How Medieval Manuscripts Were Made: New Getty Exhibition

Starting next month, visitors to the Getty Center in Los Angeles will get a firsthand look at the intricate process of creating medieval manuscripts, from preparing animal skins to binding completed books. Featuring Christian, Jewish and Muslim works, the exhibition will highlight the materials, tools and specialised skills employed by medieval scribes across the medieval world.

“ The Making of a Medieval Manuscript ” will open at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles on August 4, 2026, and continue until March 14, 2027. It will examine manuscript production across Europe and the Mediterranean region during the medieval period, from approximately 500 to 1500.

“The works on view in this exhibition reflect the linguistic and cultural diversity represented in the Getty Museum’s collection of manuscripts,” said Timothy Potts, Maria Hummer-Tuttle and Robert Tuttle Director of the Getty Museum. “Revealing the intricate process of creation behind these artistic masterpieces will give visitors a sense of the extraordinary skill and artistry that went into producing books by hand in the Middle Ages.”

The exhibition will follow the manuscript-making process from beginning to end, exploring parchment production, writing, illumination and binding. Samples of the tools and materials used during each stage will accompany manuscripts from the Getty’s collection.

Before a medieval manuscript could be written or decorated, its parchment pages had to be prepared. Parchment was typically produced using the skins of calves, sheep or goats.

The animal pelts were soaked in a caustic lime solution to loosen their fur, cleaned with water and stretched tightly across wooden frames. Craftspeople then used knives with curved blades to scrape the surfaces repeatedly until the parchment reached the desired thinness and smoothness.

The exhibition will demonstrate the considerable work required through a manuscript containing a collection of chess problems. Its pages were made from calfskin and carefully scraped and sanded to remove traces of the animal’s hair follicles.

Once prepared, the parchment was ruled using a stylus, lead point or coloured ink. These guidelines allowed scribes to write evenly across the page with quill pens, commonly made from goose or swan feathers.

One of the manuscripts illustrating this stage is the French work known as “The Story of Two Lovers.” The pages feature horizontal lines ruled in pink ink to guide the scribe. Spaces were also reserved for narrative illuminations, although some were never completed, while painted decorations in the margins were filled with blue, green, red and yellow leaves.

After the text was written, manuscript painters, commonly known as illuminators, could add painted decoration and gold leaf. Gold was an expensive material and therefore used carefully, while pigments were derived from minerals, plants and insects or produced through chemical processes.

Among the works featured will be the “Rothschild Pentateuch,” a richly illuminated Jewish manuscript containing the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. One of its displayed pages is decorated with gold and silver leaf, together with an array of pigments that includes lead white, orange-toned lead red, organic pink, copper green and azurite blue.

The manuscript demonstrates the variety of materials available to medieval illuminators, as well as the planning and technical expertise required to bring writing, decoration and precious metals together on a single page.

Writing and illumination did not complete the process. Individual parchment sheets still had to be assembled into a durable book.

The sheets were folded and placed inside one another to form groups known as gatherings. These were sewn onto supports that were subsequently threaded through wooden boards cut to match the dimensions of the manuscript. The boards became the book’s front and back covers and were frequently covered with leather.

A large Christian Bible included in the exhibition demonstrates this stage of production. Its heavy wooden boards are covered in leather, while metal corner fittings sit over pieces of coloured parchment. Two strong clasps were added to keep the parchment folios flat when the book was closed.

“Despite many differences between medieval manuscripts and modern books, much of what is familiar about the modern book came from how they were made a thousand years ago,” said Nancy Turner, conservator of manuscripts at the Getty Museum. “I hope this exhibition draws in makers of all kinds as well as students and visitors who return regularly to Getty to see these fascinating and precious objects.”

Turner is the curator of “The Making of a Medieval Manuscript,” which expands upon the Getty’s earlier “The Making of a Medieval Book” exhibitions, held in 1998, 2000 and 2003.

Those living in Southern California might want to consider planning two visits to the Getty. On November 24, the museum will rotate the objects on display, allowing visitors to see additional works from its manuscript collection.

Click here to learn more about “The Making of a Medieval Manuscript”

Top Image: “Saint Luke” from Irmengard Codex Shortly after 1053 German Tempera colors, gold, and ink on parchment 22.2 × 18.7 cm (8 3/4 × 7 3/8 in.) Getty Museum Ms. 125 (2023.6), fol. 3v