Illuminated+Letters

Illuminated letters/manuscripts were letters that were detailed and embellished with lots of colors (especially gold and silver) and designs. Illuminated letters were usually made by monks. They used ink on parchment paper to create them. Illuminated letters are found in many of the books written in medieval times. It is said that sometimes the monks who made the books used these fancy letters to cover up their mistakes.

Illuminated letters were important because reading was done by only a few people, usually royals and religious leaders and because they were so important the beauty of the text was valued. Illuminated letters were considered high quality and expensive because they were letters made with gold and silver. The regular people couldn't afford them only the rich people could. When the Gutenberg press came out they weren't so expensive because the writing was then printed. Illuminated letters date back to 1310 B.C. In the 1400’s illuminated letters were not as popular as before. In the 7th century it became a highly respected art form. There were 3 people involved in the creation of illuminations. The parchmenter ( who prepared the drawing and writing service), the scribe (copied information on to each page), then the illuminator (created the illuminated letters and other decorations on each page).

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The first step in making an illuminated letter was to make an outline of a letter with lead ponte or a quillink. Then the monk would paint the areas to receive leaf with sticky substance, such as, bole (a refined red clay) or gum ammonia c (sap). Illuminated letters got their name because “Illuminated” means light and the monks used a lot of gold and because of the impression, light was shining through the book. Also in the making of illuminated letters, they cut the parchment into size then the parchment showed finished skin to the scribe. Then they prickled the parchment to make the lines. They made the quill pens to write on the illuminated letters. They ruled the lines to the paper to see where they wrote. Then they erased the script so they could reuse it. Then they bound the manuscript and the last thing was the book is filled with ivory, gems and jewels. =====












































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