Item Info

Script: Rotunda
Language: Latin
Folio Number: front
Source: Rare Book Department
Notes: Initial L
Notes: This initial is filled with design motifs that appealed to the Renaissance imagination. Along the exterior shaft of initial L is the face of the "Green Man," a symbolic figure characterized by a face surrounded by vegetal forms, such as leaves or branches. Having its origins in pagan symbolism, the Green Man suggested rebirth and renewal. The hybrid figure in the center of the initial suggests the mythical figure Chimera, a fire-breathing female monster with a lion's head and a goat's body and a serpent's tail.
Sirsi Catalog Key: 1594369
Country: Country:Italy
City/Town/Township:Florence

Creation Year (Single Year or Range Begin): 1599
Image Dimensions Width: 127 mm
ShelfMark: Lewis E M 25:11