Motywy graficzne w inicjałach dokumentów biskupów wrocławskich w średniowieczu
Graphic Motifs in the Initials of Documents of the Bishops of Wrocław in the Middle Ages

Summary/Abstract: Among the graphic motifs used to decorate initials on medieval documents of Wrocław bishops, several dominant tendencies can be distinguished, such as decorations with animal motifs – fish, floral motifs – oak and grapevines, as well as in the form of geometric patterns. A relatively common practice was to combine geometric elements with plant or animal, which resulted in the creation of specific ornamental hybrids. Moreo- ver, the initials were decorated by filling the initial with the ink, which the entire document was written, increasing the initial with respect to the entire text, and drawing only the out- line of the letter with the probable intention of filling it in later. The analyzed documents were also familiar with leaving empty spaces in places where initials should appear.

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