An easy O, perhaps this class was, but at what cost? Merlin.

This was why she loved potions, astronomy, and herbology so much more - those were very hands-on topics, or at least there was always something to do and lecture times were at least not excruciating, like this was. Sophie had to try her absolute hardest to concentrate, but it was far easier said than done. The theory behind all of this was just... dull. So dull.

She needed ACTION.

Delve into their own personal history, though? That part caught Sophie's attention, and she squinted a bit suspiciously at Glendower. What... in the world did she mean by that? Were they going to have to share their childhoods with the class or something? Her gaze drifted to Tobes at that moment - concerned, she was, for what that possibility could mean for him. Could they just... not?

Illuminated Manuscripts, though - Sophie knew what they were, and thought they were cool to look at. She agreed most with Ethan's explanation of it, even though he sounded like he was guessing, so... she stayed quiet. Her classmates had it covered.

Did Glendower have some to show them, though? Is that what was under the cloth? SOPHIE WANTED TO SEE.

Eden didn't really say anything back to Professor Glendower. She was just fine. So completely totally fine. Nothing to see here, just simple, plain, old Eden McGee.

Yep.

She sighed and thought about it...history. It was such a mellow class that Eden enjoyed. No magic was usually involved, and it was just a relaxing time because Professor Glendower was nice and stuff. Mhmm.

She raised her hand at the first question. "History is...the past. The story of the past." A simply put answer from her. Because;...she didn't feel like 'discussing' so to speak, as Glendower put it. Hmph. She was getting a really bad headache, too, and Eden rubbed her temples a little. Was class over yet? No--she liked this class--ugh.

UGH.

But they were moving on, and Eden tried her best to keep up. She had no clue what an Illuminated Manuscript was. But. Eh. It sounded similar to..."THE ILLUMINATI? Is it related to the Illuminati?!" she was making a guess. A super far-stretched probably DUMB guess. But it was a guess.

Illuminated something or other? There was a fly buzzing in the corner of the room, or was that a mosquito? and she was distracted. She shook her head and tried to focus and take notes. Illuminati? What? Eden was talking about the Illuminati or something.

"Illuminati confirmed," she whispered under her breath at Eden, then drew a triangle on her parchment.

.

.

Gabriel wasn't a know-it-all, contrary to popular belief...but there were many things he simply knew stuff about. See, he did a copious amount of reading. So, when these uncommon topics were brought up........miscellaneous facts were known.

"The Illuminated word refers to illustrations...most likely...because they were painted or further decorated with reflective materials that catch the light. For example, gold and silver inks. Not always, of course. In general, the manuscripts included marginalia, borders, embellished initials, etc..."

.

.

....What was Eden talking about?

Uh huh, okay, good, he did well with that question and too right, considering he was now a third year. If he'd gotten that wrong then there would be serious issues here.

As it was, he was perfectly correct in his thoughts earlier, that he wouldn't be of any use for the remainder of the lesson where topic stuff was concerned. Illuminated manuscripts? Uhhh. NO CLUE.

Zeke shrugged to himself, and instead of embarrassing himself just listened to the others.

..

Picture books?

It sounded boring already.

Abbi felt that her grand entrance was the extreme height of SWAG, she'd owned that walk looking as swagster as possible. Recovering from her awesomeness, the sixth year finally began paying attention to the lesson. She'd become a lot better at averting her attention span to one task at a time, yet considering history was not one of her favourite subject choices it was quite the challenge this hour.

Illuminating manuscripts, she'd caught that and had honestly never heard those two words being put together in her whole entire life. The words alone, well that she could decipher and it appeared that others could too as so they did. The newly redhead gazed at her classmates and debated if regurgitating what they said would be worth it in anyway. She decided not, and instead, following the concept of being original and different she raised her hand for a more 'Abbi' styled response.

"Professor, I'd say its the beginning of story telling through pictures? So, in other words, I would say that it could be the beginning of children's books as we know them today or it could be the beginning of using art for things other than posh-posh portraits?" Perhaps she had repeated slightly what the others had said, but she did put a little bit of her own input of why they'd possible talking about this. Being Abbi, though, she'd probably be far off track as she was always thinking exceedingly different to others. That was the thing with Abbi, she wasn't silly, she just had a very different mind-frame.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DinosaursOnASpaceship

Emmylou nodded as she listened to the professor. She jotted down some notes because she didn't know if she would have to remember something for a later time. She was sort of right on that part but then again it was a discussion. Moving on. Next question. Illuminated Manuscripts? Weren't those the the fancy looking books? With the text that wasn't very easy to read? Emmylou raised her hand. "Are those the books and papers that have all of those fancy designs on them?" Maybe that wasn't really an answer but she really didn't know what else to say.

