12023-09-07T13:02:38-07:00Sue Luftscheinc3da4f338cfb5c3d980919bd84c8fb083c380bd64364112plain14305082023-11-07T13:45:22-08:00Sue Luftscheinc3da4f338cfb5c3d980919bd84c8fb083c380bd6Inhabited 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.