Ottoman Manuscript "Woman Gazing at her Reflection"

 In order to consider the role of the scribe, I will be looking at a manuscript folio from Ottoman Turkey, thought to be created circa 1560 CE. This is later than what is generally classified as Medieval, but this piece nonetheless gives us information about the scribe and what his role was in the Middle Ages and beyond. The pages illustrate a scene from the Rawda al-Ushshaq (Garden of Lovers), an allegorical tale laced with Sufi themes. This scene captures the moment in which Alexander the Great finds a woman gazing at her reflection in a pool of water and is inspired to create a mirror out of glass.

The reason I feel that this artifact is appropriate for discussing Medieval scribes is that calligraphy seems to be a timeless art that transcends the Middle Ages. It seems to me that the scribe, like a priest, was so important in a religious culture that his role was unchanging. In the pre-printing age, writing was a sacred tradition and the job of the scribe was to continue this tradition from one era to the next. This folio is an example of a respected religious text represented using classic methods of calligraphy and drawing, and I believe this highlights the enduring importance of the scribe during and after the Middle Ages.

It is also worth noting that the scribe is anonymous (all sources say 'artist unknown'). This was at first curious to me since it seemed logical for the creator of such beautiful and culturally significant texts to be celebrated. However, I have come to think that perhaps the anonymity contributes to the scribe's role as a deliverer of holy words. His job was to inspire in readers an admiration for the heavens. To draw attention to himself may have been disrespectful to the God he sought to represent.