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Illuminated Letters

The Art of Decorating Text

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Illuminated Letters

The Art of Decorating Text

I Can…

  • Explain when and why illuminations were created.
  • Draw letters in 5 or more different font styles.
  • Select a font style to fit my personality.

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Illuminated Letters

  • An illuminated letter was usually the first letter of a page or paragraph.
  • The images used to enhance the letters include animals, plants, and mythological creatures.

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Illuminated Letters

  • Because the recording of historical events was such an important task, illuminations were ordered by kings and religious leaders to be added to various pages in order to add interest and importance to their appearance.

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Illuminated Letters

  • The Egyptians were the first culture known to document events by use of Illuminated Manuscripts. One of the most famous being the Book Of The Dead that dates back to 1310 BC

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Illuminated Letters

  • By the 7th century, Illuminations became a highly respected art form.
  • At this time, some of the most beautiful and famous illuminations were now being created in Ireland and England.

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Illuminated Letters

  • The Parchmenter, The Scribe, and The Illuminator

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Illuminated Letters

  • During the Middle Ages, most of this kind of work was done in monasteries, so all of the jobs were performed by monks.

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Illuminated Letters

  • The Parchmenter, who prepared the drawing and writing surface.
  • During the Middle Ages, paper from wood pulp was not available yet. Thus the use of animal skins as a writing surface was a typical practice all over the world.

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Illuminated Letters

  • The Scribe, who copied the information onto each page.
  • The Scribe was the person in charge of copying words and stories onto pages of parchment to be made into a book.

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Illuminated Letters

  • The Illuminator, who actually created the Illuminated letters and other decorations on each page.
  • He would first make a rough sketch, then outline that with pen. The gold leaf would go on first, followed by all of the other colors...

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Illuminated Letters

  • Illuminations defined a time in history when the ability to read was sacred and reserved for religious leaders or those born of royal blood.

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Unity and Identity

  • I used 3 or more images to represent my identity / personality.
  • I framed my image with a border that fits in the theme of my drawing.
  • I created a strong composition using all of the paper.