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{{Short description|Oversized first letter in a text block}}
{{redirects|Initials|the first letter of a person's given name or middle name or both|Given name#Initials}}
{{Other uses}}
[[File:Conversation-saints 01.jpg|thumb|A historiated initial (the letter O) from an illuminated manuscript|alt=A large letter O in a frame. At the centre of the letter, there is an illustration of Moses receiving the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone.]]

In a written or published work, an '''initial'''{{efn|Also referred to as a '''versal''', '''drop capital''' (or '''drop cap''' or '''drop'''), '''initial capital''' (or '''initial cap''', '''initcapital''', '''initcap''' or '''init'''), or '''titling capital'''.}} is a letter at the beginning of a word, a [[chapter (books)|chapter]], or a [[paragraph]] that is larger than the rest of the text. The word is ultimately derived from the [[Latin]] ''initiālis'', which means ''of the beginning''.  An initial is often several lines in height, and, in older books or manuscripts, may take the form of an '''inhabited''' or '''historiated initial'''.  There are certain important initials, such as the Beatus initial, or B, of ''[[Beatus vir]]...'' at the opening of Psalm 1 at the start of a [[vulgate]] Latin. These specific initials in an [[illuminated manuscript]] were also called '''initia''' ([[grammatical number|singular]]: '''initium''').

==History==
[[File:Ornamental Alphabet - 16th Century.svg|thumb|A set of sixteenth-century initial capitals|alt=Ornamental lettering samples. The order of V and U letter places are swapped and the letters J, O, W, and Z.l are missing]]
The [[classical tradition]] was slow to use capital letters for initials at all; in surviving Roman texts it often is difficult even to separate the words as spacing was not used either. In [[late antiquity]] ({{circa|4th}}–6th century) both came into common use in Italy, the initials usually were set in the left margin (as in the second example below), as though to cut them off from the rest of the text, and about twice as tall as the other letters.  The radical innovation of [[Insular script|insular]] manuscripts was to make initials much larger, not indented, and for the letters immediately following the initial also to be larger, but diminishing in size (called the "[[diminuendo]]" effect, after the [[Musical terminology|musical term]]).  Subsequently, they became larger still, coloured, and penetrated further and further into the rest of the text, until the whole page might be taken over.  The decoration of insular initials, especially large ones, was generally abstract and geometrical, or featured animals in patterns. Historiated initials were an [[Insular art|Insular]] invention, but did not come into their own until the later developments of [[Ottonian art]], [[Anglo-Saxon art]], and the [[Romanesque art|Romanesque]] style in particular.  After this period, in [[Gothic art]] large paintings of scenes tended to go in rectangular framed spaces, and the initial, although often still historiated, tended to become smaller again.

In the very early history of [[printing]], the [[typesetter]]s would leave blank the necessary space, so that the initials could be added later by a scribe or [[miniature (illuminated manuscript)|miniature]] painter. Later initials were printed using separate blocks in [[woodcut]] or [[metalcut]] techniques.

<gallery>
File:P46.jpg|Greek biblical text from [[Papyrus 46]], of c. 200, with no initials, punctuation, and barely spaces between words
File:Codex Alexandrinus f41v - Luke.jpg|5th century [[Codex Alexandrinus]] with initials in left margin 
File:Leaves from a Coptic Manuscript MET sf21-148-1as2.jpg|Leaf from a [[Coptic language|Coptic]] manuscript, 6th-14th century, Metropolitan museum of Art, New-York 
File:CathachOfStColumba.jpg|"Diminuendo" effect in the first letters after this initial from the [[Cathach of St. Columba]] (Irish, 7th century)
File:KellsDecoratedInitial.jpg|One of thousands of smaller decorated initials from the [[Book of Kells]]
File:Meister der Franko-Sächsischen Gruppe 001.jpg|''In principio'' from the start of the [[Gospel of John]], 9th century
File:Illuminated capital letter D, Mokvi Gospels (2).jpg|Illuminated [[Georgian script|Georgian letter]] "D" from the [[Mokvi Gospels]]
File:JesseTree.jpg|Large initial L from a Romanesque Bible
File:Mainz - Johann Fust & Peter Schoeffer (printers) - Mainz Psalter - Google Art Project.jpg|Opening from the [[Mainz Psalter]], printed in 1457, with small printed and large drawn initials.
File:Fraktur.png|[[Fraktur (script)|Fraktur]]
File:Agricola.jpg|[[Alexander Agricola]]'s score: "Fortem virili"
Lettrine et petites capitales.JPG|Two row-wide P initial, followed by small capitals 
</gallery>

