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Small holes that have been made in regular intervals by a scribe with a knife or point alongside the edge of a folio to create guide rules for writing.

An independent illustration as opposed to a scene that is connected to a decoration like a border or initial.

Notes, diagrams, writing, or other marks made in the margins of a manuscript. Marginalia could be included in the original creation of the manuscript and by a later hand. Painted decorations can also be incorporated in the margins, see drollery…

A decoration that fills out the remainder of a line of script.

See folio.

Deriving from the Latin word illuminare, meaning ‘to enlighten.’ Illuminations are embellishments made of precious metals that add luminosity to manuscript designs.

A letter that contains an identifiable figure(s) or scene that is relevant to the text.

A hybrid figure that combines elements from both human and animal forms. Like drolleries, these figures often bear no relation to the text.

Deriving from the Latin wordfolium, which translates as ‘leaf’. Equivalent to a ‘page’, a folio is an individual leaf of a parchment or vellum. Illuminated manuscripts are numbered by leaves opposed to pages. Folding parchment or vellum in half makes…

Decorative penwork that emanates from an initial.