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The word illumination correctly refers to a picture that includes gold leaf, either as a background to the picture or in the details of the design (sometimes both). The gold picks up and reflects any light and appears to shine of its own accord - hence it "illuminates" the page.

An initial letter, for example, that is decorated with colours and interwoven designs but no gold leaf is termed "historiated" or simply "decorated".

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12y ago

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