Getty Museum

Decorated Initial P

Date

late 10th century

Medium

Tempera colors, gold paint, silver paint, and ink

Culture

Ottonian

Department

Manuscripts

Institution

Getty Museum

This page from an Ottonian lectionary shows how medieval scribes used the size, color, and style of script to help readers understand a book's contents. The text written in red and highlighted with gold near the middle of the page is the rubric for the Gospel reading for the Purification of the Virgin. It is written entirely in evenly spaced, thin capital letters called rustic capitals. The rubric explains that the following text comes from the Gospel of Luke. The reading itself begins with the words *In illo temp[ore]* (At that time), written in a less angular script called uncial, with the first letter in red and the rest in black ink. This opening formula is followed by the decorated initial *P* . This initial is the largest decorative element on the page, and introduces the word *Postquam* (After which), written in red uncial. The text continues in Caroline minuscule, a script devised during the reign of Charlemagne and used for centuries as the usual script in books.

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