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Boethius
(c.480524)
De Musica Copied in 1150
Courtesy of the Manuscripts and Archives
Collection. Alexander Turnbull Library.
National Library of New Zealand. Te Puna
Mätauranga o Aoteraoa.
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Boethius
De Musica
1150
This
manuscript probably dates from the first half
of the twelfth century. It was written on vellum
(prepared animal skin), possibly in the scriptorium
or manuscript copying room of Christ Church, Canterbury,
England. It is considered to be a particularly
fine example of medieval illumination.
The
volume contains influential texts on music. Shown
here is a part of De Musica (formally titled
De Institutione Musica) by Anicius Manlius
Torquatus Severinus Boethius (c.480–525). Boethius
is regarded as one of the greatest of the early
medieval scholars. He is widely known for his
work De Consolatione Philosophiae, which
proposed the pursuit of wisdom and the love of
God as the essentials of human happiness.
Several
of his works mention music. In particular his
first works dealt with the four mathematical disciplines
of ancient times: arithmetic, music, geometry
and astronomy. Of these, only the one on arithmetic,
and part of De Institutione Musica, survive,
but the latter expresses the substance of his
musical thought and was enormously important to
the history of music, having influenced Western
musical thought for almost 1000 years, and as
one of the earliest works of musical theory in
the Western world.
The
illustrations in this manuscript of De Musica
emphasise key points in the text, and are part
of an integrated decorative program of explanatory
diagrams in which utility and beauty combine.
They show a Norman French influence and may have
been executed by a scribe and artist trained in
France. Here, a numerical table and proportional
diagrams are balanced by an elephant and framed
by twin towers, with soldiers peering over the
battlements. The diagram summarises the previous
text, while the image of the elephant—symbol of
memory—reinforces its mnemonic quality. The diagrams
display both grace and precision, and their fine
labelling links together the script, the decoration
and the explanation.
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