"They actually do have fancy designs," Nessa confirmed with a beamy smile. It didn't sound like Emmylou knew exactly what they were, but at least she had the general idea. And she wanted to hear from more of them before she said much more herself.

Quote:

Originally Posted by natekka

Clara didn't feel like contributing this time round. She knew exactly what Illuminated Manuscripts were, but the urge to show off or share her knowledge wasn't there as she knew Professor Glendower would tell everyone anyway.

Instead, she wrote down notes, taking from her own knowledge and what other people were adding.

Nessa allowed her eyes to rest on Clara momentarily. And though she realized that the girl was perhaps not in the best mood to participate in the discussion, she did note that she was taking notes. Nessa gave her a small, yet encouraging smile.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squishy

Nodding in understanding, Lux took out her notebook and opened it so that she could record everything. The topic moved on to how history was conveyed and she wondered what she knew about illuminated manuscripts. Not much but she still raised her hand. "They were written a LONG time ago and recorded by hand - which must have taken ages." They also had a lot of pictures on them, but Emmy had already mentioned that part.

Oh, Lux seemed to know a little bit about them. "Yes, they were written hundreds of years ago, in the Middle Ages, which was long before the invention of the printing press or quoting quills." So, yes, written by hand. "Some of the people that wrote them devoted much of their lives to it, spending hours on end in special rooms.."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lissy Longbottom

"Are they old historical documents that light up?" he guessed. Context clues had led him there so...that was as good a guess as anything else he'd come up with.

"Not in the most literal sense, but you're own the right track!" Nessa gave him an encouraging smile at any rate. She'd expand on it soon enough.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meizzner

"They are very illuminating"

Nessa tilted her head at Dante as he offered the vaguest of answers. Not that she wasn’t used to that from him, but she knew he could do better than that. “Illuminating how?” He basically just repeated the name back to her and it wasn’t really an acceptable answer. She wasn’t all that impressed with the snort coming from the other side of the room in response either. Looks for you, Miss Valentine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArianaBlack

.... Except for he had no answer for this next question. What the heck was a illuminated manuscript or wait, was that what Professor Glendower called it?

Another quiet student. Nessa didn’t expect them all to know what Illuminated Manuscripts were, though it seemed she really did need to do quite a bit of explaining. Good thing she was prepared to do so! She hoped Zander was taking good notes or at least listening attentively.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mordred

Ethan raised his hand and waited for his turn again to answer. “I know manuscripts to be old texts, Professor. But, for it to be illuminated…is it, a well depicted text with illustrations to make the message more clear and enlightening?” Like, when you say someone is illuminated because they were enlightened with information that is rare, or…hard to acquire?

Yes, manuscripts were often old texts.. though not always, but still Nessa nodded to this part of Ethan’s answer as he was basically on the right track. And then she listened as he tried to work out the Illuminated part. “Well, yes, there are rich and intricate illustrations that accompanied the text.. but they were called Illuminated for a different reason.” Not a bad educated guess though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Expecto-Penguin

"Professor I think Illuminated manuscripts like highlight the work and give you the blueprints of what some of the great leaders tried to accomplish when they were alive?"

Nessa gave Kace a smile. He was incorrect in his guess, but it wasn’t so far-fetched. “Illuminated Manuscripts were not that, but those would make some great books, wouldn’t they?” And there were books like that out there, but not specifically what they were talking about right now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jessiqua

But now the second question. Illuminated Manuscript? Huh? Zhenya had never heard of such a thing, but perhaps she had read about them and forgotten in the hazy mess of NEWT study. There was a LOT of new information being piled into her brain every day, now, and it wouldn't be surprising for some other information to slip out. But... she didn't like not participating in class, so she raised her hand and said "Er... perhaps it was a method of reading a manuscript back centuries ago. They had to illuminate the... candles to see it?" She shook her head, she had no idea. Perhaps she should have just kept quiet.

”Not a bad guess,” Nessa smiled at Zhenya. “Illuminated does make us think of light and they did have to use candle back in that time as there was no electricity, but that is not what they really are..” She would clarify soon though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Awarlesta Black

No, she hadn't heard of the Illuminated Manuscripts, but since Professor Glendower was askiiiinnnnnnnnng, "Is it a manuscript with sick L.E.D backlighting?" That's a thing, yeah?

