viernes, agosto 28, 2009

Miniatura románica. Una entrevista con Robert Maxwell. - Romanesque miniature. An interview with Robert Maxwell.

Como ya habíamos avanzado, el profesor asociado de la Universidad de Pennsylvania, Robert A. Maxwell, investigador que ha realizado una estancia en el ACS para interesarse por la miniatura del siglo XII, ha respondido amablemente a varias cuestiones que le hemos realizado. Como podréis leer, nos ha proporcionado una interesante información y perspectiva acerca de su trabajo y, más concretamente, de la miniatura y códices medievales. A continuación ofrecemos la breve entrevista, inaugurando un nuevo formato y contenido en Archivium. El texto se encuentra en inglés, pero esperamos poder ofrecer una traducción en breve; por ahora, aquí va la entrevista original.
Mr. Robert A. Maxwell (University of Pennsylvania), we are very pleased to talk with you and that you have agreed to answer some questions about your research. Please describe for us your current project. My current book project is titled Art Inventing History: Picturing the Living Past in the Middle Ages. It aims to offer a broad examination of historical manuscript illustration in the Romanesque and Early Gothic periods. It is well known that in the twelfth century, various types of historical writing flourished at an unprecedented level—chronicles, family genealogies, cartularies, heroic and historicizing epics, and even written accounts of fantastic myths and legends. Occasionally cartularies and chronicles were even illuminated, yet with a few notable exceptions (e.g., Codex Calixtinus, Mont-Saint-Michel Cartulary), these historical works have never garnered much interest from art historians. This is understandable since they contain primarily annalistic texts and legal records, where one might not expect the illustrations to be of much significance. Contrary to expectations, however, the illuminations reveal complex relations to the texts. I hope that the study of these manuscripts (some of which are unpublished) should shed light on the crucial role of images in shaping historical writing and historical perception in the High Middle Ages. Which is the relationship of this project to the sources at Santiago de Compostela? My study of these manuscripts began on a handful of French examples (see “Sealing Signs and the Art of Transcribing in the Vierzon Cartulary,” Art Bulletin, 81, 1999, 576-97), but subsequent research has led me throughout Europe. At Santiago de Compostela, I am interested in two works primarily, the Codex Calixtinus and the Tumbo A, as they represent the Galician interest for illuminating history—history which is, for the one manuscript, “historical” but also legendary, liturgical, and hagiographical, and, for the other, legal and notarial. The Tumbo B comes into play a little in my research, even though it is a thirteenth-century manuscript; it nonetheless demonstrates something of the continuity in the region for illuminating notarial-legal texts. From your point of view, what do believe to have been the role of the miniatures in medieval Galicia? When viewed all together, these illuminated manuscripts can be seen in relation to other works from the kingdom of Castile-León as part of the ideology of the kingdom’s rulers and ecclesiastical elite. Together, they create a powerful picture of the role of history and historical imagination in the twelfth-century political culture of northwestern Spain. You made a research stay at the Archive of the Cathedral of Santiago; what was the main reason for this research trip? Over the past few years I have been visiting various archives and libraries in Spain to track down diverse kinds of illuminated historical manuscripts, research which has taken me to Catalonia, then Aragon, and now Galicia. For each trip, I have had specific questions about certain manuscripts, which was the case at Santiago. But in some cases, I have been surprised to discover unpublished manuscripts and charters that are useful to my project. Each of my trips has led to some surprises. At the Archivo, I was primarily interested in the Codex Calixtinus and the Tumbo A. The major illuminations from each have been published previously, but I wanted to look closely at all of the illuminations and also get a sense for the whole book. The sense of the manuscript’s integrity—its wholeness, size, quality of parchment, ruling, layout—plays a role, I think, in the importance of an illuminated cartulary, of the kinds of messages that its collection of texts and images were meant to convey. Handling the originals also allows one examine closely the painting style and its quality. Photographic reproductions can tell you a lot about an illumination, but they rarely can convey the quality of the painting. And quality is crucial issue for a cartulary: why create a lavish, high-quality manuscript of legal notices? First-hand visits also produce other pleasant surprises: Making your acquaintance, Xosé Manuel Sánchez, was also a wonderful pleasure, since you were able to inform me about your work on Rocha Forte and the possible iconographic relations with the Tumbo B. Of all the funds consulted and investigated, which has been the most relevant thing that you found for the proposed investigation? For one, I discovered that the quality of the Tumbo A illuminations was better than the reproductions lead one to believe. (It is simply a pity that some of the illustrations were “restored” earlier in the century.) The illustration program of the Tumbo A also presented me with a few new questions, which I still need to work out. As for the Codex Calixtinus, I was able to see some of the codicological traits that Diaz y Diaz signals in his important book on the manuscript. At the same time, I can’t agree with his dating, at least as far as the illuminations are concerned. There has obviously been a great deal of scholarly discussion on that question, as well as on the origins of its painting style. I still believe that the artist was trained in western or west-central France (Loire Valley, southern Normandy), but seeing the color palette first-hand and observing the construction of some of the illuminated initials has given me some things to think about. Mr. Maxwell, thanks for your attention and for your interesting answers, collaborating with this blog and the ADM-ACS. Thank you.

lunes, agosto 24, 2009

ACS, Rocha Forte y el mundo militar de la Europa medieval. - ACS, Rocha Forte and the military medieval European world.

