It may be compared to the tooling of a book-cover, both in the method of producing it, and in its effect. A book-binder has a number of stamps which bear the simplest forms and symbols, such as [p198] little circles and “leaves” and stars and curved lines, and with these simple elements he builds up a pleasant “design,” which he tools, usually in gold-leaf, upon the cover.
The scribe can vary the forms which his pen produces, and the colours which he gives them, with a freedom that the set form and the method of using the binder’s tools do not allow. But the skilled penman will find that his pen (or, at any rate, his penmanship) largely determines the forms of his freest flourishes and strokes, and that the semi-formal nature of such ornament demands a certain simplicity and repetition of form and colour, which do not unduly tax his skill as a craftsman.
Suppose, for example, that the scribe wishes to illuminate the border of a page of writing. He may choose a limited number of simple, pen-made forms for the elements of his design; say, a circle, a “leaf,” and a “tendril,” and a few curved flourishes and strokes (fig. [121]), and with these cover the allotted space evenly and agreeably. [p199]
The ornament being treated as though it were a sort of floral growth, requires a starting point or “root.” The initial letter is the natural origin of the border ornament, the stalk of which generally springs from the side or from one of the extremities of the letter. The main stem and branches are first made with a very free pen, forming a skeleton pattern (fig. [122]).
Note.—The numbers in the diagram indicate the order in which the strokes were made. The main stem (111) sweeps over and occupies most of the ground; the secondary stem (222) occupies the remainder; the main branches (333, &c.) make the occupation secure. [p200]