Hmm? Nessa furrowed her brow a bit as she had no idea what that was but it sounded interesting. “No, I don’t think so.. What is sick L.E.D. backlighting?” She’d like to know.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassirin

She wiggled her fingers, low at her cheek level. "Professor, it sounds like... pictures meant to help decipher the text. But I thought they were just regular pictures. Pretty ones, decorating like the first letter on a page or something."

Nessa listened to Dot’s answer next, nodding a bit. “Yes and no.. often the pictures are related to what the text is, but sometimes it’s more just decorative. Either way, it’s usually quite fancy.” But that wasn’t where the illuminated part came in.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

Illuminated Manuscripts? What in the name of awesome, majestic Hippogriffs were those? Adi hadn't the inkling so he was going to offer a guess. Or rather, an agreement. He raised his hand. "I agree with Zhenya. Maybe the had torches with cloths wrapped around it so they could light up these Manuscripts during the days before candles were invented.''

Yeah, no, it didn’t really help much to say that the subject she taught was boring and not her. Nessa still thought history was fascinating and she found it hard to believe that one of her best students did not agree. But she also thought something odd was going on with Adi today and she didn’t press the issue. Instead, she listened as he made an attempt to answer her next question. “No.. and even though they were written a very long time ago, candles had been invented long before. They even sometimes wrote them by candlelight… but not why they were illuminated.” Still, she gave him an encouraging smile at his effort.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sararara

She put her quill down to wiggle the fingers of her right hand just in case they were thinking of cramping up (fingers could by moody like that), as she listened to Professor Glendower introduce the next question. Illuminated manuscripts? She sure hadn't heard of those. The fourth year half-raised her hand just to give it a try. It couldn't hurt to guess, right? "Is it history involving....light?" She DID know what illuminated meant, so that kind of made sense. And light was pretty important so it's history should've been too.

”Not in the most literal sense, no..” she smiled at Norah, appreciative of her effort. “It’s more of a figurative term to describe the artwork.” But she could understand why someone would think that about the word.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Symphora

He was going to sit this one through because he had no idea how to answer his History of Magic Professor. Illuminating manuscripts? What were they? Henric had to stifled his laughter at one of his classmates answers. L.E.D lights?! That was a good one! Oh merlin...control yourself Henric...you wouldn't want to lose point for this too., he thought amusingly. He glanced over to Adi and wondered if he found it funny as well but nope...Adi seemed to be in a very bad mood, he was staring daggers at the back of Benny's head.Oh dear...Henric reached out for the Hufflepuff prefect and silently patted his friend shoulder.He whispered and smiled a little towards Adi,"Yo man...its okay..."

Nessa didn’t miss the reassuring gesture Henric gave to Adi. She didn’t know exactly what was going on there, but it was good to know he had the support of friends. Hopefully it wouldn’t interfere with class today.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RandomRaven

Biting his quill, Jackson thought again. "Well uh... it's a kind of history source but I think it's not just the text. Maybe there's illustration of sort of symbols." He spoke as he raised his hand though he wasn't really sure about that. Well, at least he spoke up. That matters.

”Yes, Illuminated Manuscripts are filled with beautiful, decorative illustrations,” she nodded. “That is one thing that sets apart these historical documents, the artistic beauty of it.” And that was one reason why they were some of her favorite historical books.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harry174

Angel looked at the Professor and smiled as she raised her hand. "isn't illuminated manuscript a sort of book from Ancient history?" Angel was sure it was. "Though instead of just having words it has pictures that shows you what happened, like we sometime bury time capsules so that people can see in the future what we did." Angel now wanted to bury a time capsule for someone to find in a few hundred years.

Sometimes Nessa wasn’t sure if Angel was joking or what by her answers, but this time she knew she was fairly accurate. “It is a book with decorative illustrations, yes,” she nodded. “Sometimes it is related to the text, but not always… Oh, we should do a time capsule sometime!” That would be totes fun! But she knew she was getting off topic.. moving on..

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilverTiger

But she stayed quiet when it came to the discussion of illuminated manuscripts. Anything she knew about them had already been said anyway. She didn’t see a reason to repeat an answer. It wouldn’t accomplish anything except make it seem she didn’t know anything special, when she knew she did.

