The Queen Mary Psalter

An early-14th-century manuscript that is a supreme masterpiece of Gothic book art: more than 800 miniatures, historiated initials and bas-de-page scenes! Regardless of which page you turn to in the Queen Mary Psalter, you will immediately be immersed in a fantasy-filled visual world. It is almost miraculous that a single artist has created this overwhelming abundance of images, but every element of the book’s decoration appears to be from a single hand and displays the same high level of artistic quality. For the first time, you can now experience the full magnificence of this royal psalter in your own home – page by page and image by image, in the form of a faithful facsimile edition.

A Single Brilliant Illuminator

It is hard to believe that the Queen Mary Psalter is the work of a single illuminator. Miniatures, drawings, initials – everything is of one piece and of a quality that outshines all other English and French Gothic book illumination. The illuminator is only known by his name of convenience “the Queen Mary Master”. He stands out as a singular personality whose technical skill and imagination enabled him to evolve a personal style out of multifarious sources. His figure style is an exquisite new interpretation and refinement of the art which had already been established in England. His role in English art can be compared with that of Giotto for his followers in Italy, and that of Jean Pucelle in Paris, in exactly the same historical period.

Stunningly Diverse

With its abundance of images, the Queen Mary Psalter is a true picture Bible. It begins with a cycle of 223 illustrations of the Old Testament in the finest of hand-coloured pen drawings. Over 100 miniatures in bright colours and radiant gold depict the life, miracles and passion of Jesus in unusual iconographies. The empty space at the bottom of each page – known by the term “bas-de-page” – presents the Middle Ages in all their diversity in 464 small visual narratives: the animal world of the bestiary, knights in tournaments and in battle, scenes of deer and rabbit hunting as well as falconry, court life, drolleries and mythological creatures – the fantasy of the Queen Mary Master knew no bounds.

Folio 233v shows the triad of miniature, historiated initial and bas-de-page scene typical of the Queen Mary Psalter. The Entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday takes place against a radiant gold background. A very carefully designed blue-red ornamental frame encloses the miniature, the intense colours still shining as if they had just been freshly painted. Christ on the donkey with her colt takes up almost the entire miniature space. His light coat of delicate shades of pink and light green over a garment of shell gold is striking. His companions, on the other hand, are wrapped in brightly coloured robes. The two disciples visually counterbalance the city gate of Jerusalem, which can hardly contain the crowd.

Facsimile-Edition

Enjoy Viewing a Few Sample Pages:

A Glance at the Facsimile Manuscript

The pages selected for browsing comprise fol. 210v to fol. 214r. The small excerpt allows a glimpse of the diverse pictorial programme and the artistic talent of the Queen Mary Master. Miniatures, historiated initials, gold-radiated text pages and enchanting bas-de-page scenes make up the distinctive character of the Queen Mary Psalter. The miniatures depict Martha and Christ, Lazarus, John the Baptist and Christ teaching. The bas-de-page motifs show different miraculous interventions of the Virgin Mary.

A Facsimile of a National Treasure

A manuscript on the level of a national treasure is accessible only under the most severe restrictions. Years of negotiation were needed before a contract could be signed with the officials responsible for the work at the British Library. At the beginning of the facsimile process, every page of the Queen Mary Psalter was photographed on site at the British Library. Two lithographers then spent months working on the proofs for the reproduction of the luminous colours, the gleaming gold and the patina.

Sparkling Gold

Many of the gold backgrounds are decorated with punching or chiselling, and individual proofs were also produced for these. Gleaming gold leaf and finely shimmering brushed gold were captured, with their various nuances, in separate gold proofs and reproduced in separate runs through the printing machine; sometimes it is minuscule passages of gold in chequered backgrounds that mysteriously sparkle. All the leaves are reworked by hand so that the gold sparkles as authentically as possible on the slightly wavy leaves.