The Ivy Plant: A Symbol of Medieval Life, Beliefs, and Art
Originating from and beginning with with the French Psalterium that guides this show, this show will explore ivy illuminations that decorate manuscript pages and their contextual purpose.
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Historical Symbolism and Significance of Ivy:
Ivy, as a symbol in illuminated manuscripts like the French Psalterium, represents life, eternity – even immortality. The ivy plant presents itself as a common visual symbol used to decorate medieval manuscripts (Crampton, "English Ivy Symbolism").
Ivy is just one plant in which individuals of the medieval ages placed value upon. Religious texts such as the Bible often contained other botanical imagery such as trees, fruits, and flowers to support morals, parables, or religious beliefs. On the other hand, medicinal manuscripts help give us insight into the idea that plants were significantly used for cooking and medicine. Medicinal texts explain the natural properties of plants, as well as their usages and means of cultivation. Many of these texts contained a moral connotation in describing whether something was poisonous or healthy, which were deeply rooted in religious context (DeHamel, 22-28).
Many botanical plants, flowers, and trees ranged widely in purpose in the medieval ages, so it is not surprising that individuals had a sort of fascination with plants like the ivy leaf. Plants in addition to ivy often had medicinal qualities, and therefore were attributed to having magical values. Whether it were used as a medicine, a decorative element, or a symbol within art, plants are both insight into the lives of medieval people as well as metaphors that help explain their moral, mythological, and religious beliefs. In addition, many time periods allude to a certain appreciation of the ivy plant, including the ancient greeks whom used ivy to crown victorious athletes, and for the Romans, intellectual achievement (Meagher, "Botanical Imagery in Medieval Painting").
Style and Context For Ivy Illuminations:
Artists when replicating the ivy plant would do so gracefully, with symmetrical fronds and a harmonious tie to the characters of the text.
However, the way in which the ivy was drawn would often be directly related to the text it accompanied. Ivy, among other plants and medicinal objects, had to be drawn accurately when in a medicinal book. In the featured psalter, the ivy is more graceful, ornamental, and religious. In the context of a medicinal plant, ivy may be drawn more accurately so as to inform readers along with other plants as to its natural properties, qualities, and to provide a realistic reference (Clemens and Graham 51-62).
The Relationship Between Text and Illumination:
The relationship between ivy and textual characters on a page like that of the French Psalterium could be compared to that of uncial characters and interlace. In celtic and insular manuscripts, interlace was a common form of complex illumination. It complemented the characters, which were detailed and illustrative themselves in form and appearance. Ivy as an illumination is similar to interlace. It is used to decorate and illustrate a page, oftentimes in borders and on the sides of columns, or around an introductory letter (De Hamel 22-48).
The same can be said for the formatting of ivy vine illuminations surrounding medieval manuscripts. They can commonly be found surrounding the text of religious books, extending into the borders, or highlighting and extending from some characters of the text. The ivy illuminations are primarily a border illustration overall, but vary in types of intricacy, and design. Their visual appeal and form, however, does oftentimes complement that of the script used in the text. For example, psalters like the featured one use a gothic script, which pairs beautifully with the ivy vines. The flow and shape of these vines directly compliments the text, creating a visual harmony between text and design (Buttner, "The Illuminated Psalter").
While the rationale for this decorative decision varies depending on the manuscript, ivy is nonetheless used as a decorative form to not only decorate the borders of a page, but to also create visual interest between the negative space on the page with that of the text characters. As a common border decoration for liturgical texts, ivy vines create a cohesive and harmonious visual continuity between text and illumination.
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In summary, plants like ivy are drawn represent a two-fold duality of plants within medieval history; while their natural properties regarding medicine and naturalistic sciences were an important aspect regarding the interpretation of these plants, there is also an equally important ‘magical’ aspect. The symbolism of the ivy plant among others was important enough to use as a decorative ornament in many medieval manuscripts, including but not limited to psalters like the one featured in this show.