The versal
The illuminated initial that opened a page of manuscript.
The first character is lifted out of the paragraph rather than duplicated, so it is never read twice. One letter, once per page.
The site had been worked for building stone until the 1930s and left to fill with scrub. Rather than level it, the house occupies the cut.
Integration
<link rel="stylesheet" href="anthemion.css">
<script type="module" src="anthemion.js"></script>
<anthemion-versal lines="3" ornament="frame" gild tone="gold" sweep="once">
<p>The site had been worked for building stone…</p>
</anthemion-versal>Slot
Opening a long-form text block — journal posts, case studies.
Budget
- One per page. A second illuminated initial is not an ornament, it is a mistake.
- Only on text over ~150 words. On a short paragraph it is costume.
- If gilded, it is the only gilded thing on the page.
Restraint is the aesthetic, and it does not survive being applied generously. These limits are the specification, not advice.