Nessa was still rather concerned about Brooklyn, though she knew when one didn’t feel well one likely did not want to offer much in the way of participation. She supposed it was enough that she was present and if she was really in that bad of a state, she likely would not have made it to today’s lesson. Still, Nessa would keep an eye on her.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpiritWolfe Malfoy

As the lesson began there really wasn't much for Hady to say. Most of her classmates seemed to have the answer pretty well covered for the time being and well honestly she herself didn't have a better answer. What was an Illuminated manuscript anyways? She knew what both words meant separately but together...yeah not entirely sure. Therefore the third year choose to remain silent this time simply resting her hands on her lap and looking back and forth between those that had spoken whenever she wasn't jotting down a line or two that was being said onto her parchment. One never really knew when they'd need something especially in class.

At least Hady was being attentive and taking notes even if she didn’t have anything to add to the discussion. That was fine, Nessa would be moving the class along soon enough.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Felixir

The question then. Illuminated Manuscript. Toby... had absolutely no idea. But, he knew his own idea was about be be spectacularly wrong, but Glendower had asked for guesses so he raised his hand. "Sounds like it could be a thing where there's, like, a book of information, the manuscript part, and a bunch of experts add their knowledge to it and make annotations and additions and stuff, which is the illuminated part, 'cause sometimes illuminated means clarifying something like with knowledge and stuff." See? It was ridiculous but it made logical sense. Kinda. "So then in the end you're left with the original book of information and then you could see what's been changed as people have found it out and stuff, all the annotations and stuff. But I'm like 99% sure I'm wrong."

Well, yeah, he was wrong, but Nessa thought he made a really good attempt and she gave him a bright smile that said so. “That would be a wonderful collaboration, wouldn’t it? Especially if they were experts and not adding things that struck their fancy..” Maybe there already books like that, but it wasn’t the focus of the lesson. “Illuminated manuscripts are not that though.. they refer more to the illustrations in addition to the text.”

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhoenixStar

"How do we know that anything is true if we are just going off of what people say?" That could go for textbooks too. Somebody had to write them and how did they know for sure that everything was correct? If AJ was going to write a book or tell some exciting story you better believe she was going to come out looking fabulous.

”That is why it is always important to consider the source,” Nessa said in response to Aubrey’s inquiry from the previous question. “If there is more than one source saying the same thing, it is more likely to be accurate… but sometimes a story is just a story.” And those were pretty great too if just for the entertainment value.

Quote:

Originally Posted by laurange

Professor Glendower had started her thing and Brian had no idea what she was on about, this time. Actually, he rarely ever understood what she was on about. It was pretty sad, but really all he had heard of this time was Illuminated Manuscripts. And the only thing that was currently coming to mind was the strange image of light-up music sheets. Written in glittery pens. Therefore, since Brian was fairly certain that glittery light-up music sheets were NOT the case, he would shut up and listen. Maybe he would even take notes. Only if the answers made sense, though. Some of them were as downright outrageous as his own.

Another quiet student.. Nessa was a little surprised that more of them didn’t know at least a little bit about Illuminated Manuscripts. They weren’t really that obscure. But it was important that even if they didn’t know, especially if they didn’t know, that they were paying attention. Nessa gave Brian a big smile and mimed taking notes. He should probably do that if he was as unsure as he appeared.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhoenixRising

She had to refrain from laughing though at some of the answers students were given. But that younger Slytherin girl, Dot, seemed to have a good idea. Pictures, yes. Specially, "Picture books, Professor." Tia answered simply after raising hand.

”At its most basic, yes,” Nessa nodded. But she expected a little more expansion on the thought, especially after the creative answer TiaMarie offered for the last question.

Quote:

Originally Posted by feeheeheeny

Illuminated Manuscripts, though - Sophie knew what they were, and thought they were cool to look at. She agreed most with Ethan's explanation of it, even though he sounded like he was guessing, so... she stayed quiet. Her classmates had it covered.

Perhaps it was about time to wrap up the discussion as fewer answers were forthcoming from the students and the ones that had been offered were starting to become either repetitive or too vague. She noted that Sophie had nothing to add, perhaps for not wanting to sound repetitive or vague, and she moved on about to summarize the discussion…

Quote:

Originally Posted by kayquilz

But they were moving on, and Eden tried her best to keep up. She had no clue what an Illuminated Manuscript was. But. Eh. It sounded similar to..."THE ILLUMINATI? Is it related to the Illuminati?!" she was making a guess. A super far-stretched probably DUMB guess. But it was a guess.

…but Eden had something to say first. Nessa tilted her head, then shook it, offering her a small smile. “No, dear.. the names may sound remotely familiar, but neither has to do with the other.” Especially considering they were millennia apart.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScarletCharm104

"Illuminati confirmed," she whispered under her breath at Eden, then drew a triangle on her parchment.

