The following elements are available within the decoration element. Any or all of them may be used to provide detailed information about particular decorative aspects of the manuscript or manuscript part. overview contains a summary overview of the decorative scheme, typically including the total number of miniatures of different sizes, an indication of any missing or excised decoration, and other descriptive comments. miniatures describes any independant (free-standing) illustrations. historInit (i.e. historiated initials) describes initials which depict scenes or events, or contain persons or animals (even if they are unidentified), whose representational function can be considered narrative, or at least more than purely decorative. decorInit (i.e. decorated initials) describes initials which are decorated in a non-narrative way. borders describes decoration occupying one or more margins of the page, which is neither dependent on an initial for its structure or shape, nor a discreet miniature, as defined above. minorDec describes any minor decoration not covered by the elements above. attribComm Contains commentary on the decoration, such as an attribution to a named artist, or discussion of the evidence for excised decoration.

All of these elements have the same sub-components: a sequence of one or more paragraphs, tagged using the TEI p element. Here is an example of the use of the overview element:

The decoration comprises two full page miniatures, perhaps added by the original owner, or slightly later; the original major decoration consists of twenty-three large miniatures, illustrating the divisions of the Passion narrative and the start of the major texts, and the major divisions of the Hours; seventeen smaller miniatures, illustrating the suffrages to saints; and seven historiated initials, illustrating the pericopes and major prayers.]]>

In a manuscript with little decorative material, an overview of the above kind may be all that is needed. Often however the cataloguer may wish to describe the decoration in greater detail, using the appropriate sub-elements defined above. Whichever of these sub-elements of decoration are used, features will most naturally be described in the order of a descending hierarchy, based on such aspects as size, complexity, colour, or materials.

Such hierarchies may conveniently be represented using the standard TEI list element, embedded within a paragraph. The range attribute (discussed in section below) may be used to link each component item to the folio on which it appears. The iconTerm element discussed in section below may be used to identify particular scenes, events, persons, animals, and objects represented, as in the following example:

Fourteen large miniatures with arched tops, above five lines of text: Pericopes. St. John writing on Patmos, with the Eagle holding his ink-pot and pen-case; some flaking of pigment, especially in the sky Hours of the Virgin, Matins. Annunciation; Gabriel and the Dove to the right Prime. Nativity; the Virgin and Joseph adoring the Child Terce. Annunciation to the Shepherds, one with bagpipes

Historiated initials may be described in much the same way, using the historInit element as follows:

Seven historiated initials, six or seven lines high, illustrating pericopes and prayers: Pericope of Luke. St. Luke writing, the Ox beside him Pericope of Matthew. St. Matthew writing, the Angel holding a book open Pericope of Mark. St. Mark writing (left-handed), the Lion beside him Obsecro te. The Virgin of the Apocalypse, holding the Christ Child, standing on a crescent moon O intemerata. The Virgin reading a book, with St. Joseph(?) Stabat mater. Pietà, in front of the Cross Missus est Gabriel. The Annunciation

The distinction between historiated and decorated initials is that the former typically depict scenes, events, persons, or animals, whose representational function can be considered to be more than purely decorative, while the latter is for use where initials are decorated in a non-narrative manner. In cases of uncertainty as to whether an image was intended to have more than a purely decorative function, (for example hybrid creatures, dragons, or other similar stock motifs), the decorInit element should be preferred.

The following example describes a typical set of decorated (but not historiated) initials:

Four- or three-line initials in blue and red, enclosing foliage, on a gold ground, at the start of each text with a large miniature; two-line initals in gold, on a blue and red ground with white tracery, to psalms, capitula, lessons, etc. and the KL monograms in the Calendar; similar one-line initials to verses and other minor divisions.

An example of the use of the minorDec element follows. Note that this element should not be used to document such decorative aspects as the use of coloured ink for a paragraph mark, or a calligraphic flourish of the pen as part of the handwriting, which would be better described using the rubrication and script elements, respectively.

Line fillers similar to one-line initials except that line-fillers from fol.185r-193v are of a stylistically later type than the rest, and use only painted gold, on an alternately blue or red square ground.

Similar considerations apply to the use of the borderelement, as in the following example:

The large miniatures and the Lauds initial surrounded by four-sided framed borders of stylised foliage on a plain parchment ground, and variously-shaped panels of naturalistic plants on a painted gold ground; the small miniatures and five-line historiated initials surrounded by similar three-sided borders (in the outer margins); similar one-sided border panels on all pages with a two-line initial

The following example demonstrates the use of a list of distinct attributive commentaries relating to different parts of a manuscript, on which at least four main artists have worked.

