Illuminated manuscript

An illuminated manuscript is a work of book art that contains figurative images as opposed to a plain text signature. It is immaterial whether these take as illustrations on the text or terms are independent. The general term is the illuminated manuscript, including those referred to in addition to the illuminated manuscripts with nichtfigürlichem jewelry, as they dominated the entire Islamic book painting during the iconoclastic controversy, the Byzantine book illumination or because of a ban on images. Especially with richly decorated initials of the transition from the purely ornamental to figurative painting is fluid.

Image manuscripts were made since ancient times. It is but a development of the late Middle Ages in particular that the book illumination in pomp manuscripts begins to surpass in importance the text, and especially in the 15th century, the " profane images Hunger" will be satisfied through richly illustrated house books and pictures chronicles. In the area of ​​pragmatic literacy illustrations are popular at this time, the pragmatic manuscripts of the late Middle Ages, however, already largely back, illustrated with engravings and woodcuts, replaced with the advent of the printing press in the 16th century printed books.