initial
Let an agent handle initials by type, period, manuscript or book, style and use in typography.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify
Researched by: Claude
Purpose and description
Let an agent handle initials by type, period, manuscript or book, style and use in typography.
An enlarged, often decorated letter at the beginning of a text, chapter or paragraph, found in manuscripts and printed books; kinds include historiated, inhabited, decorated and drop-cap initials.
What it is for: Marking text divisions and adding decoration.
It can be identify types of initials; date and attribute manuscript initials from sources; set drop caps in typography; find digitised manuscripts.
Distinguishing features
Enlarged first letter
Decorative or structural
Common in manuscripts
Revived in typography
What it looks like
Large letters, sometimes coloured, gilded or containing figures and ornament.
How it is recognised
Historiated initials contain scenes
Drop caps sink into the text
Personal initials (monograms) are a different sense
Related models
is a kind of - category
appears in - context
is related to - typography
is confused with - another sense
In practice
Families and kinds
historiated initials
inhabited initials
decorated and penwork initials
lombardic initials
drop caps and raised caps
Standards and regulation
CSS initial-letter property
Failure modes and hazards
Misattributing manuscripts
Poor accessibility of decorative letters in digital text
Also called
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions.
Type Which initial.
Types differ.
Kind
Historiated, decorated.
Kind
Initial type.
- What type of initial is it? definition
- What does it depict? definition
Style
Period.
Style
Style.
- Which period and style does it reflect? provenance
- Which specialist source says so? provenance
Manuscripts Books.
Sources identify manuscripts.
Source
Manuscript.
Source
Manuscript.
- Which manuscript or book contains it? provenance
- Where is it held? provenance
Digitised
Images.
Digitised
Digitised images.
- Is a digitised image available? provenance
- Under which licence? provenance
Typography Modern use.
Initials remain in design.
Drop cap
Setting.
Drop cap
Drop caps.
- How should a drop cap be set in this layout? action
- How many lines should it span? measurement
Accessibility
Screen readers.
Accessibility
Accessibility.
- Will screen readers read the word correctly? boundary
- How should decorative initials be marked up? action
Senses Disambiguation.
Initial has other senses.
Monogram
Personal initials.
Monogram
Personal initials.
- Are a person initials meant? boundary
- Which entry fits? action
Phonetics
Syllable initial.
Phonetics
Phonetic sense.
- Is the initial of a syllable, as in Chinese phonology, meant? boundary
- Which entry fits? action
What the second pass must settle
- Should each initial type be a separate entry?
- How should manuscript catalogues be linked?
- How should monograms be split off?