Theophilus Presbyter
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Theophilus Presbyter (approx. 1070-1125) was a Benedictine monk and author of a Latin text containing detailed descriptions of various medieval applied arts. The collection of his writings is designated Schedula diversarum artium ("List of various arts") or De diversibus artibus ("On various arts") and was written between 1100 and 1120. The oldest handwritten copies of the work are found in Vienna (Austrian National Library, Codex 2527) and in Wolfenbüttel (Herzog-August-Bibliothek, Codex Guelf 69). Gotthold Ephraim Lessing rediscovered the document when he worked as librarian in Wolfenbüttel.
Theophilus' Schedula allows detailed insights into the techniques used in the applied arts in the high Middle Ages. The work is divided into three volumes. The first covers the production and use of painting and drawing materials (painting techniques, paints, and inks), especially for illumination of texts and painting of walls. The second deals with the production of stained glass and techniques of glass painting, while the last deals with various techniques of goldsmithing. It also includes an introduction into the building of organs. The work has been translated into English, French, Polish, Hungarian, and German, mostly in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Based on recent research (particularly by Eckhard Freise), it seems likely that Theophilus is the same person as the artisan monk Roger of Helmarshausen. Roger appears to have come from the Stavelot monastery in the Meuse River region. He was active as an artist and author between 1100 and 1107 in St. Pantaleon's church in Cologne, moving to the monastery in Helmarshausen in 1107. The identity of the two men has been argued among researchers for some time, but Freise's conclusions have not yet been accepted by all researchers.
Theophilus, as the author of a "handbook", could be described as the theorist, where Roger is a well-known practitioner of the arts. At least two portable altars were created by Rogerus, both kept in the Cathedral Treasury at Paderborn. Rogerus also founded an artisan's workshop in the monastery at Helmarshausen, which produced several important works in the Romanesque style in the 12th century, including various illuminated codices, including the Book of the Gospels of Henry the Lion as well as many pieces of jewellery.
[edit] Works
- De diversis artibus or Schedula diversarum artium (3 volumes, approx. 1125)
[edit] References
Two editions of Theophilus's work in English:
- Dodwell, C.R. The various arts. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1986.
- Hendrie R. Of many arts. London, 1847, 1961
The following references are in German:
- Brepohl, E. Theophilus Presbyter und das mittelalterliche Kunsthandwerk. Cologne, 1999. (2 volumes).
- Freise, E. "Roger von Helmarshausen in seiner monastischen Umwelt". In Frühmittelalterliche Studien, 15, 1981.
- Ilg, A. (Editor). "Theophilus Presbyter. Schedula diversarum artium". In Quellenschriften für Kunstgeschichte, volume 7. Vienna, 1874.
- Lessing, Gotthold Ephraim. Vom Alter der Ölmalerey aus dem Theophilus Presbyter. Berlin, 1774.
- Theobald, W. Technik des Kunsthandwerks im 10. Jh. Des T. Schedula Diversarum Artium, Berlin, 1933, 1953 and 1981. (Includes translations and explanations of sections of the work.)
