Writing & Illuminating, & Lettering

NOTES ON CONSTRUCTION OF VERSALS
(See figs. 80, 81, 85, 165)

Versal Letters are properly built-up (p. 291) with true pen-strokes (b, fig. 81). Drawn or painted, they acquire a different character (p. 292). Their office being to mark important parts of the text, they are generally distinguished by colour and freedom of form—tending to curves and flourishes.

The pen has an extra long slit (12 inch to 34 inch), and the writing-board may be lowered (see fig. 46, b) to permit of the thick, liquid colour running out freely. The nib is of the ordinary shape (but not too oblique), and generally rather less in width than the nib used for the accompanying text (a, fig. 81).

The outlining strokes are quickly written and immediately filled in, each letter being loaded well with the colour, which thereafter dries evenly, with a slightly raised “flat” surface. The liquid colour should be fairly thick (see colour, p. 176).

“Gothic lettering” is a term used for “Black-letter” and related types, as distinguished from “Roman” types. “Gothic” capitals tend to roundness, the small-letters to angularity, but in each the abrupt change from thick to thin strokes, and the resulting contrast of stroke, are characteristics—the result of pen work.24 In Versals this contrast is marked; the ends of the thinner strokes spread (see Addenda, p. 25, & cross-bar of A, fig. 71), and the heavy parts are crossed by thin serifs. Versals may retain their pen character and yet approach [p119] the “Roman Letter” (p. 294), or be changed into the ornate “Lombardic” (p. 34). They are capable of great variety, and the “round” or “square” D, E, H, M, and W may be used at pleasure.

The Stems curve in slightly on either side. When they are very tall the mid part may be quite straight, imperceptibly curving out towards the ends (b, fig. 82). This gives an effect of curvature throughout the length, while keeping the letter graceful and straight. The head of a stem (especially of an ascender) should be slightly wider than the foot (fig. 83). This applies generally to every sort of built-up capitals.

The stem width may be nearly the same in Versals of different heights (a, fig. 84): generally the letters tend to become more slender in proportion as the letters grow taller (b). Very large Versals (or initials) are often made with a hollow stem to avoid a heavy appearance (L, fig. 84). [p120]

The Serifs are long and slightly curved in ornamental forms (fig. 79): shorter, and nearly straight in stiffer forms (fig. 166). In many cases the serifs appear to have been written first, the stems being added between them (f, fig. 81)—in old MSS. the stems often show ragged ends crossing the serifs. Sometimes the serif appears to have been added to the stem in two pieces, half on either side springing from the corners of the stem (g). The safest way seems to be the complete finishing stroke added to, and forming sharp angles with, the stem (h).

Arms or Branches.—Width of nib at start, and built-up at free end. (Pen horizontal, figs. 81, 165). [p121]

The Bows or Curves of Versals (and of built-up letters generally) are begun with the inside stroke—a rather flat curve: and finished with the outer stroke—a pronounced curve (a, fig. 85). This preserves [p122] the continuity of the interior curve, together with the clean contrast of the thick and thin strokes (see inside shapes, p. 253). The normal form may be flattened or curved a little (b), but exaggeration in either direction produces a degraded form. Part round letters, as D, P, and q, may be begun with a complete inner oval, or a nearly completed O (to which the stem is added); this preserves their interior symmetry (c).

The beauty and quality of Versal letters depends very much on their freedom; touching-up or trimming after they are made is apt to spoil them; and when good letters are made with a free hand, minute roughnesses, which are due to their quick construction, may be regarded as shewing a good rather than a bad form of care-less workmanship (see (c) fig. 164).

SPACING & ARRANGEMENT OF VERSALS

Versals accompanying Small Text are generally dropped below the writing-line, so that their tops are level with the tops of the small letters (fig. 86).

Sizes of Versals.—Letters which are of the same importance—i.e. serve the same purpose—are usually of like size and form throughout; and the more important a letter, the more it tends to be elaborated and decorated (see figs. 90, 92).

Special words in Text marked by Versals.—Where coloured capitals are used throughout the text (fig. 92), the colours are usually varied (pp. 134, 185). [p123]

Line beginnings marked by Versals.—Where every line on a page begins with a coloured capital, the majority of the forms are kept rather plain (see (5) p. 136). They may be effectively treated as a band of simple or variegated colour (p. 136). This is a common treatment for a list of names or a poem; sometimes, especially if there are many lines, simple-written capitals (p. 297) may be used instead of Versals.