Hearing a hushed voice, her eyes snapped to the Hufflepuff prefect. “Speak up, Miss McAlister?” Nessa couldn’t quite make out her answer and wasn’t so sure she was being relevant to the current discussion.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Govoni

"The Illuminated word refers to illustrations...most likely...because they were painted or further decorated with reflective materials that catch the light. For example, gold and silver inks. Not always, of course. In general, the manuscripts included marginalia, borders, embellished initials, etc..."

And that was exactly what she was looking for in terms of illumination. The prefect was rewarded with a bright smile. "Yes, thank you, Gabriel," she exclaimed, thankful that someone made that connection. "They do get the name "illuminated" because the richly ornamented pages were enhanced with gold and silver leaf - and sometimes inks - that would reflect the light. They were quite expensive to make but quite beautiful and highly valued." They would hopefully get into more of a discussion once they got started...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hera

Zeke shrugged to himself, and instead of embarrassing himself just listened to the others.

...though some of the students seemed a little reluctant to participate. Nessa gave Zeke a brief, yet encouraging smile. There would be more chance to participate and she'd expect him to take advantage of that opportunity.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Talikins

"Professor, I'd say its the beginning of story telling through pictures? So, in other words, I would say that it could be the beginning of children's books as we know them today or it could be the beginning of using art for things other than posh-posh portraits?" Perhaps she had repeated slightly what the others had said, but she did put a little bit of her own input of why they'd possible talking about this. Being Abbi, though, she'd probably be far off track as she was always thinking exceedingly different to others. That was the thing with Abbi, she wasn't silly, she just had a very different mind-frame.

Hmm.. Abbi wasn't too far off and she had a pretty interesting take on them. "There was other art before Illuminated Manuscripts that were not portraiture, such as sculpture and ornamented vessels like vases, but these are the first artistic books. I hadn't thought of them as being precursor to children's books though. Perhaps there is a connection... though these books were not at all intended for children." Not that they were adult in nature, but because they were for wealthy patrons.



Alright, she supposed that was enough for basic answers about what an Illuminated Manuscript was. It would probably be best for her to further explain and move on with the lesson. "Thank you for your contributions everyone," Nessa smiled at them all. Some of them were spot on with their answers, some of them not so much, but she appreciated the effort. "Illuminated Manuscripts were historical documents created during the Middle Ages, which was several hundred years ago. The word manuscript means written by hand - which they were, typically done by monks who would spend hours a day in special rooms to write these books. They were often religious in nature, but not always. There were many books relaying stories and feats throughout history as well.

"These manuscripts were beautifully decorated with ornate and intricate illustrations throughout the book. They would include embellished initials as the first letter of the text on a page. There might be decorative borders and lavish illustrations of people, flora, and fauna. And as Gabriel pointed out, they get the term "illuminated" because of the way they are colored. In addition to the bold colors, they would also include gold-leaf, silver-leaf, or metallic inks that reflect the light and make it not only appear to light up but give them a valued, opulent appearance. Of course, at first, this was a rather expensive addition to these books.. Later Illuminated Manuscripts would also encompass books of the same nature with or without the gold or silver leaf.

"We are going to make our own "Illuminated Manuscripts" today, but first I have some examples to show you for inspiration and understanding!" Nessa pulled off the cover from the table to reveal piles of parchment, book covers, decorative papers, colored pencils, various colors of inks - including gold and silver, and several page reproductions of illuminated manuscripts which she picked up. "Now Illuminated Manuscripts are better known in Muggle history, but they are also found in Wizarding history as well. Perhaps the best known example is an illustration showing wizards dismounting early broomsticks in visible pain. This was of course before the invention of the cushioning charm." Not her favorite way to travel but not the point. And it was a shame that she couldn't get her hands on that example. "Of course one of the differences between the Muggle illustrations and magic ones are the ability to move." Which they would get the chance to do as well.

Starting at one corner of the room, she handed a student at the front of the room her magical illustration example to look at then pass around. "Now, some of these are just replications, they are not all originals. This is not because they do not exist, in fact Illuminated Manuscripts are some of the most well-preserved works of art from the Middle Ages, but even today, they are very expensive to acquire." And her teacher salary did not quite permit that, though she was happy to have acquired some on loan from a museum. She handed out a few more examples - an embellished initial, several examples of ornate illustrations, and a carpet page. "This last one is called a carpet page. Illuminated Manuscripts did not have what we know as a Table of Contents, instead they would include pages filled completely with decorative motifs at the beginning of each chapter as a way to divide them."

