{"id":2049,"date":"2014-06-05T01:26:17","date_gmt":"2014-06-05T01:26:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wonderfuldarkness.com\/?p=2049"},"modified":"2014-10-02T01:10:52","modified_gmt":"2014-10-02T01:10:52","slug":"illuminated-manuscript","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wonderfuldarkness.com\/?p=2049","title":{"rendered":"Illuminated Manuscript"},"content":{"rendered":"

An Illuminated Manuscript…<\/h2>\n

…is a document in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as ornamented initials, margins and miniature graphics. In the strictest definition of the term, an illuminated manuscript refers only to manuscripts decorated with gold or silver but, in both common usage and modern scholarship, the term is now used to refer to any decorated or illustrated manuscript.<\/p>\n

Procedure<\/h3>\n

I chose to illuminate a poem circa late 1980\u2019s early 1990\u2019s titled \u2018Cross the Sky.<\/p>\n

I began, as many of these documents do, with an elaborate, over-sized first letter and descending – yet still larger than the majority of the prose – text for the lines adjacent to said letter. I completed the first stanza with decreasing text dimensions until I reached the standard font size I would utilize for the remainder of the poem.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a> \"Descending<\/a> \"First<\/a><\/p>\n

Next, I added the second stanza but right-aligned it to produce a sense of movement within the piece. The third, and last, stanza was aligned back on the left, which balanced the text and centered the movement. Borders are a staple of the illuminated manuscript; so, I added stars around my poem.<\/p>\n

\"Right-aligned<\/a> \"Last<\/a> \"Star<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To complete the decorative elements, I added a sun icon and fancy moon symbol to the white spaces next to the first two stanzas. I reserved the third white space for a field of tiny stars.<\/p>\n

\"Sun<\/a> \"Moon<\/a>\"Field<\/a><\/p>\n

This could be a finished product, however, color was a large part of the illumination process since all books, documents and manuscripts were already written in black ink. To include this effect, I started by simply adding color to the initial letter, some of the surrounding stars, the sun and even the last line of the poem.<\/p>\n

Still, some decoration needed to be added to truly encompass the spirit of illumination; so, I replicated the moon, sun and stars and overlaid miniature versions on the initial letter to produce the ornamented embellishment well-known within classical illumination.<\/p>\n

\"Adding<\/a> \"Replicated<\/a> \"Monogram\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Finally, I added my initials to the star-field at the bottom of the work. This monogram is a principal element to fine art and the illuminated manuscript is no exception. In this case, the signature reveals not only the illuminator but also the author of the prose.<\/p>\n

\"Illuminated<\/a><\/p>\n

View\/Download PDF<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An Illuminated Manuscript… …is a document in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as ornamented initials, margins and miniature graphics. In the strictest definition of the term, an illuminated manuscript refers only to manuscripts decorated with gold or silver but, in both common usage and modern scholarship, the term is… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[85],"tags":[23,87,22],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2007,"url":"https:\/\/wonderfuldarkness.com\/?p=2007","url_meta":{"origin":2049,"position":0},"title":"Rebus & Cuneiform","date":"May 29, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Rebus A rebus is an allusion device that uses pictures to represent words or parts of words. It was a favorite form of heraldic expression used in the Middle Ages to denote surnames. Procedure Only utilize visuals to illustrate a chosen phrase like in the style of the Cuneiform. You\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "History of Design"","img":{"alt_text":"Rebus","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wonderfuldarkness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/0011_Rebus.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2134,"url":"https:\/\/wonderfuldarkness.com\/?p=2134","url_meta":{"origin":2049,"position":1},"title":"Art Nouveau","date":"June 19, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Tree of Life I started my Art Nouveau Tree of Life by drawing the trunk in an organic, flowing style. Next, I added branches, progressively thinning the width of each as they extend beyond the tree trunk. 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I then transferred\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "History of Design"","img":{"alt_text":"The Last Tree: A Dada Project","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wonderfuldarkness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/0000_The-Last-Tree_-A-Dada-Project.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2493,"url":"https:\/\/wonderfuldarkness.com\/?p=2493","url_meta":{"origin":2049,"position":3},"title":"Typography Poster","date":"February 18, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Contents Project #3: Poster Research Criteria Poster Text Critique Final Century: 100 Years of Type Design Research Thumbnails Type Studies Color Studies Roughs Analysis Final \u00a0 Project #3: Poster Research Start with Process Book and develop ideas. Always include the following: 3 very rough sketches (you may work at half\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Graphic Skills"","img":{"alt_text":"Type Studies","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wonderfuldarkness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/0048_Type-Studies.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2241,"url":"https:\/\/wonderfuldarkness.com\/?p=2241","url_meta":{"origin":2049,"position":4},"title":"April Greiman: A New Realm of Dynamic Space","date":"June 28, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"At the time of this writing, April Greiman is sixty-five years old and has been designing for over thirty-seven years. She has been recognized as one of the first designers to embrace computer technology as a design tool and with popularizing the New Wave approach to typography in the United\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "History of Design"","img":{"alt_text":"Design Quarterly","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wonderfuldarkness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/0002_Design-Quarterly.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2190,"url":"https:\/\/wonderfuldarkness.com\/?p=2190","url_meta":{"origin":2049,"position":5},"title":"George Eastman","date":"June 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cEastman is known as the man who brought the joy of photography to millions around the world\u201d (GEH). By introducing the general public to his Kodak camera in 1888, George Eastman gave ordinary citizens the ability to document their lives and experiences with fixed images of themselves and their loved\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "History of Design"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wonderfuldarkness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/0003_The-Eastman-Dry-Plate-Company.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4epzS-x3","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wonderfuldarkness.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2049"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wonderfuldarkness.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wonderfuldarkness.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wonderfuldarkness.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wonderfuldarkness.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2049"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/wonderfuldarkness.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2049\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2110,"href":"https:\/\/wonderfuldarkness.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2049\/revisions\/2110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wonderfuldarkness.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wonderfuldarkness.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wonderfuldarkness.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}