The Black Death and Medieval Art
Images of the Macabre in Illuminated Manuscripts
Images of death and the macabre produced during the Medieval era were highly influenced by the Black Plague that spread across Europe during the mid-14th century.
The Black Death and Visual Imagery
Images of death and the macabre produced during the Medieval era were highly influenced by the Black Plague that spread across Europe during the mid-14th century. Two examples illustrating this include The Psalter and Hours of Bonne de Luxembourg (69.86) from the Cloisters Collection, and a manuscript from the Pierpont Morgan Library depicting The Three Living and The Three Dead (MS G.14, fol. 114r).
Description of Imagery
The Psalter and Book of Hours of Bonne de Luxembourg depicts the legend of The Three Living and The Three Dead. On the left, three men on horseback are depicted. The posture of these figures, as well as the horses they are riding, appears contorted. The men raise and flail their hands and arms. Their clothing billows against a stark red background. All the figures glance over toward the right, and glare at their deathly counterparts. On the right page, three skeletons are depicted. Two have fragments of flesh remaining, and are draped in tattered, white linen. The one furthest to the right displays his inside organs. All three figures stand erect against a dark purple background. The result is ominous and foreboding. In the background, small amounts of foliage and open wooden coffins are shown behind each figure. As the skeleton becomes more decayed, the foliage decreases. The artist is attempting to convey the loss of life here.
Underneath both of the illustrated images is lavishly designed text and family emblems, which are surrounded by small mythological creatures. The illustration and the text itself is further surrounded by an elaborate gold leaf frame intertwined with red, blue and brown branches. Several birds are shown resting on the leaves. They are quite detailed and natural-looking, perhaps even more so than the human figures themselves. Each distinct marking of their feathers has been carefully rendered. Also, one draped figure in the left hand corner of the page appears to hide its face from the horrific images below.
Like the Psalter, the manuscript from the Pierpont Morgan Library also depicts the legend of The Three Living and The Three Dead. There are several differences however. In this manuscript, the scene has been reduced to a single page rather than two. Three men stand near a coffin filled with three skeletons, as an older man appears to point toward the deceased. The posture and facial expressions of these figures do not appear as frantic as the Psalter figures. Rather, they appear composed. The skeletons themselves are all adorned with crowns. Two lie almost completely in the coffin, and one appears to sit up. These skeletons are not the horrific beings seen in the Psalter, but remain unemotional and lifeless.
The Legend of "The Three Living and The Three Dead"
The legend of The Three Living and The Three Dead became popular in the mid-14th century, when the Black Death began to spread across Europe. Joseph Polzer, a medieval historian, states "the extreme and indiscriminate morality of the black death influenced the late medieval preoccupation with death. This is unquestionable." ( Williman, Daniel. The Black Death and The Impact of the 14th Century Plague)
Polzer argues that one of the best works depicting scenes of death from the late medieval era - The Triumph of Death, in Campo Santo - inspired later images of the same type. This includes the Psalter of Bonne of Luxembourg, which was illustrated by Jean Pucelle. Polzer believes Pucelle must have based his depiction of the Three Living and The Three Dead from this earlier fresco. In the left-hand corner of The Triumph of Death, three open coffins and three horsemen are depicted. The posture of the horsemen is quite similar to the ones in the Psalter, while the open coffins share similarities with the one depicted in the Milan Manuscript.
Since many images inspired by the Black Death were copied by artists, this subject matter continued to be popular up until the Renaissance. Even though these images were constantly copied, their meaning changed over time. The manuscript from Milan does not contain the same cryptic images from the Psalter. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the Psalter was created around the time of the plague itself, and not years later. The Psalter therefore, contains the essence of medieval thought during the plague. One can truly sense the frantic atmosphere, fear the decomposing images, and glance away at the horrors depicted. The manuscript from Milan does not contain these elements.
Outside Influences
Other forces that inspired images of death and the macabre included the re-interest in alchemy, and changes in scientific theory. The practice of alchemy itself began long before the medieval era, starting with Greek colonists in Late Classical Egypt. Alchemy itself is "the tradition of craftsmanship in metallurgy, an art that was practised from the earliest times." Alchemists wanted to find a cure to life’s eternal dilemnas: growing old, getting sick and finding the human "soul." Through the pracise of metallurgy, alchemists believed they could find the essence to all life, or locate the most primitive of earth’s material.
During the Black Plague, a surge of alchemists began their quest for eternal life. By experimenting with various materials, they hoped to find a cure for this crippling disease.
While the science itself gained interest, a new system of alchemic images were being translated through illustrated manuscripts. Symbolic imagery, in which hidden meanings were placed throughout the illustration, became very important for these scientists. Since alchemy was banned, and sometimes considered Satanic in parts of Europe, alchemists needed to develop a secret language in order to communicate amongst themselves. Since alchemists were interested in the ressurrection of the human body after death, images of corpses and the dead were often portrayed in their manuscripts. Supernatural images, mythological beasts and images of the cosmos were also common themes.
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