ACANTHUS	A type of leafy plant commonly depicted in foliate borders.
ANTHROPOMORPHIC INITIAL	An initial composed wholly or partly of human figures.
ANTIPHONAL	The book containing the principal music sung by the choir during the Divine Office.
BAS DE PAGE	French for "bottom of the page" which describes usually unframed illustrations in the lower margins of illuminated manuscripts. The subject matter may or may not relate to the text.
BESTIARY	Descriptions and tales of animals, birds, fantastic creatures and stone, real and imaginary, which are imbued with Christian symbolism or moral lessons.
BIFOLIUM	A piece of parchment which is folded to create two leaves.
BINDING	Animal skin, cloth or metal covering wooden boards that are sewn together with the vellum leaves at the spine.
BOOK OF HOURS	A very popular type of text during the Middle Ages used for private devotions. It contains a calendar as well as psalms, prayers, hymns and biblical readings for recitation during the eight canonical hours of the day, known as the Hours of the Virgin.
BORDER	The margin around the text, which is often illuminated with foliate designs.
BREVIARY	A liturgical book used for the celebration of the Divine Office.
BURNISHING	Enhancing the smoothness & shininess of a surface such as gold or silver by polishing with a burnisher.
CATCHWORD	A word written at the end generally in the lower margin) that repeats the first word on the following page.
CHOIR BOOKS	The general term for service books containing the music sung by the choir, e.g. Antiphonal and Gradual.
CODEX	A collection of written pages stitched together along one edge, the book form still in use today.
CUTTING	A section of a leaf, often containing illuminated initials which have been cut from a manuscript.
DECORATED INITIAL	A painted initial with geometric or naturalistic designs. See also Historiated Initial, Inhabited Initial and Zoomorphic Initial.
DIAPER PATTERN	From the French diapré (variegated). A repetitive geometric pattern.
DIVINE OFFICE	The daily cycle of prayers and recitations performed by the clergy.
DROLLERY	An amusing figure, often of a grotesque character.
FOLIO	A leaf of a manuscript that is numbered on only one side, usually the recto.
GILDING	Application of gold or silver to a surface.
GLOSS	A word or words commenting on or translating those of the main text (often written in the margins or between lines).
GOSPEL LESSON	Part of a Book of Hours which contains readings from each of the four gospels.
GOTHIC LITHURGICAL BOOK HAND	A type of script common in many medieval manuscripts of the 14th and 15th centuries which consists of rectangular letter forms.
GRISAILLE	From the French gris (gray). Monochrome painting, often in gray, executed in a black pigment and an inert white pigment.
GROTESQUE	A comic figure - usually the combination of human and animal form.
GRADUAL	The book containing the principal music sung by the choir during Mass.
HISTORIATED INITIAL	An illuminated initial which contains a narrative image.
HOMILIARY	A book containing discussions of biblical passages.
HOURS OF THE VIRGIN	The core text of the Book of Hours containing reading and devotions to the Virgin Mary. The eight hours are Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers and Compline.
HUMANIST Script	A type of script reminiscent of classical carved writing, noted for its clarity.
INCUNABULA	A printed book produced before 1501 - when the process of printing from movable type was in its infancy.
INHABITED INITIAL	An illuminated initial which contains a human or animal figure.
LEAF	A single page of a manuscript. The front surface, which appears on the right side of a two-page opening, is called the recto, and the back surface, which appears on the left side is called the verso. Leaves are most often written on vellum.
LECTIONARY	A selection of texts for use in the Liturgy.
LETTRE Batarde	A type of cursive writing style employing a broad edged quill in which the ascenders and descenders of the letter forms went above and below the ruled lines. It is a precursor to modern handwriting.
MASS	The celebration of Christ's sacrifice in Christian liturgy.
MINIATURE	An independent painting in a manuscript which generally illustrates the text. The name derives not from their relatively small size but from the Latin word minum, which is a red pigment used in paint.
MISSAL	The service book containing the texts necessary for the recitation of the Mass in Christian liturgy.
PARCHMENT	The material derived form animal skins upon which most western manuscripts were written before the 15th century.
PENITENTIAL PSALMS	A group of seven psalms, Latin Vulgate numbers 6, 31, 37, 50, 101, 129 and 142 which were recited as penance and included as a regular feature in the Book of Hours.
PRAYER BOOK	Collections of prayers for private devotional use.
PSALTER	The Book of Psalms with a calendar and other devotional texts used in the Christian liturgy and for private devotions.
RINCEAUX	A type of fine branched ivy decoration frequently used in border decoration.
ROUNDEL	A round narrative painting contained within the border.
RUBRIC	Colored lines of writing (from the Latin rubrica meaning red), were most often, but not always written in red and served as instructional guides to the reader, providing descriptive headings and marking divisions in the text.
RULING	Process by which a frame and/or horizontal lines are produced to guide the hand in writing.
SCRIBE	Person engaged in the writing of books or documents.
SCRIPTORIUM	The place in monasteries and churches where manuscripts were made.
TROMPE L'OEIL	French meaning "deceives the eye" and describes painting in which things are made to appear to be resting on or projecting from the surface of the picture.
VELLUM	A very fine type of Parchment known for its supple character.
VERSAL	The enlarged first letter of a word marking the beginning of a section of text.
VERSO	The back of a folio or leaf.
YSTOIRE	The ancient French word for history, from which the term "historiated initial" is derived.
ZOOMORPHIC INITIAL	An illuminated initial comprised of animal forms.
ZOOMORPHIC-ANTHROPOMORPHIC INITIAL	An initial partly or wholly composed of conflated human and animal forms.