For example, the 13th chapter of 2 Corinthians (2 Cor.

Each new section begins in this manuscript with blue initials decorated with red pen-flourishing and accompanied by chapter numbers in blue ink. To arrange the text clearly for the reader, each biblical book is then sub-divided into numbered chapters. 263v) and the letter ‘F'(ratribus) from 2 Maccabees (f. There are many undated manuscripts and it is often difficult to date them even within a decade or a quarter of a century. A clear distinction with the medieval manuscripts, however, is difficult to make. The use of gold in manuscripts is often referred to as illumination, as the gold literally illuminates or lights up the page to readers.ĭecorated initials of the letter ‘E'(t) from the Book of Jonah (left, TCD MS 35, f. The domain of the post-medieval manuscripts and private archives covers the period from about 1550 to the present. Biblical prologues also open with smaller initials with gold decoration. Capping our last post on medieval heraldry, this weeks post is dedicated to heraldic headgear and the stories it can tell us. The image is decorated in rich colours including gold, signalling to the reader the start of the Book of Jonah.Īs well as scenes relating directly to the main text, some initials also feature scenes from the life of Christ such as the opening of 2 Maccabees which opens with a decorated ‘F’( ratribus) initial of a man kneeling in prayer before the Virgin and Child. Jonah is depicted again on the right, being thrown from the galley ship by sailors into the mouth of the whale. Jonah is depicted first on the left, turned from God above to avoid His command to travel to Nineveh. The Book of Jonah opens with a decorated ‘E’( t) initial, inhabited by several figures. The European Manuscripts Collection held at the University of. To search a collection, you can usually bring up. The beginning of each new book in this medieval Bible opens with a decorated initial of the first letter of the opening word of text. Blog post written and online exhibition curated by Joanna Hulin, Reading Room Assistant. 55,000 Pages of Medieval Manuscripts digitized in The Netherlands The Vatican and Oxford University team up to digitize 1. Many sites will link you to collection highlights, providing quick access to masterpieces of manuscript art. Luxury manuscripts feature decoration to accompany the main text, and some forms of decoration functioned as visual navigational aids to the reader. The rubric opening (Incipit liber danielis) of the Book of Daniel (TCD MS 35, f.

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