Getty Museum

Inhabited Initial Q

Date

about 1140–1150

Medium

Tempera colors, gold paint, and ink

Culture

Flemish

Department

Manuscripts

Institution

Getty Museum

This initial Q, with its intertwined vegetation composed of unpainted parchment and simple colors, is a common type developed in England around 1000. A dragonlike creature turns its head to bite the bottom of the letter, forming the tail of the Q. The initial's large size helps emphasize the beginning of the text, and its twisting vine shapes complement the organic forms of Eadmer's desk in the facing image.

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