Students in Prof. Karl Whittington’s Spring 2025 class, “HistArt 5422: Medieval Manuscript Illumination,” were assigned to make their own medieval-style manuscripts. These manuscripts are organized in “quires” of individual folios, and contain the text of several Psalms in either English or Latin.  Students created their own page designs, deciding on page layout, text size, text style, rubrication, and many other decisions that go into creating a manuscript page. They then decided on systems for illuminating or enriching the text with initials of various sizes, narrative scenes, marginal illustrations, and different forms of decoration. Learning by doing, students saw firsthand the incredible amount of work and effort that goes into making handmade books!  Some even wrote with quill and ink, or tried medieval forms of calligraphy, while others experimented with modern media like butcher paper or gel pens that approximate the visual and material effects of parchment and gold. Scroll through the photos to see some examples of the amazing manuscripts that they created!