Getty Museum

Decorated Initial D

Date

about 1140–1150

Medium

Tempera colors, gold paint, and ink

Culture

Flemish

Department

Manuscripts

Institution

Getty Museum

This elaborate initial D begins the second portion of Eadmer of Canterbury's biography of Saint Anselm. The forms of the letters on the page show the transition between Carolingian minuscule, originally developed under Emperor Charlemagne in the 800s, and early Gothic script. In Carolingian minuscule, the feet (or bottoms) of tall letters like f had protruded below the baseline, but here the feet are all treated equally so only letters with descenders, like p and q, fall below the baseline. There is also an angularity to the letter forms that would become the hallmark of Gothic script.

The authoritative record is held by Getty Museum. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.