where can i find the history of mideval illumantaions?

Question

Illumanations are the letters that are all decorated pretty at the beginnings of chapters in books.

Answer 1

Illumination isn't only the first lettert on the page...it's also the delicate, very original art along the sides and top, the intricate borders, in fact, anything that is drawn by hand in colored inks in these very old, very rare books. Most often, in fact 99% of the time, they were religious texts, as the monks were the only ones who could write, had access to the instruments and inks and the time that was necessary for the manuscript to be crafted.
Look at the links below...they're fascinating!
The fourth link and beyond will give you some really good examples of illumination....



source: myself...over 20 years as a calligrpaher, and an exhaustive study of illumination (which I still, to this day, struggle to do!)

Answer 2

"Contents :
2 Italy and Byzantium, 3rd–6th centuries
3 North-west Europe, 8th–12th centuries
4 Northwest Europe, 13th–15th centuries
5 Italy, 13th–15th centuries
6 Persia
7 Ottoman Empire"

"Miniature (illuminated manuscript)" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miniature_%28illuminated_manuscript%29

"Illuminated manuscript" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illumination_%28manuscript%29