The Art of Reading: Image and Text in Manuscripts and Early Printed Books

Inhabited, Historiated and Floriated Initials

Inhabited initials are letters at the beginning of passages or paragraphs that contain a picture, usually a human or animal figure that serves a purely decorative purpose. These inhabited initials are distinct from historiated initials that will contain an identifiable figure or a specific scene. Floriated initials were letters decorated with natural elements like flowers and vines. All 3 types of decorated initials became very common, and often very elaborate, in illuminated manuscripts, and the practice continued into the decoration of printed books.

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