THE DEVELOPMENT OF ILLUMINATION[44]
The Development of Illumination — Line-Finishings — Initial Letters
— Borders & Backgrounds.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ILLUMINATION
An art or craft is so largely dependent on the tools and materials
which are used by the craftsman, that we may reasonably say that
it begins with the tools and materials, through which it has been
produced. Now, “illumination” can be traced back step by step to
simple penmanship. And its true development is most graphically
sketched by Ruskin (“Lectures on Art,” No. V.) when he says—
“_The pen . . . is not only the great instrument for the finest
sketching, but its right use is the foundation of the art of
illumination. . . . Perfect illumination is only writing made
lovely; . . . But to make writing itself beautiful—to make the sweep
of the pen lovely—is the true art of illumination;_” And also that
those who have acquired “_a habit of deliberate, legible and lovely
penmanship in their daily use of the pen, . . . may next discipline
their hands into the control of lines of any length, and, finally,
add the beauty of colour and form to the flowing of these perfect
lines._” [p205]
LINE-FINISHINGS
Line-finishings are used to preserve the evenness of the text when
lines of writing fall short. When the space left is small, or occurs
_in the middle of a sentence_, a quick stroke of the pen—often a
continuation of the last letter, or springing from it—is sufficient
(fig. 125); but where there are many and long gaps (as, for example,
in a psalter at the ends of the verses), they may be filled in with
dots (see Plate VIII.) or flourishes (_a_, _b_, _c_, fig. 126) either
made in black with the script pen, or with another pen, in colour or
gold.
Line-finishings commonly echo the treatment of the initials (see p.
181). In twelfth-century MSS. long delicate flourishes are commonly
found, in red, blue, or green—matching the colours of the Versals,
and probably _made with the same pen_. The latter being rather finer
than the text pen keeps these flourishes from appearing too prominent
(see _e_, _f_, fig. 126).
Such work should be simple and characteristic pen-work, showing the
thicks and thins and crisp curves, the result of the position of the
pen, which is usually “slanted” (see p. 43).
Bands of pen-made “geometrical” patterns—used with rather close
writing—may be very simple and direct, though appearing pleasantly
elaborate (see figs. 87 and (g) 126, Plate XIV., and pp. 215 & 25).
INITIAL LETTERS
(_See also_ pp. 16, 48, 112–14, 124, 134, 181, 188–193,
193–99, 211–15, _and the Collotype Plates_)
The development of Illumination proper was—and still is—bound up with
the growth and decoration of the Initial Letter.
[Illustration: ‹Fig. 125.›]
[Illustration: ‹Fig. 126.›]
[p208]
The first step in this development is the mastery of the pen-made
Versal letter, and the right treatment of simple coloured capitals
(see chapters VII., VIII., and X.). The next step is their
elaboration. The simplest ornamental treatment is found in the
flourishing of a terminal of the initial letter (fig. 150), or the
arrangement of the _remaining letters of the word_ inside or beside
it. Pen flourishes may consist of the simplest curved and zigzag
strokes (sometimes springing from the actual letter: see p. 251),
ending with a “twirl” of the pen in a loop or a “bud” (figs. 150,
79); or they may strike out a sort of formal floral pattern, filling
or surrounding the initial (fig. 92), and such a pattern in its turn
may spring from the letter into the margin, and grow into a complete
“illuminated border” (see p. 199).
_Hollow Letters._—A large capital is often made hollow, primarily
with a view to lightening its appearance, which might be rather heavy
if the letter were made solid (p. 119). The hollow—which is commonly
left plain (_i.e._ the colour of the paper or parchment)—may be a
mere line, straight or curved or zigzag (fig. 189), or a pattern, or
lettering (fig. 89). Sometimes it is made large and filled in with a
contrasting colour, leaving a white line, however, between the two
colours. And sometimes half the letter is made in one colour, and the
other half (on the opposite side of the hollow centre) is made in
a contrasting colour. A “hollow” letter (especially if very large)
may be strengthened and improved by a filling of colour or ornament.
(_Addenda_, p. 25.)
_“Woven” Forms._—A simple form of ornament (related to “Basket
work”) which effectually strengthens the construction of a hollow
letter—without impairing its lightness—consists in a crossing [p209]
and “weaving” or knotting of its actual parts (fig. 127).
[Illustration: ‹Fig. 127.›]
The elaborated @ (in fig. 127) is from a 10th or 11th century MS.
