Rare Books at Marlborough: An A to Z
Ornamental Capitals In earlier times, when materials such as vellum or paper were expensive, scribes or typesetters beginning a new section of text, such as a chapter division, did not start on a fresh page, but marked the change with a large, decorated letter distinct from the others in its scale, colour, flourishes and elaboration. Manuscript and book historians have identified two main types of ornamental letter: the decorated initial that introduces a new section of text and carries visual embellishments; and the historiated initial that includes figures or narrative episodes illustrative of the passage that follows. There are numerous examples of both types in books owned by the College.
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