CHAPTER XII

THE DEVELOPMENT OF ILLUMINATION1

The Development of Illumination—Line-Finishings—
Initial Letters—Borders & Backgrounds.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF ILLUMINATION
The De- An art or craft is so largely dependent on the tools

velopmentof an(j materials which are used by the craftsman, that

Illumination 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 develop¬
ment is most graphically sketched by Ruskin (“Lec¬
tures 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 illumina¬
tion'1 ; 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 andform to the flowing of these perfect lines.”

1 The steps in the development sketched very briefly in this
chapter, refer both to the past history of the art of illumination
and to its practical revival (see p. xiv). Of something already
done, of honour due, a friend reminds me : “ William Morris was
the first person in England to revive the art of writing and
illumination, as he revived so many other arts, on the lines
established by the ancient masters. Several books are in
existence exquisitely written and decorated by him, notably a
Horace, a Vergil, and two differently treated copies of Omar
Khayyam.”

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LINE-FINISHINGS The De-

Line-finishings are used to preserve the evenness velopmentof
of the text when lines of writing fall short. When Illumination
the space left is small, or occurs in the middle of a sen¬
tence, a quick stroke of the pen—often a continua¬
tion 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. 147). 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. 9).

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. 181 & xxiii).

INITIAL LETTERS

(See also pp. xiv, 14, 78-80, 90, 100, 147, 154-
159, 159-65, 177—81, and the Plates)

The main development of Illumination was—and
still is—bound up with the growth and decoration
of the Initial Letter (but szz footnote, p. 179).

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