Illuminated Manuscript

A hand-produced document, typically on vellum or parchment, in which the text is supplemented by elaborate decoration including ornamental initials, marginal illustrations, gilding, and polychrome borders. Produced primarily in European monasteries from late antiquity through the fifteenth century, illuminated manuscripts represent the principal tradition of Western letterform design before the advent of

Movable Type. The

Blackletter scripts used in these manuscripts directly influenced the first printing typefaces.