This motif was extensively used during the 12th century.ĭuring the 14th century, the illuminated lettering and the paintings had a similar character. It looks like the favourite animal introduced in ornamental design during the Middle Ages was the lizard, its form made to harmonize with various design curves. 980.Ĭopies of the Bible were frequently of a great size, and the letters at the beginning of books and chapters were on a corresponding scale, with highly accurate and intricate scroll work. 973, and the Benedictional of Archbishop Robert at Rouen, c. Magnificent examples are the The Benedictional of St. Towards the close of the 10th century, the Hiberno-Saxon illuminated manuscripts were remarkable for correctness of design, and a richness superior to any work executed on the Continent. Dotted red lines were used round the edge of large letters. These patterns were sometimes interwoven with animals, and terminations in heads of serpents, or birds. The Irish school of Illumination has a distinct lettering style, with a particular design and execution, marked by extreme intricacy of pattern, and interlacings of knots in a diagonal or square form. They could be composed of human figures, animals, birds, fish, or flowers. The initial letters of early manuscripts were not distinguished in size from the rest of the text, which was written in capitals, and the color scheme was simpler than the one used at the end of the 7th century.įrom the 7th to the 11th century, at the beginning of books and chapters, the initial letters are of a larger size. In the Byzantine Empire, the usage of writing whole pages in gold continued to its latest period. This time, however, a different technique was used, the gilding being applied in leaves, not in a liquid state. Writing in gold was less used in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries, but came again into favour in the 14th, particularly in devotional books of high rank persons. Illuminated lettering of gold on white vellum is chiefly confined to the 8th, 9th, and 10th centuries. Manuscripts illuminated throughout are hard to find, the artist decorating mostly the title, preface, or canon of the mass. In the 8th and 9th centuries, the colour, be it purple, violet, or rose, is no longer as bright and beautiful as in the preceding centuries. The taste for gold and purple illuminated letters reached England at the close of the 7th century, when Wilfred, Archbishop of York, enriched his church with a copy of the Gospels. It depicts Bernard of Clairvaux, founder of the Cistercian order.The process of laying and burnishing gold and silver is old, and was enhanced in the Byzantine Empire by writing with such letters on vellum, stained in purple or rose color. Historiated initial B from a 13th century illuminated illuminated manuscript: Legenda Aurea (Keble MS 49, fol 162r). Scenes from the Old Testament and New Testament, the life of Christ, and saints or other important religious figures were common subjects for historiated initials in sacred texts. By Eadfrith (Lindisfarne Gospels, c 700 AD), via Wikimedia Commons.Finally, key sections of a text often commence with large initials framing vignettes relating to the subject matter of the section – these are called “historiated initials”. In this selection from the famed Lindisfarne Gospels (BL Cotton MS Nero D IV), the elaborate Greek letters chi and rho take up much of the page. Initials are often highly-detailed and elaborately-decorated. They can be larger than the surrounding text as well as larger or smaller than other initials the size of the letter starting a paragraph or section can be taken to indicate that section’s importance relative to other sections. Also note that some lines are completely in red ink. Larger, colored initials set off the beginnings of different sections in this manuscript page. In fact, quite a few modern-day fonts have their origins in the world of manuscripts. They divided up the text, making it easier to read and indicating where important sections began and ended. There are many different ways that initials can be differentiated from each other. They may be in different colored ink than the surrounding text, or they can be written in different styles of lettering. In medieval manuscripts, capital letters, termed “initials”, often served functions similar to line breaks, chapters, or subheadings. Today, I want to take a look at capital letters in manuscripts. Decorated initial ‘S'(anctissimo) at the beginning of Bede’s life of Cuthbert.
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