Paper manuscripts appeared during the Late Middle Ages. Books ranged in size from ones smaller than a modern paperback, such as the pocket gospel, to very large ones such as choirbooks for choirs to sing from, and "Atlantic" bibles, requiring more than one person to lift them. A very few illuminated fragments also survive on papyrus. These pages were then bound into books, called codices (singular: codex). Most medieval manuscripts, illuminated or not, were written on parchment or vellum. While Islamic manuscripts can also be called illuminated and use essentially the same techniques, comparable Far Eastern and Mesoamerican works are described as painted. The majority of extant manuscripts are from the Middle Ages, although many survive from the Renaissance, along with a very limited number from late antiquity.
Examples include the Codex Argenteus and the Rossano Gospels, both of which are from the 6th century. The earliest extant illuminated manuscripte come from the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths and the Eastern Roman Empire and date from between 400 and 600 CE.
Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, the practice continued into secular texts from the 13th century onward and typically include proclamations, enrolled bills, laws, charters, inventories and deeds. Various examples of pages from illuminated manuscriptsĪn illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations.
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