A Single Leaf from The Book Of Hours

The Illuminated Manuscript

Illuminated manuscripts are books which have been written and decorated by hand. In the Middle Ages, manuscripts were written and painted on PARCHMENT (vellum) made from the skins of animals. The color and texture of the parchment vary according to the method of preparing the skins and type of animal used.

Cows, sheep, goats, squirrels, and possibly even dogs and cats were used to make the parchment.

The beautiful, handwritten texts were created by SCRIBES (either professional individuals or monks) who learned to write in many different types of script.

Calligraphers today continue the tradition and compose signs and invitations.

The adornment of the book, or ILLUMINATION, depended on the skill of the illuminator and the wealth of the person who commissioned the book. Individual pages could receive such decorations as: DECORATED INITIALS, BORDERS, LINE ENDINGS, DROLLERIES (human or animal figures in the borders of a page, often fantastical), and MINIATURES (fine small paintings). The artist worked with natural substances, such as red clay, the woad plant, and brazil wood. Gold, silver, and lapis lazuli were also used. Gold was applied to the page in two ways, either burnished (the shiny form of gold, polished with an animal tooth) or liquid (applied as paint in a liquid suspension).

This is an original page, or leaf, from a medieval BOOK OF HOURS, a book with prayers for private devotions. It was written and decorated by hand over five hundred years ago.