Once she allowed the pages to be passed around, she continued. "Now, I'd like each of you to come up and collect your supplies. Everyone should take about twenty pieces of parchment, two pieces of decorative paper, a book cover, and whatever inks or colored pencils you'd like. Make sure to take a gold or silver as well, though there may not be enough so you might have to partner up and share those inks." Not a big deal though, she thought, but they were necessary for the Illuminated part. "While you're getting those, let's continue the discussion. Why do you think it was important to include gold or silver in the original Manuscripts? And why do you think after hundreds of years, they are still so well-preserved?" She didn't expect them to know, but she did expect them to think about it and make deductions.


OOC - For this part, your character should be looking at and passing around the examples, gathering supplies, and answering the questions at the end. I don't have a set number of posts for you to complete this as participation points will be awarded on quality, not quantity. We will move on tomorrow.

Norah smiled back at Professor Glendower, 'cause it was the best thing when Professors smiled at you even when you got stuff wrong. Especially when you got stuff wrong, actually. She got stuff wrong a whole lot and she liked smiles too so really it all worked out. With one last wiggle of her fingers she picked her quill back up again and began to write down all the new stuff about illuminated manuscripts. Illustrations were even COOLER than light. Mostly. With another glance at the cloth covered mystery, she bent her head down to write some more, not looking up again until Professor Glendower mentioned making illuminated manuscripts. HOLD UP. THEY WERE GONNA DO ART? The fourth year returned to wiggling in her chair 'cause who could write notes when there was ART in the future? Not that she was very good but who cared? Not her, that's who. It was the best when she got ink on her fingers and was colorful for the whole entire day 'till somebody made her wash it off. AND LOOK AT ALL THOSE ART SUPPLIES. Man, that was the best thing that could ever be hidden under a cloth. Except for a camel, 'cause those were exciting too.

Her mouth made the shape of a big O, before she remembered to shut it again, when the first manuscript reached her. These were COOL. She ran a finger over the surface before passing it on. She eyed each one carefully, grinning at the way the shiny stuff reflected the light. Just like glitter! With each example she passed the illustration on a little faster, glancing at the super cool art supplies. Sitting there all unused. Could it be tiiiiime yet? Pretty please?

That's what Toby liked about this class; even just trying your best and making an attempt was a good thing, despite those times you were wrong. Which, y'know, Toby often was, because History of Magic was crazy difficult sometimes. He nodded in response to Glendower's smile. Illustrations. Got it.

Toby had a quick look at each of the examples as they round, but mostly he was listening out for the dreaded moment that Glendower would tell them they had to... illustrate their personal histories or something. The idea had him distracted, a little too distracted to really take in the sight of the manuscript examples, though he tried all the same. Some of them really DID capture his attention though, such as the especially brightly coloured one, mainly because it was pretty. The stuff about the carpet page was cool too.

Still no clue one what exactly they would be doing, but that was okay. Toby welcomed the opportunity to get up and out of his seat, as he'd already been getting quite restless. He couldn't remember exactly how much parchment he needed, so just grabbed a lot, as well as the decorative paper stuff a book cover, and a bunch of different coloured inks, including gold, before heading back to his seat.

As he set all his things carefully on the desk, he considered the question. Again, he had no idea, but this time he couldn't even drum up any sort of guess. Yeaaahhhh, uh... huh. There was a long pause, very long, before Toby stuck his hand up anyway and said, "'Cause people always see gold and silver stuff as extra important and stuff." Which was ridiculous, really. Something didn't have to have all that to be important, did it? Hufflepuff were a great example of that. They were the only house without a shiny colour in their house colours, but they were still just as important as the other houses. "Also it's shiny stuff, which is pretty to look at in a book." Even Toby had to admit it was cool to see gold lettering in books. If he ever saw something like it he always liked to take the time to have a good look.

But even non-shiny things were pretty too.

Alright, he'd better get himself together. Poor Glendower ignored his apology though he did get a smile. Greeeat. Adi had managed to make one of the most fun Professors feel bad. Maybe it was a good time to shut up altogether because his answers to the questions for the class seem off too. His only comfort was Henric... who didn't know that he was the cause of his and Benny's misunderstanding. Not that Adi was going to enlighten him on THAT. Nope. He didn't need a sad Henny. Instead, the sixth year forced a grin at the pat. "Yeah, it will be,'' he whispered. "Thanks, Henny. You're a pal.'' Unlike certain Gryffindors!

