During the Early Medieval era illuminated manuscripts took the place of more traditional painting techniques. How did Classical and Byzantine art influence the form and function of these richly decorated manuscripts?
I think the manuscripts are highly influenced by Byzantine. The idea of being highly illuminated is recognized in this early medieval era as well as the Byzantine, the use of gold, and decorative edges, etc. The medieval era just expanded the decorativeness. I suppose it can be tied to the classical era with their attention to detail, and a little bit of the repetitive design.