1. Illuminations from the Middle Ages

2. The term ‘manuscript’ comes from the Latin for ‘handwritten’: before the invention of printing all books had to be written out by hand. This was a time-consuming and labor-intensive process, and could take months or years. Some books were made even more precious by ‘illumination’. This term comes from the Latin word for ‘lit up’ or ‘enlightened’ and refers to the use of bright colors and gold to embellish initial letters or to portray entire scenes. Sometimes the initials were purely decorative, but often they work with the text to mark important passages or the meaning of the text.

3. This era, around the year 800 is called the Middle Ages or Medieval period, and lasted nearly 1000 years. Most Europeans could not read or write, so art continued to be an important way to communicate ideas and teachings. In early medieval times, art was small and portable; books were something that was easily carried by people on the move. Once people began to settle in permanent towns, they borrowed Roman ideas. The style of the art and architecture of this period is called Romanesque.

7. oday, you will look through and practice fonts to begin your Illuminated Letter project. Decide on a letter. It can be the letter of your first or last name, or another letter of importance to you. - Watch Ms. C’s demonstration before you start sketching! **Think about any objects/things/people/animals/etc. you want to include, THEN brainstorm a page of patterns**