miniatures

Manuscripts and ancient books were usually decorated and embellished with miniatures. While the miniature was initially reserved for small red details, especially in the letterhead, over time it became full-page illustrations. In the Middle Ages, a great impetus was given by the monasteries where, in the scriptoria, the amanuensis monks copied the ancient texts and left it to the illuminator to embellish them with decorations and representations that followed the written texts.