Since 2003, the W3C is working for initial letter modules for [[CSS]] Inline Layout Module Level 3, which standardized the output of initial letters for web pages.<ref>{{cite web
|author1=Dave Cramer |author2=Elika J. Etemad |author3=Steve Zilles |title = CSS Inline Layout Module Level 3|date = 8 August 2018|work = W3C Working Draft|publisher = [[World Wide Web Consortium]]|access-date = 29 January 2019|url = https://www.w3.org/TR/css3-linebox/}}</ref><ref name="Vox Marcotte">{{cite web |last1=Marcotte |first1=Ethan |title=Drop caps & design systems |url=https://product.voxmedia.com/2019/6/17/18524029/the-ballad-of-drop-caps-and-design-systems |website=Vox Product Blog |date=17 June 2019 |publisher=[[Vox Media]] |access-date=25 June 2019}}</ref>

==Types of initial==
The initials are [[wikt:morphology|morphologically]] classified: ''the [[Rubrication|rubricated]]'' letter (red); the ''epigraphic'' letter, imitating ancient [[Roman square capitals|Roman majuscules]]; the ''figurated'' initial (usually in miniatures); the ''[[Historiated initial|historiated]]'' initial, that gives spatial support to scenes of a narrative character; etc.

The initial may sit on the same [[Baseline (typography)|baseline]] as the first line of text, at the same margin, as it does here. This is the easiest to typeset on a computer, including in [[HTML]]. An example follows (using [[Lorem ipsum]] nonsense text):

<blockquote style="width:50%;"><span style="font-size: 400%; line-height: 0.95em; font-family: serif; vertical-align: baseline;">L</span><span style="font-family: serif">orem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.</span></blockquote>

Alternatively, the initial may be in the left margin, with the text indented, as shown here. In word processors and HTML, this may be implemented using a table with two cells, one for the initial and one for the rest of the text. The difference between this and a true drop cap may be seen when the text extends below the initial. For example:

<blockquote style="width:50%;">
{| cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"
|- valign="top"
| style="vertical-align: text-top" | <span style="font-size: 400%; line-height: 100%; vertical-align: top; font-family: serif">L</span> 	 	
| style="vertical-align: text-top" | <span style="font-family: serif">orem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.</span>
|}
</blockquote>
{{anchor|Drop cap}}
With a '''drop cap''', the initial sits within the margins and runs several lines deep into the paragraph, indenting some normal-sized text in these lines. This keeps the left and top margins of the paragraph flush.

In modern computer browsers, this may be achieved with a combination of HTML and [[Cascading Style Sheets|CSS]] by using the <code>float: left;</code> setting. An alternate CSS-only method can instead use the <code>:first-letter</code> pseudo-element. An example of this format is the following paragraph:
<blockquote style="width:50%;"><div style="font-size: 400%; line-height: 100%; float: left; font-family: serif; margin-right: 0.25em;">L</div><span style="font-family: serif">orem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.</span></blockquote>

In some older manuscripts, the first letter of normal sized text after a drop cap also would be capitalized, as may be seen in the Mainz Psalter above, and in the original 1609 printing of [[Shakespeare's sonnets]]. This evoked the handwritten "diminuendo" style of gradually reducing the text size over the course of the first line. This style now is rare, except in newspapers.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}

