Illuminated manuscript
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An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers and liturgical books such as psalters and courtly literature, the practice continued into secular texts from the 13th century onward and typically include proclamations, enrolled bills, laws, charters, inventories, and deeds.
Illuminated manuscripts housed in the 16th-century Ethiopian Orthodox Church of Ura Kidane Mehret, Zege Peninsula, Lake Tana, Ethiopia
Frontispiece of the Maqamat al-Hariri (1237 CE) depicting a ruler in Turkic dress (long braids, Sharbush fur hat, boots, fitting coat), possibly Baghdad.
Page from a Latin book of hours, with miniatures of saints. Book of Hours of Alexandre Petau, 16th century, Rouen, well after printing had become more common.
The author of a manuscript at his writing desk. 14th century
Vergilius Vaticanus
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The Vergilius Vaticanus, also known as Vatican Virgil, is a Late Antique illuminated manuscript containing fragments of Virgil's Aeneid and Georgics. It was made in Rome in around 400 CE, and is one of the oldest surviving sources for the text of the Aeneid. It is the oldest and one of only three ancient illustrated manuscripts of classical literature.
Ascanius and Trojan council, Folio 73 verso
Aeneas and Achates Discover Carthage, Folio 13 recto