That being said, he buried his head down to study his parchment and to make notes. On the bright side of things, he had a better idea of what Illuminated Manuscripts were. And they were waaaaay off from the answer he and some of his classmates had come up with. Oh, oh, oh! Glendower was FINALLY going to reveal what was under the sheet that was covering the table! Cue he anticipation! Adi leaned forward to look at all the things. Of course they were ancient looking things but his eyes were fixed on the ink. SO MANY COLOURS!

His fixation on the thing was short lives because one of the first thingy that Glendower had passed around had reached him. He took it and focused his full attention on the embellished initial. If he was not mistaken, some books still used a big font to start a new chapter in books but NONE were as cool as this. It was so... elegant. Yeah! That was the word! Reluctantly, Adi passed it over to Henric as he checked out carefully at the other stuff. It was all so cool! But you know which was the coolest (after the embellished initial, of course), the carpet page! Look at all those designs, yo! It was truly one of the best things he had seen. Too bad books don't come like this anymore. Or maybe not because Adi would spend most of his time looking at the designs than reading the book. Hehe. Anyway, with even MORE reluctance, he passed the carpet page to Henric. Where could he get one of those things?!

Anyway, he got up to go collect the supplies, taking care to swing his elbow so that the joint connected with Benny's shoulder though subtly so no one else could see. "Not sorry about that,'' he muttered so Benny could hear. Grrr! He was practically fuming. LIAR, indeed. Hmph. Ugh! He needed to stay away from Benny as much as he could because everytime he set eyes on him, he got mad.

Frowning down at the table, he grabbed the twenty pieces of parchment (or he may have gotten more because he was too angry to count properly), the decorative paper and lots of colour full ink, gold included. Back at his seat, he dumped his supplies and raised his hand. "Gold or silver makes everything look better. Maybe they attract persons' attention so that they want to look at the book.'' The Puffer didn't look at Glendower at first because he was ashamed of himself for making her feel bad earlier. "It could be something in the paper. Something that was added to it or the ink to make it last for a very long time.''

Benny had figured out what was meany by manuscript, but illumination had gotten him stuck. So the sixth year remained silent once more and simply listening to everything. Maybe he could actually learn something and distract himself in the process. The familiar voice giving answers from behind him wasn't helping all that much though, especially with the occasional comments to his fellow Hufflepuff. It was all cementing feelings within him sadly.

There was the grand reveal and the Gryffindor might have been more excited or at least in awe of the work, had he been in a better mood. Instead he pretended to at least be aware of all that was on the table and being passed around by the professor as she explained what they were studying and working with a bit more then her responses to the guesses his classmates had been given. Interesting....even if he wasn't all that focused on it.

He was finishing up his notes before getting his supplies. But Ben's writing arm was soon jostled around when hit by someone's elbow. "Hey...!" The quiet words identifying who it was and who apparently wasn't sorry for doing it to him even though his quill had made a nice messy mark on his notes. The sixth year lion starred after Adi as the other boy went up for his supplies, frozen at his seat himself as he tried to calm down, nearly missing as one of the examples was passed onto his desk.

Sigh.

At least his guess made sense, and that was the important bit. He’d seen his cousin do that kind of stuff before, for his fancy book project in university, but he didn’t use the gold and silver inks because...well that’s just a bit over the top for a book project, right? Besides, Mordred was into details and texts than the design itself.

If they’re talking about the medieval ages, then those manuscripts must be as old as the earth. Ethan quickly jotted down notes on his notebook, underlining and encircling key words as he paused to listen in between writing. So, the explanation for the illuminated part was simple then. It’s called illuminated because they used highly reflective inks such as gold and silver. To be honest, he was quite disappointed with the simplicity of the answer, like...it used such a fancy term but the reason behind it was pretty shallow.

And they were going to create one? Now they’re talking. One way or another, he can go crazy with the activity and not be bored to death sitting on his chair the whole time. Also, it has been a while since he picked up art materials and pens to do artsy things, so yes, he’s pretty excited to begin the activity. However, he got distracted when the professor mentioned the manuscript depicting wizards ‘dismounting their broomsticks in visible pain’. Ethan had to cover his mouth and literally bite his tongue to stop himself from laughing out loud. Poor ancient wizards. Bahahaha!

Clearing his throat, Ethan got the sample from the student sitting beside him and examined it up close. Whoever made those had a huge amount of patience and passion for art. The whole thing was well executed, and a single sheet of the manuscript was a work of art. If he had to choose though, he’d choose the guy with the LUTE, although the dude could seriously use some grooming and haircut. Just saying.

