EDLD 5366 Week 1 Reflection

     The British Library site is an amazing site where we can take time to reflect on beautiful books and manuscripts that have been written and illustrated over the years.  It allows us to turn back the pages of time and view ancient writings that were illustrated with such deep grace and symbolism.  The manuscript I selected was written around the 1230’s and has beautiful illustrations. 

     My first impression of the illustration and manuscript is the colorful alignment of the image.  The image itself appears to leap off the ancient page to reveal its story.  The story takes us to a place where animals such as simple goats and bees are transforms into fantastic, magical, and fantasy creatures such as unicorns, mermaids, and griffins.  The illustration that I selected depicts a knight that robs a small innocent tiger cub from its mother.  The story then explains to it reader that the tiger can outrun the knight riding his horse.  Since the knight cannot run faster than the tiger, it tosses a mirror at the mother tiger.  The mother tiger stops running and looks at her reflection in the mirror.  Instead of thinking the reflection she sees is indeed her own reflection, she assumes the reflection is her tiger cub.  The knight is successful in misleading the mother tiger into believing her tiger cub is safe. 

There are examples of all four of the basic design principles in this illustration.  There is enough contrast between the lines and the shapes to make the colors of the illustration vivid and dramatic.  The repetition of the shapes adds visual interest and strengthen the image for the viewer’s enhancement.  The alignment of the boxed shapes around the illustration give the viewer the purpose and focal point of the drawing. The method the illustrator uses for proximity keeps the illustration organized so that the reader can easily remember the illustration while reading the manuscript.   

The author used methods through these vivid and dramatic illustrations to build pictures in the readers mind.  These stunning illustrations could almost stand alone and reveal the story.  The illustrations are brilliantly done and meticulously drawn.  The British Library is a wonderful resource where we are given the opportunity to turn the pages of time and reflect on illustrations and writings of the ancient past.