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An inhabited initial is an initial, an enlarged letter at the beginning of a chapter, paragraph or other section of text that contains an illustration of human or animal figures within the letter[2]. Figures in inhabited initials may be related to the contexts of the text, but do not need to be. They may be purely decorative. They do not depict narratives[2], unlike the similar historiated initial, which depicts an identifiable scene or story[3]. These illustrated initials were first seen in the Insular art of the early 8th century, and were later characteristic of Romanesque illuminated manuscripts of the late 11th and 12 centuries[4]. Both are common in luxury illuminated manuscripts. The earliest known example is in the Saint Petersburg Bede, an Insular manuscript of 731-46, and the Vespasian Psalter has another[5].
The size and degree of decoration of an inhabited initial may further give clues to both its importance and location. Letters that began a new or particularly noteworthy section might receive more flourish and space. In luxury manuscripts an entire page might be devoted to an initial[6]; both the size and ostentatiousness of a manuscript reflect both on the status of the manuscript and on its owner[7].
References edit
- ^ "Inhabited Initial E (The J. Paul Getty Museum Collection)". The J. Paul Getty Museum Collection. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
- ^ a b Wight, C. "I - Glossary for the British Library Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts". www.bl.uk. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
- ^ Chilvers, Ian (2009). The Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-860476-1.
- ^ "Inhabited Initial H (The J. Paul Getty Museum Collection)". The J. Paul Getty Museum Collection. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
- ^ Brown, Michelle (2007). Manuscripts from the Anglo-Saxon age. Toronto. ISBN 978-0-8020-9096-6. OCLC 148749193.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Clemens, Raymond (2007). Introduction to manuscript studies. Timothy Graham. Ithaca. ISBN 978-0-8014-3863-9. OCLC 122423508.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "Lighting the Way". www.europeana.eu. Retrieved 2022-04-23.