Luttrell Psalter

Sir Geoffrey Luttrell, mounted, being assisted by his wife and daughter-in-law. Folio 202 verso of the Luttrell Psalter

The Luttrell Psalter (British Library, Add. MS 42130) is an illuminated manuscript written and illustrated circa 1320 – 1340 by anonymous scribes and artists. Over the years, many different scholars have dated the manuscript between several different time periods, in relation to the style used and relevant events of the decade. Eric Millar reasons that the manuscript was made around 1335-1340, before the death of Anges Sutton, Sir Geoffrey’s wife, because the illustrations display indications of the “late ‘decadence’ of the Late East Anglian style”. Lucy Sandler prefer to date the creation around 1325-1330 because the styles are similar to the other manuscripts of that time. Michelle Brown believes it was made and planned much later, around 1330 to 1345 ^[1]. There is no certain date for the completion of the Luttrell Psalter; it can only be estimated through analysis of the manuscript itself.

Along with the psalms (beginning on 13 recto), the Luttrell Psalter contains a calendar (1 r), canticles (259 verso), the Mass (283 v) and an antiphon for the dead (295 r). The pages vary in their degree of illumination but many are richly covered with both decorated text and marginal pictures of saints and Bible stories, of rural life, farming, cooking, doctoring, spouses squabbling, musicians playing, etc. It is considered by some to be one of the richest sources for visual depictions of everyday rural life in England of the Middle Ages.

Historical Context

The Luttrell Psalter illuminated manuscript was created in the fourteenth century during the period of the Middle Ages in England. Various scholars have debated the creation of the manuscript to be within the period of 1320 and 1345. The story of the Luttrell Psalter display the earliest phases of the Gothic Revival in England ^[2]. The illuminated manuscript was commissioned by and for Sir Geoffrey Luttrell, Lord of the Manor of Irnham in Lincolnshire ^[3]. Sir Geoffrey Luttrell was a rich land owner. The manuscript was initially a private creation then came into public notice in 1794, when miniature of Sir Geoffrey Luttrell, his wife, and the daughter-in-law were produced along with a summary of the book^[4].

Influences for Creation

Examining the illustrations residing in the manuscript and the historical events during that time period, the creation of the Luttrell Psalter could be connected to either the papal dispensation of 1331 with the Luttrell-Sutton union or the coming of age of Andrew Luttrell, Sir Geoffrey’s son, in 1334 ^[5]. These indications are present in the illustrations in the manuscript; there are images of Sir Geoffrey Luttrell mounted on a horse and dressed to confirm his status during the marriage union of his family^[6].. The manuscript had images of beggars and street performers and grosteques, all symbolizing the chaos and anarchy that was present and feared by Sir Geoffrey Luttrell.

Purpose

Sir Geoffrey Luttrell felt his death was coming and wanted to account for all his actions. Within the publishing of the illuminated manuscript, the colophon ^[7], it states that he wanted this made. The purpose of the manuscript was to help with his provisions for his will. His will depicts that he wanted twenty chaplains to recite masses after his death over a five-year period, for clerks to recite the Psalms, and other activities for a certain amount of money each ^[8]. The functions of the manuscripts

Technical analysis

The Psalter was acquired by the British Museum in 1929 for £31,500 from Mary Angela Noyes, wife of the poet Alfred Noyes. ^[9] It is still in display at the museum.

The codicology of the manuscript shows that it was written in Latin on [[vellum] and flyleaves of paper. It was composed of 309 pages, leaves of sturdy ^[10]. Most of the pages were decorated in red paint with details in gold, silver and blind ^[11]. The illustrations were stamped and tooled into the paper. The preserved manuscript had eight cords that help to securely attach the pages together. It was sewn together, binded with dark brown morocco sturdy ^[12]. The scripts in the manuscript used ruling as a method of scribing^[13]. This was an expensive method. The scripts were fairly large. Each frame of the manuscript had about fourteen full lines of text^[14]. The strokes of the letters are flat and parallel to the writing line. This technique required a pen where the nib is especially cut at an oblique angle, a ‘strange pen’^[15]. Unlike earlier illuminated manuscripts, the first letter of the first word on the line, for every 2 lines then other lines, are capitalized (made larger than the rest). His style was has many highlights and shadowing on the human figures. His modelling of the human figure was more pronounced, muscular, and full of flesh.

