1. lluminat ion
s
I n t he Middle Ages
all books wer e hand-wr it t en or iginal
wor ks of ar t . These “illuminat ed”
manuscr ipt s wer e so called because of
t heir f r equent incor por at ion of gold or
somet imes silver leaf ont o t he page.
I lluminat ion comes f r om t he Lat in wor d
illuminar e, meaning “light up,” and when
one sees one of t hese br illiant

2. • I n making an illuminat ion,
t he ar t ist f ir st made an
out line dr awing wit h
leadpoint or quill and ink.
• Next , he or she paint ed
t he ar eas t o r eceive gold
leaf wit h a st icky subst ance
such as r ed clay or sap.
• The gold leaf was t hen laid
down and bur nished, or
r ubbed, t o cr eat e a shiny
sur f ace.
• Finally, t he illuminat or
applied paint s t hat wer e

3. The Divine
Comedy

4. The Book of Kells

5. The Bible

6. The
Shahnameh

7. The
Shahnameh