At least four main artists worked on the book, the division of their work corresponding to the sections written by the three main scribes (see under Script): Most of the main body of the book (up to fol.182v) was painted and decorated in one style, having links in style and iconography with the school of Maître Francois, although several of the miniatures in this section have been damaged and overpainted at a later date (e.g. the figure of Christ on fol. 33r; the face of the Shepherdess on fol. 59v, etc.). Within this first section, the miniature at the start of the Hours of the Virgin (fol. 34v), is in another style, more suggestive of the early 16th. cent. than the late 15th. The border on fol. 184r is of the same type as those which precede, but the facing minature appears to be by a later, less able, artist, who was perhaps also responsible for the coat of arms on fol.184v. Finally, the miniature on fol. 185r is by a hand working in the style of Jean Bourdichon: his more sophisticated use of gold highlights, his more subtle modelling, and his treatment of the landscape and the framing architecture set him apart from the miniatures which precede.

The decoration element and its components are defined as follows: ]]>

Manuscripts and manuscript parts may be measured in a number of different ways, using different units. Each set of measurements given for a particular part defines a distinct dim element, defined using the following elements. dim defines a measured set of dimensions within a manuscript or manuscript part. Attributes include:type indicates the kind of area being defined. Legal values are specified by the dimType parameter entity; for the Bodleian application, proposed values are: leaf dimensions relate to a single leaf. leaves dimensions relate to a distinct group of leaves (e.g. a gathering, or a separately bound part) ruled dimensions relate to the area of a leaf which has been ruled in preparation for writing. pricked dimensions relate to the area of a leaf which has been pricked out in preparation for ruling (used where this differs significantly from the ruled area, or where the ruling is not measurable). written dimensions relate to the area of a leaf which has been written, with the height measured from the top of the minims on the top line of writing, to the bottom of the minims on the bottom line of writing. box dimensions relate to the box or other container in which the whole codex or manuscript is stored.

At its simplest, a dim element may contain only a brief description, as in the following example:

Ruled in red ink for 18 lines of text per page

For each of the above elements, the following attributes may be supplied: units specifies the units used for this measurement. The default, and recommended, value is mm, i.e. millimetres. scope specifies the applicability of this measurement to the containing manuscript or manuscript part. Legal values are: all measurement applies to all instances in this manuscript or manuscript part. most measurement applies to most instances in this manuscript or manuscript part. range all the instances measured in this manuscript or manuscript part are within the range specified

The following example indicates that the leaves of this manuscript range from 157 to 160 mm in height and are all 105 mm in width, while the ruled area on most pages is approximately 90 x 48 mm. 157-160 105 90 48 ]]>

These elements are defined as follows: ]]>

Manuscripts are composed of leaves or sheets of materials such as paper or vellum, which are numbered or foliated according to one or more schemes, and which are bound together physically into one or more groups of gatherings or quires. There are various ways of expressing the arrangement of these quires, using numbers to represent each quire and the number of leaves of which it ias composed: this expression of the structure is called the collation. In this subsection we define elements which may be used to record information about each of these aspects.

The three elements defined in this subsection are used to describe aspects of the way in which a manuscript is written: the kind of script used, the presence of any rubrication, and any identification information provided by the secundo folio.

The listProvenance element is used to group one or more provenance elements, usually in chronological order (most recent last). provenance contains a brief description of some stage in a manuscript's ownership or history.

A provenance element may contain a short prose note, as in this example:

Perhaps made for use in Paris, and presumably still there when bound in the late 16th-cent.; fol. 1 may have been added at the same time

Alternatively, a provenance element may contain detailed information about (for example) the former owner of a manuscript, together with a brief summary of the evidence for this ascription, as in the following example:

Rt. Hon. T. R. Buchanan probably by 1874; inscribed by him (?) in pencil 10. in the top left corner of the upper pastedown; given to the Bodleian in 1939 by his widow, Mrs. E. O. Buchanan.]]>

A series of detailed provenance elements may be supplied, as in the following example:

Unidentified 18th/19th-cent. owner: inscribed in black ink in the top left corner of the upper pastedown No. 12.; the same hand wrote No. 19. in the same place in London, BL, Egerton MS. 3271 (see 4., below).

M. A. van der Linde, before 1864: Catalogue de la bibliothéque de M. A. van der Linde ... La vente aura lieu du 7 au 16 avril 1864 ... à la libraire G. -A. van trigt, Bruxelles, 1864, lot 202.

Rt. Hon. T. R. Buchanan, probably after 1874, but before 1891 (when it was exhibited at the Burlington Fine Arts Club); given to the Bodleian by his widow, Mrs. E. O. Buchanan, in 1941; inscribed in pencil D[onated]. 28.v.1941 with the present shelfmark on fol. 1r, and with the shelfmark alone on the front pastedown. ]]>

These elements are defined as follows ]]>

The binding element contains a description of the state of the present and former bindings of a manuscript, including information about its material, any distinctive marks, and provenance information.

Sewing not visible; tightly rebound over 19th-cent. pasteboards, reusing panels of 16th-cent. brown leather with gilt tooling à la fanfare, Paris c. 1580-90, the centre of each cover inlaid with a 17th-cent. oval medallion of red morocco tooled in gilt (perhaps replacing the identifying mark of a previous owner); the spine similarly tooled, without raised bands or title-piece; coloured endbands; the edges of the leaves and boards gilt.Boxed.

Considerable additional work is needed to specify more detailed information relating to the components and format of bindings. At present, this element is defined as follows: ]]>