How Illuminated Manuscripts were Made

The creation of an illuminated manuscript was carried out in a series of very distinct stages and required the coordinated efforts of several skilled artisans. The Parchmenter The Stationer or Bookseller I The Apothecary The Scribe Scripts The Artist/Illuminator The Stationer or Bookseller II Bibliography

Printable worksheets
The image files are useful for previewing because they take less time to download; however, they do not print well. You will need the free Adobe Acrobat reader to view the pdf versions

• Tools of the Trade and How They Were Used image | pdf
• Find the Tools in the Margins image | pdf
• The Scribe In His Workshop image | pdf

Make your own manuscripts!

• Instructions and templates
• Suppliers

Be sure to visit the Free Library of Philadelphia page of online resources about medieval manuscripts, which includes links to Richard Clements' online tutorial on medieval bookmaking as well as other online exhibitions, medieval fonts, and related materials.

(text and illustrations by Diane Victoria Horn, Museum Educator)