The majority of surviving manuscripts are from the
Middle Ages, although many survive from the
Renaissance, along with a very limited number from Late Antiquity. The majority of these manuscripts are of a religious nature. However, especially from the 13th century onward, an increasing number of secular texts were illuminated. Most illuminated manuscripts were created as
codices, which had superseded
scrolls. A very few illuminated manuscript fragments survive on
papyrus, which does not last nearly as long as
vellum or
parchment. Most medieval manuscripts, illuminated or not, were written on parchment (most commonly of
calf, sheep, or goat skin), but most manuscripts important enough to illuminate were written on the best quality of parchment, called vellum.
Beginning in the
Late Middle Ages, manuscripts began to be produced on paper.
[1] Very early printed books were sometimes produced with spaces left for
rubrics and miniatures, or were given illuminated initials, or decorations in the margin, but the introduction of printing rapidly led to the decline of illumination. Illuminated manuscripts continued to be produced in the early 16th century, but in much smaller numbers, mostly for the very wealthy. Manuscripts are among the most common items to survive from the Middle Ages; many thousands survive. They are also the best surviving specimens of medieval painting, and the best preserved. Indeed, for many areas and time periods, they are the only surviving examples of painting.
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