The Illuminator's Glossary.

Copyist. The copyist is the scribe who writes out a book. He is not the author; he is not the translator, he is the individual who is specifically copying script and pictures from other texts and sometimes he is also copying illuminations with the aid of a cartoon.

Cartoon.  This is a modern word for an old idea. A cartoon is a visual prototype of a picture. Usually it is an outline only, without color. Monks frequently carried many "cartoons" with them based on other illuminated manuscripts. Only the very finest illuminators created their own original ideas. Then their students, colleagues, and admirers would copy these original versions to apply to newer texts.


Decorative Page. This is an entire page covered with decorative pictures that lend special emphasis to a text. A decorative page can be at the beginning of a book or at the beginning of a chapter or at the beginning of a special text. Sometimes there is a slight amount of text on this page as well.

Figure initial. These initials are used at the top of a manuscript and are the first letter of the first word. They can look like men or beasts or a combination of both.

Gradual. (gradus =step) This is a service book for the choir. It most frequently lists the fixed and variable songs sung for the Mass.