Glossary of Terms

Gloss (Definitions), Pre-1600 A.D. Works

Book of Hours - Sacred readings for personal meditation at prescribed times of the day

Burnished gold - Particles melted, hand-applied, dried, then polished

Calligraphy - Freehand, hand-formed letters

Carolingian - Roman models from Italy, France, and Germany

Codex - Sheets folded, gathered, sewn, and bound; the modern form of the book

Exemplar - Model or specimen

Facsimile - Exact copy

Folio - Sheet is folded once in large format

Fret Work - Crisscross patterns

Gloss - List of terms, summary, explanation, definitions, translation or additional information in marginal notes

Gospel Books - New Testament Books of the four Evangelists

Grid Lines - A series of precisely measured lines within which all letterforms and designs are executed; the grid is drawn in the exact location on each page, a method of registration

Icon - Image or representational picture

Illuminated - "Lit-up" with color; decorated

Majuscule - Capital letter

Manuscript - Executed by hand; original state

Marginalia - Text or designs executed in the margins

Missal - Sacred readings for personal meditation

Prick Holes - Tiny puncture holes from tacks pushed through the sheet to prevent slipping as calligraphers and artists worked; a method of registration

Quire or Gathering - Folios laid one inside the next

Recto - Front side of leaf

Roman Uncial - Smaller, rounded capitals; beginnings of modern alphabet

Rubricator - Artist who painted in red

Vellum - Untanned animal skin scraped repeatedly to translucent white

Verso - Back or reverse side of leaf

Vulgate - St. Jerome's Latin version of the Bible as authorized by the Pope