INITIAL LETTERS
Until Gutenberg’s printing machine was invented, books were copied by hand. In the Orthodox world the copying of manuscripts continued till almost modern times. Even now in some monasteries prayers are transcribed by hand and kondakars are compiled. In the monotonous rhythm of the textual columns, copyists paid particular attention to the new paragraphs and by their ornamentation and the resulting decorative title-pieces they achieved aesthetic articulation of the textual units.
| Thus, the initial letters were an important element in
the design of the medieval Bulgarian book. Transcribers used to render
them in crimson, blue, gold or silver ink. Initials are more elaborate
and larger in size than the ordinary letters - they provided reference
points for the users of the text during liturgies, or for the monk while
he prayed in private. The construction of the letter was ornamented by
vegetal, geometrical, interlaced-band, zoomorphic and anthropomorphic decorative
patterns.
Initials in which the palmette in the oval motif, or the vegetal elements are dominant, are executed in the Byzantine floral style, characteristic of the Greek and Slavic manuscripts. When the initial incorporates elements of the zoomorphic and ornithomorphic list, but devoid of the adequate natural forms, it represents the teratological style, while initials, in which interlaced-geometrical figures prevail, belong to the Balkan style. The basis of all three styles in the Slavonic manuscripts is the Byzantine ornamental repertory. |
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The hand-written book is a subject of serious scholarly study. Some exemplars of initial letters are shown below. Their graphic representation has been studied in the works of professor Axinija Dzurova. Even today Bulgarian artists use them in their works.