El último número de la revista British Archaeological Reports (BAR), en su sección International Series, publicado por Archaeopress bajo el título genérico Archaeotecture: Second Floor, recoge el artículo "The fortress of Rocha Forte and European military building trends. A concentric castle (14th century)", del investigador del ADM-ACS, Xosé M. Sánchez Sánchez. El estudio desarrolla una interpretación de la posible morfología del castillo compostelano y arzobispal de Rocha Forte, cruzando los restos materiales y arqueológicos, las fuentes escritas del Pleito Tabera-Fonseca y la iconografía que muestra el Tumbo B de la Catedral de Santiago (ACS). Se realiza así un análisis de las corrientes constructivas medievales de la Europa de los siglos XIII y XIV, hasta la configuración de A Rocha Forte como un castillo concéntrico, en el primer cuarto del siglo XIV, con el arzobispo D. Berenguel de Landoira.
La referencia completa es:
-SÁNCHEZ SÁNCHEZ, Xosé M., "The fortress of Rocha Forte and European military building trends. A concentric castle (14th century)", British Archaeological Reports International Series, Oxford, 2009, pp. 53-65.
El link al catálogo del BAR, y la página de Archaeopress es:
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The latest number of the magazine British Archaeological Reports (BAR), in his section International Series, published by Archaeopress under the generic title Archaeotecture: Second Floor, publish the article "The fortress of Rocha Forte and European military building trends. To concentric castle (14th century)", of the researcher of the ADM-ACS, Xosé M. Sánchez Sánchez. The study develops an interpretation of the possible morphology of the arzobispal castle from Santiago de Compostela, the Rocha Forte, crossing material and archeological sources, the written sources of the Lawsuit Tabera-Fonseca and the iconography that sows the Tumbo B of Archive of the Cathedral of Santiago (ACS). Here is developed the analysis of medieval constructive currents of the 13th and 14th centuries and the set-up of the Rocha Forte as a concentric castle, in the 14th century, with the archbishop D. Berenguel of Landoira.
The complete reference is:
-SÁNCHEZ SÁNCHEZ, Xosé M., "The fortress of Rocha Forte and European military building trends. A concentric castle (14th century)", British Archaeological Reports International Series, Oxford, 2009, pp. 53-65.
The link to the catalogue of the BAR, and the page of Archaeopress is:

jueves, agosto 20, 2009

Códices medievales de las iglesias gallegas.

En la base de datos Internet Archive (IA), que contiene multitud de obras digitalizadas de diversas universidades e instituciones norteamericanas, hemos localizado, casualmente, la obra de José Villa-Amil y Castro Los códices de las iglesias de Galicia en la edad media; estudio histórico-bibliogràfico. Se trata de un estudio clásico acerca de los códices medievales, repartidos por diversas instituciones y centros, relacionados con instituciones eclesiásticas de la Galicia medieval. Se hace referencia a iglesias como las de Lugo, Mondoñedo, monasterio de Sobrado o la propia iglesia de Santiago, con alusiones a fuentes tanto en Galicia como en otros archivos (Arhivo Histórico Nacional de Madrid, etc.). En el caso compostelano, se alude a los tumbos medievales custodiados en el ACS, como los tumbos A o B (p. 72).
Desde esta referencia de la IA la consulta y descarga en pdf del volumen, procedente de la biblioteca de la Universidad de Toronto, es gratuita. La referencia (con el link) es:

martes, agosto 18, 2009

Códices miniados de época románica. - Romanesque miniature.

El investigador Robert Allan Maxwell, profesor asociado de la Universidad de Pensilvania, ha realizado una estancia de consulta en el ACS, de cara a examinar algunos de los ejemplares de códices miniados de época románica que se custodian. Tal consulta se enmarca en el seno de un proyecto de investigación de la propia Universidad de Pensilvania, en colaboración con la Universidad de Santiago de Compostela.
La investigación, en el caso del ACS, se ha centrado en el Tumbo A, el Códice Calixtino, del siglo XII, y el Tumbo B, que aunque se data en el siglo XIV ha sido considerado de interés.
Esperamos poder ofrecer mayor información acerca de este proyecto y las fuentes compostelanas en los próximos días.
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The researcher Robert Allan Maxwell, associate professor of the University of Pennsylvania, made an research stay in the ACS, for examining some codex and drawing of romanesque period. This enquiry is related with one project of the University of Pennsylvania, in collaboration with the University of Santiago de Compostela.
The research, in the case of the ACS, had his strongpoints at the Tumbo A, the Codex Calixtino and the Tumbo B, dated in the 14th century but considered of interest.
We hope being able to offer more information about this project and the sources of Santiago de Compostela in the next few days.