3-042-642 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Decorated Text Page; Gospel Lectionary, early 9th century. Additional Info: The script seen on the majority of this text page is called Carolingian minuscule. Part of Charlemagne's educational reform during his reign involved developing a new script that could be easily read throughout Europe. The letterforms on this page proved so legible that they are the basis for many modern type fonts. The words in the top line of the page are in a different script, called uncial, intended to serve as a decorative signal that a new part of the text begins below. The painted tab seen at the bottom right-hand corner of the page also signals the beginning of a new section of text and was originally inscribed with the chapter and verse number of the Gospel text introduced on the last line of the page.