Many\u00a0medieval manuscripts<\/strong>\u00a0are full of decorated capital letters that add colour to the page. They come in all styles and sizes, but what exactly are they and what was their purpose?<\/p>\n The word illuminate, in the medieval sense, means to decorate with colours. An\u00a0illuminated initial<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is an enlarged and decorated capital letter, the first letter of a section of text. They can vary from the basic\u00a0pen-and-ink drawn letter<\/a>\u00a0to the most elaborate letter painted with gold or silver leaf. Text and\u00a0illumination<\/strong>\u00a0were complementary and were either closely related or sharply contrasted. Instead of initials, many Hebrew manuscripts have decorated\u00a0initial-word panels<\/a>. There is no distinction between upper and lower case in Hebrew, so the entire\u00a0first word was often decorated<\/a>. These initials, like other painted elements, were added after the text had been copied, often by a different person \u2013 an\u00a0illuminator<\/strong><\/a>. Space for these letters was marked out and left blank while the\u00a0scribe<\/strong>\u00a0worked, with just a\u00a0small guide letter<\/a>\u00a0marked so the illuminator would know which letter to paint. In some manuscripts the\u00a0initials were never added<\/a>\u00a0and you can see the space that was reserved for them.<\/p>\n Illuminated initials could have several purposes in medieval manuscripts. The most obvious is their decorative or aesthetic value. They could also be used to illustrate the text, in addition to or instead of miniatures.Historiated initials<\/a>\u00a0show a scene or a recognisable person that relates to the text, in and around the shape of the letter. Sometimes illuminated initials contrast with the text: they might show irreverent or humorous figures and scenes.<\/p>\n Beyond decoration and illustration, the primary role of illuminated initials was more practical. They provide a visual point of reference, marking the division of the text into books, chapters, paragraphs and sometimes even verses. Unlike books published today, medieval manuscripts don\u2019t have title pages and new chapters don\u2019t generally start on a new page, because parchment was costly and the space on the page had to be used carefully.<\/p>\n Illuminated initials can look very different from one manuscript to another, and even within the same manuscript. This may depend on several factors:<\/p>\n Styles and techniques particular to one region would spread as scribes and illuminators travelled and exchanged ideas and techniques. One example of this is the\u00a0Channel School<\/a>. This style of illumination flourished on either side of the English Channel during the 11th and 12th centuries, and also influenced illuminators as far away as Bavaria and Bohemia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What is an illuminated initial?<\/h4>\n
What are they for?<\/h4>\n
Different types, different styles<\/h4>\n
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