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In the other, gall nuts, the swollen nodules produced by certain insects living in oak trees, was mixed with iron salts, making an ink which eventually turned brown from exposure to the atmosphere. In one method, carbon soot from beeswax candles or linseed oil lamps was combined with gum arabic to produce an indelible black ink. The scribe used an ink derived either from carbon soot or gall nuts. In the early Middle Ages, the best quills came from several varieties of geese found off the coast or England. Using these holes as a guide, lines were then inscribed or drawn on the page to establish the layout for the scribes and decorators.įollowing this, a calligrapher or scribe would write on the parchment with a reed or feather quill pen. Once the necessary number of vellum skins were prepared and cut to size for pages, they were then marked along both margins with small pinholes.

The finest quality parchment, noted for its thin and supple character, was called vellum. Most parchment came from cow skins which were prepared through an elaborate process that involved soaking, scraping, drying and treating the skins. Manuscripts which were decorated with gold, silver or bright paint are called illuminated, from the Latin illuminare meaning to lighten or brighten up.ĭuring the medieval period, books were written and decorated on parchment, a type of animal skin.

Its name is derived from the Latin manus meaning hand and scriptus meaning writing. 1100's to 1600's) What is an illuminated manuscript?Īn illuminated manuscript is a book written and decorated by hand. Extensive selection of one-of-a-kind original illuminated manuscript leaves from the Medieval and Renaissance periods (c.