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Whitework class for An Tir KHSS 2014 – October 11, 2014 Matilda Stoyle – matilda.stoyle@yahoo.com Handout 3 of 4: Notes and pattern library for initials Gothic whitework decorated initials Large initials in western Gothic manuscripts are usually done in a different writing style than the main text. While the main text will be written in some type of Gothic hand such as Textura Quadrata or Batarde, large inked or painted initials are most often drawn as Lombardic versals. Versal letters may have more than one form, even in the same page of the same manuscript. For example, a medieval versal “H” may have all straight lines like the modern capital letter “H”; by the 13th century it more often looks rounded like a larger version of a modern lowercase “h”. Its ascender may be tall or squat. These examples are both from the same page of a translation of Valerius Maximus: (Bibliothèque nationale de France Français 282 f.284v, early 15th century) Some Gothic initials are surrounded by frames or connected to bars that frame the text and fill the margin. Stylized vines or leaves may be attached. Some have background decorations or gold like miniatures. Some initials even have their own miniatures inside or interacting with the letter. Painted initals in the Gothic "whitework" style often use the same motifs as borders, bars, and line fillers, particularly on the rectangular upright sections of letters like “F”, "I" and "L". Round parts of letters like "O" and "S" (and “E” and “T”!) tend to be decorated with motifs that better fit the tapering crescent spaces. Letters that have both curved and straight sections may use similar or different decorative patterns on those sections. The straight ascenders and descenders on letters like “h”, “k”, “p”, and “q” may even be extended to act as borders for some text. Other letters can be attached to borders via vine or leaf sections, or by being inside a frame that’s attached to the border. Exceptionally fancy initials may be broken apart and reconnected with interlace. If you’re designing an award, you may not be able to find examples of a letter that you’re looking for, particularly J, K, W, X, Y, and Z. You can build an initial based off of similarly-­‐structured letters’ examples. You might also find models in the compound initials “KL” for “Kalends” (in calendars often in Books of Hours), “XP” for the Chi-­‐Rho monogram of Christ, and “VD” for “Vere Dignum” (in some missals). “W” in English and German manuscripts is usually made from two “U”s or two “V”s overlapping. "Champ" initials have gold letters on a colored field with whitework-­‐style details. Champ initials lasted past the end of the Gothic style era and can be seen in Tudor and later manuscripts. (Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal 5194 réserve, 15th century, courtesy of Bibliothèque nationale de France.) Gothic manuscripts from Italy and central Europe don't generally have whitework style decorations, but their initials do often have shaded acanthus leaves, swirling vines, and other similarities to motifs in the west. (14th-­‐century Italian “n”, Czech “p”, and Austrian “VD” ligature. All courtesy of HMML Vivarium.)