https://margretputspentopaper.wordpress.com/2021/01/31/versals/ Skip to content Margret puts pen to paper Menu * Welcome * About * Contact * Blog [acanthus2] Versals January 31, 2021January 28, 2021 [versals3] The January Edmonton Calligraphy Society zoom workshop was led by Leslie Winakur, who shared her knowledge of decorated versals. A versal is a letter that starts a verse and were very common in medieval manuscripts. They had the practical purpose of making it easier to find your place in the text but more importantly, the beauty of these decorated letters served to glorify the message on the page. Some of the letters even contained little pictures that told the story (called a historiated letter) as an aid since many people couldn't actually read. Most books at the time were religious but versals were also found in secular texts. [lombardic]I had fun making my own Lombardic-style versals In a previous post I used Celtic knotted versals on a birthday card but the Celts were not the only ones who decorated letters. Lombardic capitals originated in northwest Italy and were rounded letters, sometimes used to write whole words or sentences, but when they were used as versals they were customarily placed in squares and could be decorated both within and around the letter. The traditional colors of decorated versals are based on the various mineral pigments available at the time so red, blue (made from lapis lazuli), and green (malachite) were common. Gold was used either for the letter itself or in the box around it, with black and white outlines and accents. The monks seemed to have horror vacui as they filled every space they could. Lombardic capitals were often paired with Carolingian text. Below are a couple of images from the internet of old manuscripts with versals: [bibvatican] [illuminate] Creating a medieval manuscript was certainly a group effort, almost like an assembly line. It began with someone preparing the vellum (calfskin was washed in water and lime and then scraped and cut). Next the sheets were folded in half to make two leaves (four pages front and back). As they didn't have pencils, lines were made in the vellum by pricking it and scoring the lines with a bone folder. The scribes had to write between the lines so the ink wouldn't seep through the pricks and scoring. As vellum is translucent, they need to justify the lines front and back to reduce show through. Other specialized scribes did the illustrations. There was even a special name for the scribes who did the red letters used to mark the end of one section of text and the beginning of another, rubricators. As each person who had a part in the work finished, they signed off in an inconspicuous place that couldn't be seen once the manuscript was bound. To this day, a group of papers in a book is called a signature. Below is a picture of St. Dunstan at work on a manuscript, holding a quill and penknife with an inkpot close by. A knife was a common tool - handy for sharpening quills and scraping away mistakes. [st] Illuminated manuscripts are not just a western tradition. Just a few examples include beautifully illustrated documents in Arabic and Persian, Mayan glyphs, the Aztec manuscript known as the Codex Borgia, and the Jewish text relating the story of the Passover called the Haggadah. [modern]Versals with a modern twist The tradition of decorated letters has continued through the centuries to the present. For example, they make lovely greeting cards and can be used to decorate envelopes. Like zentangles, versals are just fun to doodle. Even the medieval examples often have a playfulness about them. [envelopem]I recently received a beautiful envelope in the mail with a gorgeous M. If versals were people they would love bling, embracing a more is more aesthetic. Share this: * Twitter * Facebook * Like Loading... Posted in: Calligraphy | Tagged: Lombardic, medieval, versal Post navigation Glass Dip Pen Valentines 5 thoughts on "Versals" 1. Elisabet Ingibergsson says: February 1, 2021 at 6:34 pm Reply [fe02b] Beautiful! Your lettering is just lovely... especially the elegant "E" LikeLiked by 1 person 2. steppingstonewildernesshospitality says: February 2, 2021 at 11:42 am Reply [48114] Do you ever wonder if you had an earlier life when you did calligraphy? Beautiful. I wonder if there is a relationship between the word versal and versicle? Very interesting history about the group production process. LikeLike + Margret puts pen to paper says: February 2, 2021 at 3:10 pm Reply [bc3f0] I found learning about manuscripts fascinating and I could have gone on and on. For example, scholars often wrote little notes explaining the text between the lines called glossing (where glossaries come from, as well as reading between the lines and glossing over something). Verse is the root of quite a few words like conversation and version. LikeLike 3. Pingback: Decorated Christmas Envelopes - Margret puts pen to paper 4. 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