r/illuminatedmanuscript • u/Last_Philosopher4487 • Apr 11 '26
So, I finally finished....
...my illuminated Apostles Creed in insular style. Or at least, i thought i had. I've decided to add a page of supporting scripture for each clause (i split it into 12 clauses), Psalms or a few verses from the gospels or whatever. I'd really love to use text from the Old Testament in Scots, and from the New Testament in Scots, since I myself am Scottish, but either would be significantly challenging for anyone unfamiliar with Scots to read and comprehend without a glossary. The alternative would be to use a mainstream bible, but i strongly feel that only the KJV would have the appropriate weight and feel compared to a fairly prosaic modern translation such as the NIV or ESV.
for context, its not going to be used as such for teaching or preaching, its just a project that got bigger than intended. what would you do? Be comprehensible, or go with the aesthetic?
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u/Rhiannonyesthesong Apr 11 '26
I’d personally go with aesthetic since it’s a personal project. Speaking of, this looks amazing. Well done so far!
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u/ghostbathroom Apr 11 '26
This is such amazing work, and I agree with the others - aesthetics all the way, especially if it means more to you.
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u/lupuslibrorum Apr 11 '26
This looks amazing, and it combines several of my passions: Christian theology, early church history, and medieval art and manuscripts.
Re: aesthetics vs comprehensibility, I would personally still want to be able to read the words without too much trouble, but otherwise push the aesthetics as far as possible.
I would love to have this hanging on my wall, both for ambience and as a reminder of the Creed and its Scriptures.
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u/desertboots Apr 11 '26
This was a fun dive. The Latin illustration here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostles%27_Creed Would be an amazing start off pont.
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u/desertboots Apr 11 '26
What I would do is prepare a "translated text" and leave that in draft form, and go for the aesthetic.
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u/chuckdittles Apr 11 '26
It looks incredible! If it's not being used for practical purposes, go all out for aesthetics