An inhabited initial is a letter that contains human or animal figures that are decorative only and bear no relation to the text. #TermThursday #InitialLessons #IllustratedInitials #MagicManuscripts #InhabitedInitial

A floriated initial is a letter decorated in foliage, leaves and vines within and around the border often found at the beginning of a paragraph in an early printed book #TermThursday #InitialLessons #IllustratedInitials #MagicManuscripts #FloriatedInitial

A decorated initial is a letter that is decorated and embellished but does not necessarily contain a picture, or a decoration that relates to the text. #TermThursday #InitialLessons #IllustratedInitials #MagicManuscripts #DecoratedInitial

A historiated initial is a letter usually within a medieval manuscript that contains within it a scene or figure related to the text. This one comes from a book of 1552. #TermThursday #InitialLessons #IllustratedInitials #MagicManuscripts #HistoriatedInitial

Illustrated initials were tools for scribes and artists to beautify the pages of medieval illuminated manuscripts and explore the relationship between text and image. Also used as decorative page markers #TermThursday #InitialLessons #IllustratedInitials #MagicManuscripts