3-040-136 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Decorated Initial V, late 15th or early 16th century. Additional Info:A decorated initial V opens the introit for Ascension day, 'Viri galilei quid admiramini aspitie[n]tes' (Men of Galilee, why are you astonished gazing up?). Set apart from the rest of the text by its large size, color, and all'antica handling, the initial is particularly elegant. A variety of forms from antiquity-vine leaves, wreaths, decorative arabesques, and gems-sprout from the letter's armature. A scribe wrote the music in square notation, a system developed in the Middle Ages and still used today.