== Opening quotation marks ==
There is no accepted solution for how to handle initials if there is an opening [[quotation mark]] before the first letter. ''[[The Chicago Manual of Style]]'' offers two options: leave out the opening quotation mark entirely; or have it be the same size as the initial, as shown below.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Chicago Manual of Style |publisher=[[The University of Chicago Press]] |year=2017 |isbn=9780226287058 |edition=17th |pages=723 |language=en |chapter=13.37 |doi=10.7208/cmos17}}</ref>

<blockquote style="width:50%;"><div style="font-size: 400%; line-height: 100%; float: left; font-family: serif; margin-right: 0.25em;">“L</div><span style="font-family: serif">orem ipsum dolor sit amet.” Consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.</span></blockquote>
==Inhabited initial==
[[File:Inhabited Initial E - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright|Inhabited initial E from an Italian [[breviary]], 1153 AD, Los Angeles, Getty Museum, Ms. Ludwig IX 1 (83.ML.97), fol. 331v<ref name="getty-e">{{cite web |url=https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/103083/unknown-maker-inhabited-initial-e-italian-1153/ |title=Inhabited Initial E |publisher=Getty Museum |access-date=29 January 2022}}</ref>|alt=Large uppercase E decorated with spirals and dogs]]

An '''inhabited initial''' is an initial, an enlarged [[Letter (alphabet)|letter]] at the beginning of a paragraph or other section of text that contains an illustration of human or animal figures within the letter. It is similar to a historiated initial (see below); however, the figures in historiated initials show an identifiable scene or story, while the figures in inhabited initials do not show a narrative.<ref name="bluk-glosI">{{cite web |url=https://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/GlossI.asp |title=Glossaries: I |work=Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts |publisher=The British Library |access-date=27 November 2017 |archive-date=26 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171126020007/http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/GlossI.asp |url-status=dead }}</ref> Figures in inhabited initials may be related to the contents of the text, but do not have to be. They may be purely decorative instead.<ref name="Chilvers2004">{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WYaRX58a0_IC&pg=PA358 |chapter=Inhabited initial |title=The Oxford Dictionary of Art |publisher=Oxford University Press |editor-first=Ian |editor-last=Chilvers |edition=3rd |page=358 |date=2004 |isbn=0-19-860476-9}}</ref>

==Historiated initial==
[[File:Illuminated.bible.closeup.arp.jpg|thumb|The letter P as a historiated initial (depicting Peter) in an illuminated Latin bible, 1407 AD. Colored with paint and [[gold leaf]]]]
[[File:Leningrad bede.jpg|thumb|upright|The oldest historiated initial known, the ''[[St Petersburg Bede]]'', 8th century]]

A '''historiated initial''' is an initial, an enlarged [[Letter (alphabet)|letter]] at the beginning of a paragraph or other section of text, that contains a picture. Strictly speaking, a historiated initial depicts an identifiable figure or a specific scene, while an inhabited initial (see above) contains figures (human or animal) that are decorative only, without forming a subject. Both sorts became very common and elaborate in luxury [[illuminated manuscript]]s. These illustrated initials were first seen in the [[Insular art]] of the early 8th century. The earliest known example is in the [[Saint Petersburg Bede]], an Insular manuscript of 731–46, and the [[Vespasian Psalter]] has another.{{sfn|Brown|2007|p=10}}

The size and decoration of the initial further gives clues to both its importance and location. Letters that began a new section of a text or a particularly noteworthy section might receive more flourishes and space. They would also provide a visual point of reference, "marking the division of the text into books, chapters, paragraphs and sometimes even verses" since, due to the cost of parchment, the modern convention that a new section will begin on a new page had not emerged.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blog.europeana.eu/2019/01/lighting-the-way-how-illuminated-initials-guided-medieval-readers-through-books/ |title=Lighting the Way: How Illuminated Initials Guided Medieval Readers through Books |work=[[Europeana|Europeana Blog]] |first=Elizabeth |last=MacDonald |date=10 January 2019 |access-date=14 January 2019}}</ref> In luxury manuscripts an entire page might be devoted to a historiated initial.{{sfn|Clemens|Graham|2007|p=29}} 

Both the size and the ostentatiousness of a manuscript reflect both on the status of the manuscript and on its owner. Manuscripts meant for everyday use, typically by friars or university students, often had little illumination, and hardly any elaborate historiated initials or flourishes. Manuscripts commissioned by wealthy patrons or for a wealthy monastery were often illuminated, and in gold or silver rather than pen and ink.