Dimensions

The manuscript has the following dimensions:

Cover – 370 x 270 mm ^[16]

Page – 350 x 245 mm ^[17]

Written space – 255 x 170 mm (frame-ruling) ^[18]

Formal and stylistic analysis

The Luttrell Psalter was composed by many artists, all of them with their own slight difference in style. The First Luttrell Artist is referred to as ‘the decorator’^[19], who used a linear style of drawing instead of a two-dimensional approach to his drawings. The Second Luttrell Artist is referred to as ‘the Colourist’^[20] who often drew images that were more round and modelled in the fashion of the previously drawn figures, such as Christ. He took more notice of human form and posture in his drawings. The Third Luttrell Artist is referred to as ‘the Illustrator’^[21] who favoured a more flat and more two-dimensional style of drawing compared to the First Luttrell Artist. The Fourth Luttrell Artist is called the ‘Luttrell Master’^[22], who was skilled in rural themes, and the outlandish grotesques. He also drew the depictions of the Luttrell family in the manuscripts. He used paint with great skill to give effects of shadow and texture. This technique was very similar to the style use in most of the East Anglian manuscripts during that time.

Iconographical analysis

The illustrations within the manuscript displayed a lot about Sir Geoffrey Luttrell’s life, how he wanted it to be portrayed, and regular daily activities around the town, including many different strange combinations of parts of animal and human figures. The Luttrell Psalter was a good illustration of the everyday life in the Middle Ages ^[23]. Aside from the common images of citizens and the Luttrell family, some images remained obscure but some can be related to the text beside which they are painted however it requires the reader to have some insight of the Latin sacred words^[24]. Most of the decorations around the margins were images of pure fantasy, biblical sense, figures of saints, and naturalistic motifs^[25].

Sir Geoffrey Luttrell wanted the drawings to reflect the current devotional, cultural, political, economic and dynastic needs aspirations he and his family had ^[26]. Some images depicted events that occurred during that time like the remodelled image of the Irnham parish church emphasized how he was preoccupied with his activities to prepare his immortal soul after death^[27].

The line Dominus Galfridus Louterell me fieri fecit (meaning Lord Geoffrey Luttrell caused me to be made) were written in the manuscript to give more recognition to Sir Geoffrey Luttrell who commissioned it^[28].

The miniature of Sir Geoffrey Luttrell mounted on the horse wearing full armour with along with his wife and daughter-in-law is a very powerful image in the Luttrell Psalter. It shows the Luttrell’s family heraldry. Sir Geoffrey Luttrell wanted to be remembered of his youth and time in the military as he dressed in his knight armour^[29].

Images of servants preparing food and running errands were depicted along the margins of the manuscript to emphasize that the servants of the Luttrell household played a major role both socially and economically ^[30].Images of farming include both man and woman to show that during harvest time, all available labour is required.

Conclusion

The Luttrell Psalter is a wonderful art piece of the Middle Ages. It helps to depict the life of the Luttrell family and the everyday life of the citizens of England. This beautifully preserved illuminated manuscript displays various styles and technique that were used in the past. It is still a challenge to figure out which artists have made contributions to this manuscript because different painters kept adding onto the pages.

Notes

References

Camille, Michael. Mirror in Parchment. London: Reaktion Books, 1998.

Backhouse, Janet. Medieval Rural Life in the Luttrell Psalter. North America: University of Toronto Press, 2000.

Brown, Michelle P. The World of the Luttrell Psalter. London: The British Library, 2006.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Luttrell Psalter

• Whole manuscript on Commons
• The Luttrel Psalter: overview on British Library
• The Luttrell Psalter
• Luttrell Psalter Film