Analyzing Basic Design Principles in Ancient Manuscripts

I looked through quite a few of the manuscripts in the British Library Online Gallery before coming upon this particular page from the Lisbon Bible. I was mesmerized by its detail and use of color. It gave me a feeling of peace and balance. I lingered for a long time studying the detail of this page. The intricacy of the floral borders and the use of the gold in writing the script imply the value and importance of this bible to the Jewish culture. The use of contrast of the dense floral border with the light and airy border that encompasses the text adds a great deal of interest. The dense border grabs the attention then leads the eye on in to the inner manuscript. The use of contrast of the pink filled frame that holds the gold scripts really brings the eye in to perhaps may be the title of the particular page. There is excellent use of repetition that creates unity within the page. The golden-yellow flowers within the floral border harmonize with the gold embellished script. Also there is repetition of blue throughout the page beginning with the outermost border, in the smaller flowers, and then again in the inner borders. Another use of repetition is the pink fill in the title frame repeated from the pink flowers within the outer dense border. Alignment is used to create symmetry and balance within the page. The gold script that creates a border is perfectly aligned within the blue border. The beginning and end of the horizontal part of the border script is aligned with the vertical script to create an aligned corner which repeats the corners of the blue border that it is within. The proximity of the border script implies relationship to the main script within the innermost frames.

Source:
The British Library Board. (n.d.). The Lisbon Bible [Photograph], Retrieved November 18, 2010, from: http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/ttp/lisbon/accessible/pages3and4.html#content