Verses or Paragraphs may be marked by Versals set in the text (a), or part in margin, part in text (b), or wholly in the margin (c, fig. 86). The marginal capital is the simplest, and it has the advantage of leaving the page of text entire; it may, however, sometimes be desirable to break the continuity by an inset capital, especially in cases of closely written text, or of stanzas not spaced apart (see p. 138).

The first word of a paragraph, which is begun with a Versal, is often completed in simple-written capitals of the same colour as the text (a, fig. 86).

Various ways of marking Paragraphs.—(a) The paragraph marks , ¶, preferably coloured, may be used instead of (or even with) Versals (comp. fig. 95); (b) by one word or line (or several words or lines) of simple-written (or built-up) capitals in black or colour (see fig. 93); (c) by some suitable ornament (see fig. 87); (d) in many cases it is well to have spaces between the paragraphs or verses (see p. 138).

Line-Finishings at the ends of Verses, &c. (pp. 205, 425), may be made with the Versal pens and colours. [p124]

To mark Chapters (or even Books), extra large Versals (fig. 88) may be used, in lieu of more elaborate initials. Smaller Versals may be grouped round about, beside or inside initials (p. 208 & fig. 92).

Headings and Pages in Capitals (see also pp. 128, 132).—Each line of capitals is generally kept uniform throughout its length,25 though different lines vary in size and colour (see fig. 89). If it be possible it is well to keep the individual word entire [p126] and to let the heading or page contain the complete initial phrase or sentence (see fig. 91).

Generally the greater the number of capitals the plainer their forms are kept, and the closer their spacing. It is best to keep to the regular method of spacing the lines of Versals one of the writing-line spaces (or more) apart—though in special cases the Versals may be independent of the writing-lines.

Spacing Out.—Coloured letters and ornaments are usually put in after the plain MS. has been written. A very little practice enables the scribe accurately to guess the amount of space which he should leave for the Versals, &c., whether it is designed to have several lines of them, or a single letter only on the page. A few pencil marks may be used to settle a doubtful point, but an elaborate sketching or setting out in pencil spoils the freedom of the work. [p127]

CHAPTER VIII BLACK & RED Rubricating — Initial Pages or Title Pages — Prefaces & Notes in Colour — Pages with Coloured Headings — Page or Column Heading & Initial — Versals in Column or Marginal Bands — Stanzas or Verses marked by Versals — Music with Red Staves — Tail-Pieces, Colophons, &c. — Rubricating: General Remarks.

RUBRICATING

“Red, either in the form of a pigment or fluid ink, is of very ancient and common use. It is seen on the early Egyptian papyri; and it appears in the earliest extant vellum MSS., either in titles or the first lines of columns or chapters. The Greek term was μελάνιον κόκκινον; Latin minium,26 rubrica.”—(Thompson’s “G. & L. Palæography,” p. 51.)

Rubricating, or the adding of Red, or other coloured, letters, line-finishings, or signs, to a MS. or Book, in which the main body of the text is already completed in black, constitutes in itself a very useful and effective form of decoration. It is, moreover, a connecting link between plain writing and illumination proper; and we may safely assume that the artists who made the beautiful illuminations of the Middle Ages were trained as scribes and rubricators.

INITIAL PAGES OR TITLE PAGES

Fig. 89 represents an Initial Page in Red Capitals. (The same arrangement may of course be used [p128] with a variety of colours and with gold: see Note (4) below). Such a page is, as it were, an “illumination” to all the pages, following it in black text.

Title Pages came into fashion after printing was introduced. Early MSS. commonly began with the opening words written in large, decorated capitals, the title sometimes being written quite small, near the top of the page: other details were commonly put in the colophon in early books (see p. 142).

When the title is more important, in a literary sense, than the opening sentence, it may be well to follow the modern fashion. But when there is a finely worded opening sentence—perhaps the key-note to the rest of the text—while the title is merely for reference, it seems reasonable to magnify and illuminate the actual beginning of the book rather than the mere name of it (see p. 365).

Note (1).—In fig. 89 the title—(JESU CHRISTI) Evangelium Secundum Joannem—is written in as a decoration of the initial word; the old form “” is used for “Jesu Christi” (these letters, it will be noticed, are here employed to lighten the large capitals, see p. 208).

(2) Where IN is an initial word, to enforce narrow initial I, both letters may be magnified.