(Brit. Museum, Egerton, 608). The Initial and its inwoven ornament
cut up the background into a number of distinct parts (distinctly
coloured). Note also that the entire background is contained by the
Initial.
The “knot” (fig. 127), or a basket-work ornament, is sometimes used
as an arbitrary starting-point for a filigree border (see p. 428)
where an initial is lacking.
_Variety in Initials._—The _sizes_ and _styles_ of the initials
which are used _for the same purpose_ throughout the book vary very
slightly or not at all. Generally, the more important the division
which the [p210] initial marks, the larger the initial and the more
ornate (p. 298). A slight complexity in the opening letter or word of
a book does not seriously interfere with the readableness of the book
as a whole. The general rule is followed that _the greater the number
of (decorative) forms the plainer they are kept_ (see p. 126), and
if a book contained an “initial” on every page, it would be both an
artistic and a working economy (if there were many pages) to make the
majority of them rather plain.
But however simple the treatment of the initials may be, there is
still room for considerable variety of _form_ or _ornament_ or
_type_—as “round” or “square” letters (see fig. 80, and especially
Plate XI.). Such variety is found in the best work; it adds a
liveliness and charm which are quite lacking where there is
unnecessary or mechanical repetition.
“_Lombardic_” versus _Roman Capitals_.—The round, fat letters which
are known as “Lombardic” (see fig. 1, and Plates XV., XVII.) have
been generally used for “illuminated initials” in Northern Europe
since the thirteenth century. But—though they are capable of very
beautiful treatment—they are rather doubtful models for us to follow.
The fact that such letters will always pack neatly into a square
niche or background—though an obvious convenience—is not an unmixed
advantage. And the majority of examples show a debased type of
Letters—often so unlike their originals, and so like one another,
as to be scarcely readable. For the sake of readableness the stems
should be made longer (fig. 128). The more slender “Roman” type of
initial, commonly used in Italy (Plate XVIII.), is in every way a
more legible letter. The Roman Alphabet still remains the finest
[p211] model, and it is better that fine lettering should be almost
too slender and delicate, than that it should be at all heavy or
clumsy.
[Illustration: ‹Fig. 128.›]
BORDERS & BACKGROUNDS
_The illuminated border_ was originally an extension or branching
out of the initial decoration. It commonly occupied the greater
part of the left-hand margin, and from thence it extended into the
_head_[45] or _foot_ margin (or into both), or completely surrounded
the text, and even the eight margins of a [p213] complete _opening_
are sometimes covered with illumination. In late and modern usage
the border is frequently separated from the initial, constituting a
“framing border.”[46]
[Illustration: ‹Fig. 129.›]
‹Note.›—This diagram suggests a simple treatment of an initial
word in colours and gold. The graphic method employed by heralds
for indicating these—by lines and dots—is here discarded for the
stronger contrasts of black, white, and “grey.”
The letters contained inside the initial P are kept distinct—(1)
_crimson_ (“grey” in diagram) being used solely for the patches of
ground adjoining the (_gold_) letters, and for filling the hollow
part of the (_gold_) P, the whole word stands out in _crimson and
gold_; (2) the floral pattern is also in _gold_, but it does not
cover or hide any part of the word.
The remaining ground is _green_ inside and _blue_ outside the P. The
dots @ @ are in _red_ on the green ground, in cream with a _red_
centre dot on the blue.
The gold throughout is outlined _black_, and the blue ground has a
_black_ outline, separated from it by a _white_ line.
In some MSS. there are _two_ side-borders on a page, one springing
from the Initials on the left, the other sending branches into the
gaps on the right (see Plates XVII., XVI.). In some cases the two
pages of an opening are balanced by a side-border in each of the wide
side margins (p. 428).
_Backgrounds_ of Initials (see pp. 188–193, 421–23) and borders are
treated very similarly. It may be noted that, where a _solid-stem_
pattern cuts up the ground into small pieces, these are often
painted in different colours—commonly red, and green, and blue (see
pp. 209, 430). And the _groups of dots_ (fig. 129)—in white or
other colours—may fill the interstices of a background, putting the
finishing touch to the even covering and pleasant intricacy of the
decoration (_comp._ p. 201). Or little flowers and leaves may be
used instead—growing from a thin (white) stem which appears to twine
throughout the main pattern—just as the smaller plants in a hedge
creep and twine among the larger stems. There is no better model in
nature for the illuminator than a country hedgerow. [p214]