Glossary: Medieval Manuscript Terms

Antiphonal, Antiphonary. The antiphonary contains the sung portions of the Divine Office. Such books are often large in format, so that they could be used by a choir, and include decorated and historiated initials, depicting saints and key events of the liturgical year. Hymns are usually contained in a separate volume. Originally, the antiphonal may have included chants to be sung in the Mass, but its use became restricted to the Divine Office during the Carolingian period (when Charlemagne ruled), and the gradual became the principal choir book for the Mass.

Bible. The word "Bible" is derived from the Greek word biblia, meaning "books." The earliest sacred Judeo-Christian writings were set down separately, at different times, on scrolls of papyrus or vellum. When these independent elements were bound together, they were called "Bibles."

Book of Hours. The main prayer book used in medieval Europe was divided into eight sections, or hours that were meant to be read at specific times of the day. Each section contained prayers, psalms, hymns, and other readings intended to help the reader secure salvation for himself and his departed loved ones.

Breviary. A service book containing the texts necessary for the celebration of the Divine Office. From the 11th century on, the various volumes used during the Divine Office (Psalter, Antiphonal, Lectionary, Collectar, Martyrology, and others) were combined to form the breviary. All members of the monastic orders and the clergy in major orders are committed to the daily recitation of the breviary.

Calendar. The calendar sections of illuminated manuscripts most often precede liturgical and devotional texts. In this context, they identify feast days pertinent to the patron and the region, using different colors to highlight important feasts, such as Christmas or the Annunciation (so-called red letter days). Calendars were often illuminated, the two most popular schemes being the labors (depicting the labors appropriate to each of the months -- June is reaping, August is sowing) of the months and the zodiac signs.

Canticle. A song or chant with words taken directly from a Biblical text.

Codex (plural, codices). Originating in the first century, the codex is a book composed of folded sheets sewn along one edge.

Cutting. Certain types of illuminated manuscripts were very large. The huge size of these books contributed to their destruction. In nineteenth-century Europe, high import taxes, computed by weight, were placed on books. In order to avoid this tax, dealers and collectors frequently cut out the illuminated and decorated pages. An entire page with miniatures, marginalia, capitals and calligraphy is referred to as a leaf. A cutting is a miniature painting with no calligraphy.

Decorated Letter. An enlarged and decorated letter introducing an important section of a text. Initials can have different levels of significance, according to the division of the text or their place within a program of decoration.

Divine Office. A cycle of daily devotions -- the prayers of the canonical hours -- performed by members of religious orders and the clergy. Along with the Mass, the Divine Office forms the basis of the Christian Liturgy.

Drollery. An amusing figure, often of a grotesque character. Drolleries appear throughout the history of book illumination, from insular works such as the Book of Kells to late medieval manuscripts.

Exemplar. A book from which another is copied.

Folio. A sheet of writing material, one half of a bifolium. The front and back of a folio are referred to as the recto and verso, respectively. The numbering of leaves, as opposed to pages, is termed foliation and is commonly found in manuscripts. "Folio" and "folios" (or "folia") are often abbreviated as f. and ff.

Gallnut. A swelling that forms on the bark of an oak tree after it has been stung by an insect laying its eggs. Tannic and gallic acids contained in gallnuts can be soaked out in water, the gall solution forming the basis of iron gall ink.

Gatherings. Booklets of which a book is formed.

Gilding. The application of gold leaf. The gold leaf could simply be laid down on the area to which a binding medium such as glair (egg white) or gum Arabic has been applied. It could also be laid on a raised ground of gesso. In order to enrich the tonality of the gold and to make the areas to which the ground has been applied more visible, a colorant such as bole (a pink earth color) was often added to the base. The gold was burnished. Gilding formed the first stage in the painting process of illumination, since it was a messy activity, the gilded area often requiring trimming with a knife. The gilding of a manuscript illustration was carried out by the artist or by a specialist.

Gradual. A gradual is the response and versicle to the Epistle reading that constitutes one part of the Mass. The name derives from the practice of singing the gradual on the steps of the raised pulpit. More commonly, however, the term refers to the principal choir book used in the mass.

Historiated Initial. A letter containing identifiable scene or figures, sometimes relating to the text. Historiated initials, first encountered in insular illumination of the first half of the 8th century, became a popular feature of medieval illumination. Borders can also be historiated.

Illumination. Illumination, from the Latin illuminare, "to enlighten or illuminate," is the embellishment of a manuscript with luminous colors (especially gold).

Illuminator. An artist producing illumination. The illuminator could, on occasion, also be the scribe. Illuminators could be male or female and members of monastic or minor clerical orders; from about 1200 members of the laity increasingly took up the profession. By the later Middle Ages, most illuminators were lay people.

Inhabited Initial. An enlarged letter at the beginning of a chapter, paragraph, or important section of a text that contains human or animal figures but not identifiable narrative scene (which is a historiated initial). Borders can also be inhabited.

Iron Gall Ink. The gall solution forming the basis of iron gall ink comes from tannic and gallic acids contained in gallnuts.

Liturgy. Rites observances, or procedures prescribed for public worship. At the core of Christian liturgy are the Mass (The celebration of the Eucharist) and the Divine Office.

Marginalia/Border. Decorative surrounds, or borders, were popular in Gothic and Renaissance illumination and evolved during the 13th century from the extenders that sprang from decorated letters. A border surrounds text and/or image and may occupy margins and intercolumnar space. Some borders are in paneled form, others are composed of foliate decorations or bars, the latter often sprouting plant forms and known as foliate bar borders. A full border surrounds an image or text on all sides, while a partial border frames only part of the area in question. Like an initial, a border can be inhabited or historiated.

Miniature. An independent illustration, as opposed to a scene incorporated into another element of the decorative scheme such as a border of initial. It takes its name from the Latin miniare, meaning "to color with read" (the adornment of books originally was executed in red, or minium).

Missal. A service book containing the texts necessary for the performance of the Mass (including chants, prayers, and readings), together with ceremonial directions.

Psalter. Psalters are books that contain, in a single volume, the 150 biblical poems known as psalms. The psalms (derived from the Greek word psalmos, meaning "song") are short, lyrical passages written in the first person. Due to their varied content and versatility, individual psalms are often employed as prayers, both in public worship and in private devotion. In the Middle Ages, the psalms were sung and recited by all members of society, but Psalters were especially popular among lay men and women who used them both at home and at church. Psalters also contained devotional material like canticles and other religious hymns, and a calendar. Children learned to read from Psalters because the Latin of the psalms was easy to understand and provided them with prayers that they might call upon throughout their lives.

Quire. Quires are the "gatherings" or "booklets" of which a book is formed.

Rubric. A title, chapter heading, or instruction that is not strictly part of the text but which helps to identify its components. Red ink was often used to distinguish such elements, hence the term, which derives from the Latin for red, rubrica.

Scriptorium (pl. scriptoria). A writing room. The term is generally used of the place in a monastery or church were books are made.

Stylus. A pointed implement, usually made of metal or bone, used for pricking and ruling a manuscript.