(Q23088)

Ornament in medieval and Renaissance manuscripts can be quite fanciful. In this initial, the letter E resembles a laurel wreath, a motif borrowed from Classical art. The horizontal bar ends in the torso of a crowned and winged caryatid, again another decorative motif with origins in the Classical world. Such displays of imagination usually carried very little symbolism; rather, their purpose...

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This image shows the reverse of a cutting with a decorated initial from a choir book.

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Initial M or O

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The vertical bar dividing the letter ends in the torso of a crowned and winged caryatid, a decorative motif with origins in the Classical world. Such displays of imagination usually carried very little symbolism; here, however, the cross and the bishop's crozier are suggestive of the ecclesiastical use for which this choir book was intended. Lewis E M 29:13-15 are from the same manuscript.

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This image shows the reverse of a cutting with a decorated initial from a choir book.

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Initial E

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Ornament in medieval and Renaissance manuscripts can be quite fanciful. The lower curve of the initial is formed by the torso of a female figure suggestive of a winged mermaid. As with the other initials from this manuscript (Lewis E 29:13 and 14), this motif has its origins in the Classical world. Such displays of imagination usually carried very little symbolism; rather, their purpose seems...

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This image shows the reverse of a cutting with a decorated initial from a choir book.

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These cuttings can be dated to the 15th or 16th centuries.

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acknowledgements

Contributor: David Kalish

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Cataloger: Dot Porter

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Funder: Council on Library and Information Resources

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