Pinciples of Design Week 1 Investigation Ancient Manuscripts

Lisbon Bible - My impressions of the design of this ancient manuscript.

Wikepedia states that "Scribes in Ancient Israel, as in most of the ancient world, were distinguished professionals who could exercise functions we would associate with lawyers, government ministers, judges, or even financiers. Some scribes copied documents, but this was not necessarily part of their job." When I read that the Lisbon Bible was copied by a man known as Samuel the Scribe, I thought it might be the child Samuel from the bible. Samuel from the bible started out working in the temple under Eli the priest. Samuel eventually grew up to be a priest and went on to become one of the last Hebrew judges in Isreal.  As such, it makes sense that he probably started out as a scribe as part of his duties in the temple.

Through my reading and research on the design pricipal this background information gave me a whole new appreciation for the work that I saw demostrated in the Lisbon Bible. Some of the  design principals that I viewed were blank backgrounds versus colorful artwork and text; large fonts versus small fonts; and black letters versus red letters. These examples show that the designers of the time had mastered the concepts of contrast and repetition. The uses of clearly defined borders with three corners showed they understood the importance of alignment. These designers were highly talented and gifted individuals who were extremely dedicated to their work.

"Carefully shaped letters, scripts of different sizes lying side by side, micrographic designs and carpet pages, ornamental word and title headings fulfill an aesthetic role underscoring at the same time the importance of the sacred text through visual channels." (British Library on the Lisbon Bible) After reading this quote from the narrative of the British Libary on the Lisbon Bible, I thought that each of these elements combined together are what makes the document so remarkable. The team who created it seemed to use every design method at their disposal in to order to fully illustrate and communicate the tremendous value and importance of the message they were copying.