Manuscripts are hand written books which were made before
the invention of printing and for some years after printing was widely
practiced. Most often, manuscripts were
written by monks or nuns in a scriptorium.
The writing was very uniform and neat.
Many manuscripts were illuminated, that is decorated with colorful
painted initials, miniature paintings, or border paintings. Illuminations first appeared in the 300s, and
were an important part of books until the Renaissance. Illumination was used in some early printed
works, but as mechanical means of illustrating books became more popular, it
fell out of favor.
Photograph of the Ranworth Antiphone c. Ashley Dace. Creative Commons license granted for reuse.
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