(artist unknown, currently located in Paris). (e.12th). Cluny Lectionary Pentecost page [ink and tempera on vellum]. Bibliothéque Nationale.

As a designer I cannot help appreciating this page for its layout qualities. Pre-printing press, gray is laid out on a manuscript grid system to reasonable application. The letterforms that would impact the first type families in the coming centuries are clearly seen. Type hierarchy is as present as design hierarchy. Christ, suspended in heaven, brackets his trusted officials with the warmth of his hands and the rays of light radiating from him. | 
The work monasteries put into layout must be applauded. The page carries a field/ground arrangement, but clearly the graphic is a work of semi-abstract realism. Nothing about this page, or any like it, is to distract from the written message. Layout and graphics only support. Like technical organization, the type of work this is depends on global versus local areas. Overall, this work is conceptual. The graphic is perceptual. Clearly carrying the word of God is the purpose, but for me the design and the era in which it was made are more important. 

Considering the graphic image, shape and value are supportive to the complementary color scheme. The heavy framework alternates between light and dark, which is repeated throughout the composition. The entire graphic is based on repeating angled, rounded and figurative shapes, arranged quite well. Considering the remainder of the page, letterforms are humanist in their mild stroke contrast, organic feel and calligraphic tone. 

What amounts to a series of portraits are arranged in overlapping manner to create depth that is very orderly in the graphic. Contrasts in value provide further depth. For example, the robes of Christ, the lower central figure (Peter) and figure far-right rise on the picture plane because of contrasts in value and hue. Slight shape development is present by shading.

Symmetrical organization and the development of the figures hints at the statue-like treatment of pictorial subjects in the coming centuries. The graphic is a calm, weight-bearing addition to this page. Binding measures include the decorative formatting of shapes, consistent application of a color strategy, and an overall placid texture consistent with the medium. Interest is created by a strong use of subtle and contrasting values, rigid and figurative shapes and a blended use of color purity.

Hieratic scale, the direction of the dense values of the frame, direction of the light beam elements and sharp value contrasts of the cell that contains Christ demand the most attention. Of course, the lower-central figure, the only one whose form can be fully viewed, is secondary. Like many professionally developed image framing devices, this one presents the most basic elements that the scene it supports will contain: The gold of haloes, red of the background and dense off-black of figurative strokes and the cell to upper-center.

The central figure is actually Saint Peter, the patron apostle of the monastery that developed this lectionary. According to my studies, what I described as light from the Lord is probably more akin to flames, endowing the lower figures with power more than knowledge. The entire work is in Latin; the headline text “Audivimus” translates to “we have been hearing”, referring to the figures of authority in the monastery in which this work was created.

Illuminated works such as these took years upon years to construct, and each one was unique even if it were of a series. The expert design and dutiful effort required to create such a massive project is clearly seen in this example of a single page that is both illustration and manuscript from this lost art.