Initials

Initials are letters that initiate an important part of the text. Initials may be decorated with imagery, and they may categorised and they may be categorised accordingly. Initials in Nordic manuscript can be:

• antropomorphic (an initial partly containing or shaped after a human figure)
• inhabited (initials where pictures of persons or animals are held within the initials)
• foliated or flourished (decorated with plant leaves or flowers)
• historiated (initials that give a narrative representation of events in the text)
• zoomorphic (an initial partly containing or shaped after an animal)