==See also==
* {{anli|Calligraphy}}
* {{anli|Insular script}}
* {{anli|Insular illumination}}
* {{anli|Letras y figuras}}
* {{anli|List of Irish manuscripts}}
* {{anli|Lombardic capitals}}
* {{anli|Middle initial}}
* {{anli|Miniature (illuminated manuscript)}}
* {{anli|Monogram}}
* {{anli|Typography}}

===Illuminated manuscripts noted for their especially ornate initials, sometimes taking a full page=== 
* {{anli|Abbey Bible}}
* {{anli|Book of Kells}}
* {{anli|Lindisfarne Gospels}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book |title=Manuscripts from the Anglo-Saxon Age |publisher=[[British Library]] |location=London |first=Michelle P. |last=Brown |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7123-0680-5 }}
*{{cite book |title=Introduction to Manuscript Studies |publisher=[[Cornell University Press]] |location=Ithaca |first1=Raymond |last1=Clemens |first2=Timothy |last2=Graham |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-8014-3863-9 }}

==Further reading==
* {{Citation | last1 = Stiebner | first1 = Erhardt D | first2 = Dieter | last2 = Urban | title = Initials and Decorative Alphabets | place = Poole, England | publisher = Blandford Press | year = 1985 | isbn = 0-7137-1640-1 |oclc=1355352972}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary |initial}}
{{Commons category|Initials}}
* [http://www.typolis.de Typolis.de]
* [http://www.pitt.edu/~medart/menuglossary/illuminit.htm Types of illuminated initials] in the Glossary of Medieval Art and Architecture
* [https://ornamento.ucd.ie/ Ornamento] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125121700/https://ornamento.ucd.ie/ |date=2020-11-25 }} Ornamento contains close to a quarter of a million ornate letters, ornaments, borders, musical notation, diagrams, and illustrations drawn from Iberian print before 1701.
* [https://www.flickr.com/photos/bookhistorian/ Initials and Ornaments] by [https://www.flickr.com/people/bookhistorian/ Book Historian] on Flickr.com
* [http://www.reusableart.com/alphabets_letters/ Alphabets & Letters] at Reusableart.com
* [https://ilovetypography.com/2020/08/20/history-of-illuminated-initials/ Make the letter bigger: A history of initials] at ilovetypography.com
{{Commons Category|Historiated initials}}
* [http://dpg.lib.berkeley.edu/webdb/dsheh/heh_brf?Description=historiated+initial 35 historiated initials] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304130930/http://dpg.lib.berkeley.edu/webdb/dsheh/heh_brf?Description=historiated+initial |date=2016-03-04 }} from the [[Huntington Library]]
* [http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~jtreat/song/270.html Historiated Initial from the "Song of Songs"]
* [http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/cultural-history-of-ireland/making-of-illuminated-manuscripts.htm "Making of Illuminated Manuscripts"] from the Encyclopedia of Irish and World Art
* [https://www.ualberta.ca/~sreimer/ms-course/course/dcrtn-il.htm "Decoration and Illumination"] from Manuscript Studies: Medieval and Early Modern
* [https://www.flickr.com/photos/bookhistorian/ 100,000 printed initials (1470–1700)] at Flickr.com

{{Typography terms}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Typography]]
[[Category:Book design]]
[[Category:Iconography of illuminated manuscripts]]
[[Category:Capitalization]]
[[Category:Iconography]]
[[Category:Visual motifs]]