Illuminated Manuscripts

Ancient books tirelessly crafted by clerics and scribes in the middle ages are referred to as "Illuminated Manuscripts".  The elaborately decorated pages of these books are adorned with Celtic knots, acanthus leaves, Gothic calligraphy, gold leafing and beautiful illustrations.  This week we will be doing a number of drawing exercises designed to teach some of the techniques used by these craftsmen. 

Once we have completed these exercises we will begin with the actual project which will be to create a page of an Illuminated Manuscript. Each student's page must include the four basic elements of most illuminated manuscript pages: 1- a decorative border, 2- an illustration, 3- cursive or calligraphy, 4- A large decorative letter (the first letter of your calligraphy paragraph)