he use of
letters of larger sizes to mark these divisions. These, especially the
paragraph initials, afforded an endless field for his ingenuity and the
exercise of his artistic ability. A great initial letter might be made
in any fanciful shape of which he could think. It might become a part of
a beautifully executed miniature. It might be surrounded by a mass of
gorgeous ornamentation extending to the bottom or the other margin of
the page and enriched by everything beautiful or grotesque of which the
writer could think. All this ornamentation was often executed in gold
and colors and was one of the chief methods of artistic expression of
the middle ages.

In addition to these decorations the ancient books dating from late
Roman times onward were often illustrated, sometimes profusely so. Full
page pictures were inserted illustrating the text or giving the
portraits of persons referred to in it. The oldest of these pictures are
in a bad state of preservation on account of the crude methods of the
artists. The background was first painted in a solid color. A figure,
for instance, would then be put on in another color, clothing would be
painted over that, armor over clothing and so on. The picture being thus
built up in layers of different paints it was very liable to flake off,
leaving only the background. Illustrations dating from the introduction
of a better technique are still very beautiful.

No language could adequately describe the beauty and the richness of
these decorations, or illuminations as they are termed. They look out to
us to-day from the yellowing vellum with all the brilliancy of color and
vigor of conception which they originally possessed. They are not only
beautiful in themselves but they are a valuable source of information
concerning the life of the middle ages. In those days the painters of
pictures made no attempt at archaeological accuracy. If they were
illuminating a Bible they represented Abraham and Moses, Pharaoh and
Solomon, Jesus and Paul and Goliath in the costume of the king, priest,
citizen, or soldier of the painter's own day. Their method of treatment
of their subjects, the subjects chosen, the use of materials in
ornamentation, every detail of these decorations is eloquent of the life
and thought of the ages in which they were produced.

CHAPTER V

_Ancient and Mediaeval Libraries_

Books involved libraries. The book is written to preserve a record and
this involves t