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Age of Empires
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| 4s | Before the invention of printing in the 15th century, |
|---|---|
| 7s | books were painstakingly copied by hand. |
| 15s | The finest were illuminated with brilliant colors and real gold. |
| 28s | Illuminated text wasn’t just for show. |
| 32s | Gilded illustrations decorated important passages |
| 36s | to highlight their significance. |
| 40s | Gold was used in many medieval manuscripts in early days because it was very expensive |
| 46s | and it indicated that the manuscript itself was valuable. |
| 52s | The light would reflect from candles or from the sunlight |
| 55s | and so it looked as though the book itself was illuminated. |
| 64s | In medieval manuscripts, it looks as though this is solid gold. |
| 68s | In fact, it’s not. The gold itself is tissue thin. |
| 74s | The solid appearance is achieved by laying the gold on a |
| 78s | a cushion of plaster mixed with glue called gesso. |
| 83s | By raising the gold from the surface of the skin, |
| 86s | that means that it catches the light even more. |
| 90s | The glue in the gesso is softened by breathing on it. |
| 101s | We then have three seconds to get the gold on, |
| 104s | and I’m using a burnisher, which is a polished stone, |
| 107s | just to make sure that the gold sticks. |
| 111s | Then the burnisher is used to polish the gold up. |
| 114s | See, it’s coming up now. It’s coming nice and shiny. |
| 119s | Next, the miniature is painted. |
| 123s | The base color will be done first, then the tints and the shades will be added. |
| 128s | And finally, the white highlights and the outline, which lifts it and brings the whole thing to life. |
| 135s | The medieval paint box contained pigments from across the world, |
| 139s | such as ultramarine from Afghanistan, and orpiment gathered from volcanic craters. |
| 148s | It often took a long time to complete these medieval miniatures. |
| 152s | This one between a month and six weeks, from start to finish. |
| 161s | An entire book could take a team of illuminators several years to complete. |
| 167s | Many medieval manuscripts still survive today, fully preserved, |
| 172s | with their colors just as vivid as the day they were illustrated. |