The Cartulary of Mont-Saint-Michel is a collection of

illuminated manuscript An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared manuscript, document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as marginalia, borders and Miniature (illuminated manuscript), miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Churc ...

charters A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the reci ...

from

Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey The Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey is an abbey located within the city and island of Mont-Saint-Michel in Normandy, in the department of Manche. The abbey is an essential part of the structural composition of the town the feudal society constructed. ...

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

. It was begun in the mid-12th century in the abbey's

scriptorium A scriptorium () was a writing room in medieval European monasteries for the copying and illuminating of manuscripts by scribes. The term has perhaps been over-used—only some monasteries had special rooms set aside for scribes. Often they ...

, but more documents were added up to the 14th century. It is currently kept in the ancient collection of the Bibliothèque Intercommunale,

Avranches Avranches (; ) is a commune in the Manche department, and the region of Normandy, northwestern France. It is a subprefecture of the department. The inhabitants are called ''Avranchinais''. History Middle Ages By the end of the Roman period, th ...

(MS. 210).

History

The cartulary was intended to compile the temporal charters of

. Its precise date is debated by historians, with some arguing from the dates contained in the oldest charters that it was initiated by Bernard the Venerable, abbot until 1149, then continued under his successor . This corresponds to an eventful period for the abbey during which its privileges were contested by the

Dukes of Normandy In the Middle Ages, the duke of Normandy was the ruler of the Duchy of Normandy in north-western Kingdom of France, France. The duchy arose out of a grant of land to the Viking leader Rollo by the French king Charles the Simple in 911. In 924 an ...

. The cartulary would have served to justify these privileges granted by the Pope, the King of France and the former dukes. For others, compilation began only under the abbacy of

Robert of Torigni Robert of Torigni or Torigny (; –1186), also known as Robert of the Mont (; ; also Robertus de Monte Sancti Michaelis, in reference to the abbey of Mont Saint-Michel), was a Norman monk, prior, and abbot. He is most remembered for his chronicl ...

, in 1154. It seems that a first part is dated before 1154 and that additional parts were added in another writing between 1155 and 1159. Other elements, charters and other texts, were added in the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries. When the abbey closed during the French Revolution, all the books kept there were transferred to

, along with those from the other libraries of the abbeys in the district, while the archives were transferred to

Saint-Lô Saint-Lô (, ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in northwest France, the capital of the Manche department in the region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy.bombardment of the city in 1944.

Description

The text

This is a manuscript of 138 bound folios, containing: * ff.3–4^v. A chronicle of the translation of the relics of Saint Magloire from to the in Paris (''Translatio sancti Maglorii''). This is a later addition to the beginning of the cartulary, dated to the end of the 12th century. * ff.5–10. A history of the apparition of

Saint Michael Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second- ...

to Saint Aubert (''Revelatio''), then a summary history of

. * ff.10–15. A history of the installation of the monks of the abbey, which evokes the arrival of the first

Benedictines The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...

Mont-Saint-Michel Mont-Saint-Michel (; Norman: ''Mont Saint Miché''; ) is a tidal island and mainland commune in Normandy, France. The island lies approximately off France's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and is in ...

(''Introductio monachorum''). Followed by a false

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not Castration, castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e. cows proper), bulls have long been an important symbol cattle in r ...

Pope John XIII Pope John XIII (; ca. 930 – 6 September 972) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 1 October 965 to his death. His pontificate was caught up in the continuing conflict between the Holy Roman emperor, Otto I, and the Roman n ...

and a diploma of king Lothair. * ff.17–112^v. The cartulary proper, with a difference in hand between the charters before 1154 (ff.17–108) and those dated after. * ff.112^v–118. Various literary and historical texts from the 12th to the 14th centuries: an abridged chronicle of Mont-Saint-Michel from the abbacy of Robert de Torigny, various charters and documents dated up to 1337/1345, then some texts from the 14th century.

