Item Info

Script: Transitional script (praegothica)
Language: Latin
Folio Number: front
Source: Rare Book Department
Notes: Initial A
Notes: This cutting has been dated to ca. 1130.
Notes: This initial is a fine example of Romanesque initial decoration. The intricate interlaced pattern of the white vine-scroll harbors a male figure in the lower compartment climbing up the tendrils of the stylized vines toward a lion in the upper compartment grazing, as it were, on the stylized foliage. The head of a beast at the top of the letter threatens to swallow the whole composition. Such play within the decorative spaces of a manuscript and the blending of abstract design and natural forms are holdovers from pre-Christian ornamental traditions, such as those practiced by the Celts.
Sirsi Catalog Key: 1587073
Country: Country:France
Cardinal Point:northern

Creation Year (Single Year or Range Begin): 1050
Image Dimensions Width: 148 mm
ShelfMark: Lewis E M 16:10