Ornament as Argument

Book excerpt: This study explores notions of ornamentation and materiality in 10th and 11th century manuscript illumination. So-called textile pages evoking the weave patterns of Byzantine and Islamic silk, show that ornament has metaphoric meaning and serves distinct functions in religious art. A contextualized reading investigates the ways in which textile pages relate to medieval theological issues, the liturgy, and contribute to medieval book culture.