(3) The scale of the lettering corresponds with that of the ruled lines (these do not show in the figure): the letters and the interlinear spaces are each one line high; the initial word is four lines high. Such a mode of spacing is very simple and effective, and will save the rubricator much unnecessary trouble and fruitless planning (see footnote, p. 221).

(4) Other Colour Schemes.—All Burnished Gold (or with Title in red); or IN gold, with smaller capitals Red (or in Blue and Red lines alternately—or Blue, Red, Green, Red: see p. 181). [p129]

PREFACES & NOTES IN COLOUR

Fig. 90 represents a preface, or note, written in red.

It was a frequent practice in old MSS., where there were prefaces, or prologues, or notes—not actually part of the text—to keep these distinct by writing them in red. A somewhat similar usage still exists in modern typography, where such parts are sometimes distinguished by Italic type (see p. 315).

The distinction of a preface, “rubric,” or note from the main body of the text makes a book more readable, and, as a page of red (or blue) writing is very pleasant and effective, we may certainly take advantage of such a reasonable excuse for introducing it. Entire books have been written in red, but this is a questionable mode, as too much red text would tire the eye.

Note (1).—The writing is founded on the tenth-century English hand given in Plate VIII.

(2) The flourishes on s and e fill gaps at the ends of the lines, and the spread out A M E N fills the last line.

(3) The Headline is in simple written capitals.

(4) The effect of colour contrast of the built-up Ps with the simple writing: the solid Ps (though really the same colour) appear to be a much deeper red than the writing, which is lightened by the intermingled white of the paper.

(5) Other Colour Schemes.—The Versals (Pp) in burnished gold; the rest in red or blue. [p131]

PAGES WITH COLOURED HEADINGS

Fig. 91 represents the first page of a chapter (or a book) with a Heading in red capitals.

It is convenient in practice clearly to distinguish between the two modes of beginning—

• (a) with an illuminated Initial-Page (see fig. 89), or,
• (b) with an illuminated Heading (see fig. 91).

The former may be treated as though it were a decoration to the whole book. The latter is intended more particularly to decorate its own page.

The Heading should therefore be proportionate to the body of the text below it. About one-third Heading and two-thirds text make a good proportion. A “Heading” occupying half, or more than half, of the page is apt to look disproportionate, and it would be preferable to this to have a complete, or nearly complete,27 Page of coloured capitals.

Note (1).—The full effect of black and red is obtained by an arrangement of the two colours in marked contrast.

(2) The lines are used as a scale for the Heading, the red capitals and interspaces each being one line high. If a Heading so spaced appear too close to the first line of black writing, another line space may be left.

(3) The round Es are used to fill out the second line, and the square, narrow E to relieve the crowded third line.

(4) Other Colour Schemes.—The entire heading, or the letters W, H, B, O, R, in burnished gold; or the whole variegated (see p. 180). [p133]

PAGE OR COLUMN HEADING & INITIAL

Fig. 92 represents the first page of a book or chapter in two columns, beginning with a rather ornate Heading, in which the Initial is made the principal feature, and having coloured Versals and line-finishings throughout the text.

It is more difficult to get a good effect in this way than by means of a marked colour contrast (see p. 144), or variegated colour, and gold (see Note 7).

Note (1).—The lines bounding the text would naturally be indented, or pale (not black as in the block), and ruled from head to foot of the page (see Note (2) on the next figure).

(2) The red ornamental line-finishings (see p. 205) would be more effective if variegated.

(3) The Versals in the text are made about a line high, but are dropped below the line (p. 122).

(4) The Versals in the Heading are made one line high, with one-line spacing—between O and D increased to two lines (partly filled by a flourish from the D), in order to fit the U, O, and D in evenly beside the Initial.

(5) The Initial Q should project slightly up and out—beyond the bounding lines—to mark the top, left corner more strongly (see footnote, p. 211).

(6) All the rubricating on this page is done with the same pen (see pp. 205, 218).

(7) Other Colour Schemes. “Quod fuit ab initio,” the filigree ornament and the V V in burnished gold (or the Q and VV in gold), the rest of the Versals and line-finishings in Red and Blue, or Red and Green, or Red, Blue, and Green (see pp. 181, 185). [p135]

VERSALS IN COLUMN OR MARGINAL BANDS

Fig. 93 represents two columns of black text, consisting of short verses, &c., which are marked by coloured capitals—forming bands of colour—in the margins.

