Lovely letters

There are thousands of illuminated manuscripts in The British Library's collections.

Each manuscript exhibits intricate flawless detail from texts in iridescent colours such as red, blue and gold leaf. It is difficult to believe that all this work was done by hand.

This topic uses decorated letters in illuminated manuscripts as springboards into children's own writing. It encourages attention to the colours and imagery in the detail of each letter. Children are expected to consider how religious stories can be displayed and how a message is conveyed through illustrations.

Activity 1
Make a decorated letter