and/or book conservators.

Except for some promising projects supported by multidisciplinary teams of researchers, manuscripts rely on fragmented methods to be understood, preserved or finally displayed.

In our time, conservation is able to act as a dynamic bond within interdis-ciplinary networks. Expertise was required to better respond to heritage preservation and training programmes have changed dramatically since the last decades of the 20th century, owing to technological advances and complementary disciplines arising from the science of conservation (Brownrigg 1990). Nevertheless, if manuscript conservation can be considered specialised enough to be separated from graphic documents conservation, as is already the case with photographic documents, a number of focused interests can be surveyed and a big gap in dealing with these interests needs to be overcome. For liturgical manuscripts, what to expect?

conservAtion prActice: pArAdigmAtic exAmples

Taking medieval liturgical manuscripts as an example, it is useful to systematise general procedures in order to understand the impact of artistic or non-artistic value on decision-making. Besides the conceptual reasons the Church may have as to whether or not to recover medieval liturgical manuscripts, we shall focus on environments of conservation practice, such as museums, libraries and archives. If we consider the common political attitude of these cultural institutions, we find one main impetus to promote a conservation treatment request: availability (Table 1). According to their relevant artistic character or historical representativeness, these liturgical manuscripts have their place in the showcases on thematic exhibitions of historical museums; they could be presented in temporary exhibitions if they are in relatively good condition or if the impact of presentation justifies the corresponding budget to support their conservation or restoration. However, only the management of the

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binomial access-control adopted by libraries and archives may contribute to sustainable and continuous conservation programmes. Nonetheless, liturgical manuscripts do not fit well within an archival context, so that only those scholars with a particular interest in medieval or religious editions are likely to solicit direct access. In this environment, these manuscripts may not be a priority, again raising the connection between material conservation and relevance to the immediate cultural context. A major impetus for developing conservation programmes is often external to the object’s materiality but is correlated with its inner meanings. Its cultural context can produce a request for conservation of a liturgical manuscript if the manuscript responds effectively to cultural demands. In traditional exhibitions, where books are presented in an open format, their documentary relevance may be suggested by a single page, caption and catalogue description. That page certainly has some artistic value, mostly because of imposed miniatures, elaborate lettering or decorated margins. Nevertheless, if some allusion to the commissioner of the manuscript or other mark of ownership is displayed, receptivity to the liturgical manuscript by the viewer will be increased and we can detect traces of its identity. We realise that use marks that refer to particular places or persons have cultural meaning that infers value because of these connections. However, use marks can be as subtle as fingerprints and marginal notes, or can be controversial such as a flower, silk thread or glass lens left between the pages. In the face of such valuable evidence, conservation and display options should afford accurate methods to guarantee their maintenance and access.

Table 1

Museum Library Archive

Display features - Permanent or temporary exhibition- Digital or virtual devices- National or international loan

- General reading rooms- Special reading rooms- Digital devices- (Temporary) exhibitions

Main reasons to support conservation treatment

- Reception/demand and direct access- Exhibition conservation demands- Visible biodeterioration in storage; - Scientific research assuming further valorisation (publications and other

public displays)- Conservation requirements to perform digital capture

It would not be a problem if others besides conservators were to handle conservation requests or respond to external demands if the process could count on an established multidisciplinary network. Once approved, conservation procedures should start from a multidisciplinary decision-making model in which the relevance of any interaction (from scientific analysis to treatment) could be evaluated and its impact on significant evidence, carefully assessed.

Regarding liturgical manuscripts from the medieval age, assuming eight centuries of theoretical use and more than 100 years of politically motivated display, this approach cannot be finalised because much of the work is yet to be done. Nevertheless, a first assessment of production or reception

Figure 3Rebinding the Antiphonary from the 13th century. Ms. ANTT, Lorvão 15

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marks, as identity evidence on liturgical manuscripts, has been systematized (Table 2) as a guide to further practices.

Meaning is more than an intangible concept; it is reflected in the material evidence of creation and in subsequent changes. As long as this evidence has been previously accessed and is properly displayed, material conservation is able to integrate identity preservation.

Table 2

MEDIEVAL LITURGICAL BOOKS

Identity material evidences

Conservation Available meanings

Assessment Practice

Production traces

- Text block features left on parchment and paintings: blind tool incisions, pounce or pricks and sketches

- Avoid wet treatments or over pressure that can produce evidence distortion or loss

- Dating- Place of production- Manuscript circulation- Artistic taxonomy- Book archaeology- Binding elements, original

or subsequent- Original techniques of

assembly

- Evaluate structural impact especially on local interventions

- Avoid restricted stability due to minimal intervention approach

Finger prints - Type, dimension, location - Relative incidence over

text block

- Evaluate decay of support and text (if affected)

- Stabilize instead of remove - Avoid alteration of relative

incidence: darker finger prints should maintain comparative degree of deterioration

- Place of reception or use- Use context- Regular or secular

purposes- Sociological data - Forensic data

Wax deposits - Type and location - Relative incidence over

text block

- Evaluate impact over support or text

- Maintain or remove partially

- Reading practice- Reading environment

Margin comments

- Subject, author and date - Inks and writing features - Liturgical function- Censorship

- Avoid any cleaning that could affect scripture or notation

- Reception chronology - User authority- Reading routine- Subjective data

Post-production corrections over text

- Contents and underwriting text

- Repetitions over text

- Reception chronology- User authority

Interleave aleatory material

- Type and possible context - Physic/chemical

interaction

- Evaluate compatibility - Conservation measure if

needs or storage aside

- Use context- User character- Subjective data

Material discontinuity or over contents

- Relation to other canonical editions

- Text sequence - Structure perturbation or

rebinding

- Discuss quires reconstruction when rebound

- Avoid separate mixed texts unless required for conservation

- Reception chronology - Clergy philosophy - Liturgical practices- (Comparative

approach)

Old repairs (until 19th century)

- Type, function and date - Competence - Relation to possible causes

- Evaluate compatibility - Stabilize and reuse or

substitute and store together

- Reception chronology - Historical background

conclusion

Medieval liturgical books, seen as anthropological material, clearly represent the dynamic expression of sacred function within religious communities.

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However, since sacred function has evolved into cultural function, the artistic features and historic evidence of this material plays a dominant, determining role in its identity conservation. This reflects one century of heritage conscience and cultural policies. Conservation has made a long journey, supporting cultural values which are still changing within a growing global society. Cultural guidelines were, are and will be the thread for humankind. Sacred character is allied to identity significance and would not be lost as long as cultural function is preserved.

references

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BROwN, M.P. 1994. Understanding illuminated manuscripts – a guide to technical terms.

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DERlON, B., and M. MAUzE, M. n.d. “Sacred” or “sensitive” objects. http://www.

necep.net/papers/OS_Derlon-Mauze.pdf (accessed 20 January 2008).

HEINzER, F. 2005. Cutting the tradition – changing attitudes towards liturgy. In Medieval

book fragments in Sweden. An International Seminar in Stockholm, 13–16 November 2003,

ed. J. Brunius, 18–26. Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets Historie och Antikvitets Akademien.

KAMINITz, M. 1995. What is sacred art? – the conservator’s approach to sacred art.

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SHARPE, J., and K. vAN KAMPEN. 2002. The Bible as book – the manuscript

tradition. London: The British Library & Oak Knoll Press

SzIRMAI, J.A. 1998. The archaeology of medieval bookbinding. Aldershot: Ashgate

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