Note (1).—The coloured capitals in the figure are made rather larger than usual, to enforce the effect of the two lines of red and mark their contrast with the columns of black text. In practice, however, they would be better and more distinct if rather smaller.

(2) The lines bounding the text would naturally be faint, or grooved (p. 343); but, ruled from head to foot of the page, they would be sufficiently apparent to add materially to the general effect of orderly arrangement. (Lines are printed here to show clearly the way the two columns are ruled and to suggest this effect, though the process block necessarily gives a false impression in making them appear too short and too heavy).

(3) Extra width between the columns (and also in the margin) may be allowed for the coloured capitals (compare fig. 92).

(4) Words in simple written capitals are used to mark slight divisions, or changes of sense, in the text.

(5) A stiff Versal of a rather “Roman” type is used, partly because of the number of the capitals (see p. 126).

(6) Other Colour Schemes.—The larger capitals might be in burnished gold, the rest in red (or in red, blue, and green); or all might be in red, blue, and green. [p137]

STANZAS OR VERSES MARKED BY VERSALS

Fig. 94 represents a poem in two verses which are distinguished by interspaces and by coloured capitals—a brief introductory line also being in colour. (It is supposed that the poem occurs in a book—mainly in prose—written in Roman small-letters.)

It is generally best to distinguish the verses of poems by one-line interspaces. When this is done, coloured initials are not so necessary, and their value become chiefly decorative (see 123).

Note (1).—The writing is founded on “Italic” (see Plate XXI.), and (it is supposed that) it would be used here wherever the songs occurred; firstly, to distinguish them from the rest of the text, and secondly, to keep the lines of the poem entire—Italics occupying less room than ordinary, round Small-Letters (see p. 315).

(2) The story opens with the first line, which may in this case be regarded either as a Title or as a prefatory note in red.

(3) The two red capitals are made of a rather “Roman” type to match the Italic (and the small Roman text of the book). The difference in height made between the W and the S is intended to balance the difference in width, and to give them an appearance of equal weight. This may be permitted where there are only a few capitals; where there are many, their heights are generally kept more uniform.

(4) Another Colour Scheme.—W and S would look better in burnished gold. [p139]

MUSIC WITH RED STAVES

Fig. 95 is a reproduction, in facsimile, showing quarter of a page of a folio Service Book (probably French, early sixteenth century). The page consists of two columns of ten staves each, and is headed In vigi (lia), natiuitatis dnī. The book is printed on vellum in red and black; the columns of music have faint red bounding lines ruled by hand (not shown in the figure).

The red stave is very effective, and it was commonly used in early MSS. and printed books. There appears to be some doubt, however, as to its practical value, and I have been advised that it is not so legible as the black line stave, and also that, in Church Service Books (see p. 345), in order to make an absolutely clear distinction, red should be reserved entirely for the rubrics.

The “plain-song” chant, with its four-line stave, has a simpler and finer appearance than the more modern and elaborate five-lined stave and tailed notes. The latter, however, may yet be treated very effectively.

Note 1.—The mark and the capitals , and were blotted—it can scarcely be called “painted”—with yellow. Yellow or red were often used in this way to mark the small black capitals in printed books (p. 428, & comp. p. 302). It is a questionable method. (These blots have been removed from the figure—except, by an oversight, in the case of ).

(2) Other Colour Schemes.—(a) The title, or (b) the text and the notes, might be in burnished gold (the other parts in either case remaining in red and black). [p141]

TAIL-PIECES, COLOPHONS, &C.

Fig. 96 represents a coloured Tail-piece or decorative finish at the end of a book (or chapter).

The Colophon (see p. 128 & figs. 13, 191), generally distinguished from the text by a smaller or different hand, and—especially in early printed books—by colour or other decorative treatment, occurs at the end of a book, where it is the traditional right of the penman and the printer to add a statement or a symbolical device. The Name (of craftsman and assistants), Time, and Place are commonly stated—preferably quite simply—e.g. “This book, written out by me, A.B., in LONDON, was finished on the 31st day of DECEMBER 1900.” Any reasonable matter of interest concerning the text, the materials, methods, lettering, or ornament, and an account of the number of leaves and their size, &c., may be added. But the craftsman, properly and modestly keeping his name off the title-page, is at liberty to exercise his right, marking the end of, and signing his work in any way he chooses—even in a speech or a sentiment—provided the form of the colophon be unobtrusive and its language natural. Printer’s devices or book-marks, consisting of symbols, monograms, &c. (p. 362), were likewise used.