We primarily catalog illuminations from medieval manuscripts. The basic rule here is that the title is the name of the manuscript as a whole, while the folio number and description of a particular scene is recorded in the view description. Since the manuscript is the work, the view type for an illumination is partial view.

Manuscript titles may be descriptive titles that describe the iconographical subject of a work, cited titles from scholarly texts, general descriptions of content, or repository identifiers.

Manuscript titles may be descriptive titles that describe the iconographical subject of a work, cited titles from scholarly texts, general descriptions of content, or repository identifiers.

Most texts will have descriptive titles (“Psalter” or “Hours of Catherine of Cleves”) or popular titles. Use your judgment about title types, but include as many titles as are relevant.

Include the shelf mark or call number with the repository title, or as the repository title if appropriate. These unique identifiers are usually recorded in books or on repository websites. An example is the Lindisfarne Gospels, for which the call number is: British Library Cotton MS Nero D.IV. The title can be recorded as Lindisfarne Gospels, British Library Cotton MS Nero D.IV, title type: repository title.

Some illuminations will be known by titles independent of their manuscripts, but in most cases, record this information in the view description.

Follow other rules in place for title fields. For more information on titles see CCO, pages 58-69.

Record the folio number and description of the illumination. A folio is the sheet (of vellum, parchment, paper, etc.), front and back, on which text and image are recorded, which is why “r” and “v” are used to indicate recto (front page) and verso (back page). You will see this information formatted in many ways (f. 213v, folio 213 verso) but for the sake of consistency, use this format: fol. 213v.

Subjects will change to reflect the content or imagery of the folio in the view. “Painting” is also an appropriate subject.

Use Manuscripts and Manuscript Illuminations for handwritten documents and related illustrations. (For other book art related images use “Decorative Arts, Utilitarian Objects and Interior Design”.)

Use illuminated manuscripts as the work type, or illuminations (visual works) for individual pages.

Title: Gospel Book of Otto III

Title type: cited title

Title: Clm. 4453

Title type: repository title

View: fol. 23v, personifications of Sclavinia, Germania, Gallia, and Roma bringing offerings to Otto III

View type: partial view

Category: Manuscripts and Manuscript Illuminations

Work type: illuminated manuscripts