The decoration

The original cartulary of the manuscript, dated to the middle of the 12th century, is decorated with several ornate initials: they are placed at the beginning of each charter. The letters are very little varied, as it is most often an "I" or "L", but each letter has a different decoration. The initials of the oldest part are black in colour, and contain fantastic animals mixed with interlacing:

unicorn The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since Classical antiquity, antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn (anatomy), horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unico ...

s, billy

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...

owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

s and

werewolves In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshift into a wolf, or especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf–humanlike creature, either purposely or after bei ...

, inspired by ''

Physiologus The ''Physiologus'' () is a didactic Christian text written or compiled in Greek by an unknown author in Alexandria. Its composition has been traditionally dated to the 2nd century AD by readers who saw parallels with writings of Clement of Alexa ...

'' or by folklore. Other initials are blue or red. The manuscript also contains four miniatures covering all or most of their page: * The apparition of Saint Michael to Saint Aubert (f.4^v): The legend behind the first religious foundation of Mont-Saint-Michel. The miniature, unlike the others, is embellished with gold. * The privilege of Pope John XIII: it illustrates the pope's bull authorizing the Benedictines to settle on the Mount in 965, Abbot receiving his document; then its confirmation by King Lothaire and by Duke

Richard I of Normandy Richard I (28 August 932 – 20 November 996), also known as Richard the Fearless (French: ''Richard Sans-Peur''; Old Norse: ''Jarl Rikard''), was the count of Rouen from 942 to 996.Detlev Schwennicke, ''Europäische Stammtafeln, Europäische S ...

. * The donation of Duchess

Gunnor Gunnor or Gunnora ( – ) was Duchess of Normandy by marriage to Richard I of Normandy, having previously been his long-time mistress. She functioned as regent of Normandy during the absence of her spouse, as well as the adviser to him and later to ...

(f.23^v) In 1015, widow of Duke Richard, she is the donor of much land for the abbey. She is represented in the company of her son Robert the Dane,

archbishop of Rouen The Archdiocese of Rouen (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Rothomagensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Rouen'') is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. As one of the fifteen Archbishops of France, the Archbishop of Rouen's ecclesi ...

and makes an act of donation to Abbot . * The last large miniature (f.25v.) Represents Duke Robert of Normandy ceding his rights over the abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel to the archangel who immediately cedes them to the abbot, then, just below, perhaps

Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex. Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...

making a donation to Saint Michael of

St Michael's Mount St Michael's Mount (, meaning "Hoarfrost, hoar rock in woodland") is a tidal island in Mount's Bay near Penzance, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The island is a Civil parishes in England, civil parish and is linked to the town of Marazion ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

by the symbol of the gift of a glove on an altar. The style of these miniatures is not inspired by the Norman Romanesque illumination of this period, but is similar to that of illuminations made on the banks of the

Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...

or in the region of

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

, certain details being reminiscent of the stained glass windows of

Le Mans Cathedral Le Mans Cathedral ( French: ''Cathédrale St-Julien du Mans'') is a Catholic church situated in Le Mans, France. The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Julian of Le Mans, the city's first bishop, who established Christianity in the area around the b ...

. It is possible that the illuminator who came to decorate the work in the scriptorium of the Mount came from this city. He may have been a layman.

Editions

* *

Notes

References

* * {{cite book , last1=Poulle , first1=Emmanuel , author-link1=Emmanuel Poulle , last2=Bouet , first2=Pierre , author-link2=Pierre Bouet , last3=Desbordes , first3=Olivier , date=2005 , title=Cartulaire du Mont Saint-Michel: fac-similé du manuscrit 210 de la Bibliothèque municipale d'Avranches , location=Le Mont-Saint-Michel , publisher=Les Amis du Mont-Saint-Michel , language=fr , isbn=2952490805

External links

The cartulary at Initiale: Catalogue de manuscrits enluminés

Reproduction of the cartulary at BVMM: Bibliothèque virtuelle des manuscrits médiévaux
12th-century illuminated manuscripts History of Normandy Manuscripts in Latin