Lumina · Late antiquity to the twelfth century

Minds of the Middle Ages

The Latin scholars who carried learning across the end of the ancient world: who compressed it, copied it, argued with it and explained it to their students. Portraits, translations and concordances.

De auctoribusThe Minds

Each shown as the Middle Ages drew them. Where no picture of a writer survives, a miniature from a manuscript of their work stands in.

A diagram of the sun, the moon and the earth's shadow beside a column of Latin text — Sun, moon and shadow, from his *Timaeus*. Vatican, Reg. lat. 1308, 10th century

Translated the first part of Plato's Timaeus into Latin and wrote a long commentary on it. For about seven hundred years it was nearly all of Plato the Latin West could read: the world-soul, the elements and the harmonies of creation all came through him.

Augustine seated in a white robe, reading an open book — The earliest known portrait. Fresco, Lateran, Rome, 6th century

Bishop of Hippo in North Africa. Argued that Christians could take what was useful from pagan learning, as the Israelites took the gold of Egypt. Began a set of books on the liberal arts; only the one on music survives.

Macrobius, bearded and seated, showing a tablet to his young son Eustachius — With his son Eustachius. London, BL, Egerton 2976, Italy, c. 1100

A Roman official who wrote for his son. His commentary on Cicero's Dream of Scipio taught the Middle Ages the spheres and their music, the five zones of the earth and the five kinds of dream. His Saturnalia is a dinner party about Virgil and old Rome.

Music, a crowned woman with a harp, seated on a throne — Music, one of his seven arts. Venice, Marciana, Lat. XIV 35

A North African who turned the liberal arts into a wedding: seven bridesmaids, each delivering a lecture. Strange, ornate and copied for a thousand years.

Lady Philosophy in conversation with Boethius in a room — With Philosophy. Utrecht, UB, Hs. 1335

Translated Greek logic and mathematics into Latin, named the four mathematical arts the quadruvium, and wrote the Consolation of Philosophy in prison before his execution.

Cassiodorus, bearded and enthroned, holding an open book, labeled Cassiodorus Senator — "Cassiodorus Senator." Leiden, Vulcanius 46, Fulda, 1176/7

A statesman of the Gothic court whose official letters are monuments of ornate Latin. In retirement he founded Vivarium and made the copying of books a monastic duty.

Isidore handing a book to his sister Florentina beneath an arch — Giving his book to his sister Florentina. BnF lat. 13396, Corbie, c. 800

Compressed the knowledge of antiquity into the Etymologiae, explaining everything through the origins of words. The medieval reference book.

Bede seated at a desk, writing in a book with a pen — Writing. Life of St Cuthbert, BL Yates Thompson 26, 12th century

A monk of Jarrow in Northumbria who put the arts to work: figures of speech for reading scripture, astronomy for finding the date of Easter. His histories made it common to count years from the birth of Christ.

Alcuin, labeled Albinus abbas, with his arm around his pupil Rabanus Maurus — "Albinus abbas," presenting his pupil Rabanus Maurus. Fulda, 9th century

Charlemagne's schoolmaster. Taught grammar, rhetoric and dialectic as dialogues between master and pupil.

Rabanus, labeled Rabanus Maurus, embraced by his teacher Alcuin — “Rabanus Maurus,” presented by his teacher Alcuin. Fulda, 9th century

Alcuin’s pupil, later abbot of Fulda and archbishop of Mainz, remembered as the teacher of Germany. Wrote a handbook for training clergy and an encyclopedia built on Isidore.

Line drawing of Eriugena with curly hair, labeled Iohannes — "Iohannes." Clavis physicae, BnF lat. 6734, 12th century

An Irish philosopher at the court of Charles the Bald, rare in the West for reading Greek. Wrote notes on Martianus that later teachers built on.

Grammar seated before tiers of students in an amphitheater — Grammar and her students, from a Martianus with part of his commentary. 10th century

A schoolmaster who compiled commentaries on some twenty texts. For three centuries, readers met Martianus with Remigius's notes in the margin.

Hugh, labeled Magister Hugo, seated and writing in a book on a lectern — "Magister Hugo," writing the Didascalicon. Leiden, Vulcanius 45

Rebuilt the map of knowledge in the Didascalicon, adding mechanical arts beside the liberal ones.

Herrad in a red veil holding a scroll — Self-portrait, Hortus deliciarum. The original burned in 1870; known from copies

An abbess who compiled the Hortus deliciarum for her nuns, including a famous drawing of Philosophy enthroned among the seven arts.

Alan, labeled Magister Alanus, in a blue robe, raising a finger as he speaks — “Magister Alanus” in debate with Peter the Chanter. 13th century

A Paris master called the universal doctor. In his poem Anticlaudianus, the seven arts build a chariot to carry Prudence up to heaven.

De operibusWorks

In progress

The Marriage of Philology and Mercury

A new English translation of Martianus Capella, book by book.

Planned

Wisdom's House

A concordance of the seven liberal arts: how each art was defined and taught from Martianus to Hugh of St Victor, sentence by sentence.

Planned

The glossed Martianus

Martianus in one column, Remigius of Auxerre's commentary in the other, as a ninth-century student would have read it.

De imaginibusImages

All images are medieval manuscript illuminations in the public domain, cropped from photographs on Wikimedia Commons: Calcidius · Augustine · Macrobius · Martianus · Boethius · Cassiodorus · Isidore · Bede · Alcuin and Rabanus · Eriugena · Remigius · Hugh · Herrad · Alan