Once they got the go signal, Ethan slowly got up from his seat and picked up his supplies. He got a bit of everything so he could experiment with making a legit illuminated manuscript. The Slytherin placed his things on his table, took his seat, and considered answering the Professor’s next question. The fair haired Mordaunt however got distracted with Adi’s...behaviour. Ethan turned his head slowly at his fellow sixth year and eyed him suspiciously. Is he under the hate potion still or...? And, why was Benny so far from him? The Slytherin eyed both boys, and shook his head. Come on now, guys. Don’t drag your drama into class.

Turning his attention back to the woman up front, Ethan raised his hand and waited for his turn to answer. “I suppose they use gold and silver inks to show the importance, sacredness, and authenticity of the original manuscript? I mean, the inks used for it are pretty expensive during that time, so it prevents the person who commissioned the work from replicating said manuscript in great numbers, even if said person hired a very skilled scribe.” Though, it might be a different story for the wizarding lot."And I guess illuminated manuscripts are well preserved today because the inks used have metal components in it...gold, silver...and lead? Those are meant to last.” Probably.

Okay, to be completely honest, Zander was just about 100% lost. He was so lost that he wasn’t even sure where exactly he had gotten lost, but wait… Maybe that’s what being lost meant in the first place. Either way, he HAD been genuinely trying to take some good notes and to be attentive and whatnot, but it just sort of fell apart. He wasn’t even taking real notes anymore. Just drawing little swirls all around the parchment. Trying to perfect that ‘superman S’. Making small tornados with the ink from his quill. You know, the usual stuff. He never had to resort to this kind of thing during History. Professor Glendower usually did a wonderful job making it all engaging, but maybe that’s because they HAD to get up and act things out.

A more theoretical class like this one though, he couldn’t take it. He was so beyond bored. There was just so many things to talk about apparently and the boy could only take so much listening. He just wanted to DO stuff, y’know? So when the examples were passed over to him, he didn’t really give them too much time as he glanced over at them and passed them on. He had been all too curious about what Glendower was hiding and turns out it was just boring stuff.

Man.

And Zander normally actually liked this class too, so he felt terrible about thinking all of this stuff. It was a horrible cycle, really. So instead of letting himself look bored, Zander was trying especially hard to look as engaged as possible. But he still wasn’t going to answer any questions because a) he didn’t know any of the proper answers b) he wasn’t even paying enough attention to realize they were being asked questions and c) when would they get out for food?

Part of what Lux liked about this subject was hearing the contributions of her classmates. Some of them were off the mark but gave good guesses, and others were full of information. There wasn't a lot that she knew about illuminated manuscripts, so this lesson was very educational on the natter. She hadn't even known where the name came from until Gabe explained it. The name seemed rather fitting, because they were very colourful and decorative!

As Professor Glendower explained things further, Lux continued to take notes. Maybe some people were bored with the theoretical approach, but history was fascinating. She much preferred doing activities, but there was so much to learn about history and she loved it.

OOOOH, look. Illuminated manuscripts for them to see. That wasn't too surprising seeing what they were discussing. As each example reached her, she studied it carefully before passing it along. So many pretty colours. You didn't find books with carpet pages these days, and the novels she bought at the store or borrowed from the library didn't have embellished initials.

ANYWAY.

She was going to make an illuminated manuscript of her own! This should be fun because Lux did enjoy arts and crafts. And she could show Bay later because he was her boyfriend and she showed him everything. Getting to her feet she started grabbing the supplies that were needed. Hopefully she wasn't missing anything. Ooh, there were so many pretty colours. It was hard choosing which ones to take but she managed in the end.

Back at her desk, Lux raised her hand to contribute to the discussion further. "Maybe they liked gold and silver because they look pretty and shiny. Metalics are always nice! And maybe they are so well preserved because people took very good care of them, making sure they didn't get stained or ripped." All good guesses in her mind.

Ohhh okay. So all she needed to get a good lie going was to have several people say the same lie over and over. Got it. She still had some questions about it because people could easily do what she just thought about. Who would go out of their way to lie about History? Honestly, AJ could see people wanting to do that for a good laugh. It was something that she would do. Before she could raise her hand and further debate about the truth of history, her eyes found Adi. Something was off. Something was way off. She shot him a quizzical look.

Not too far behind her boyfriend was Benny. He was hard to read because he was always pretty quiet. Something did seem off with him though. He was one of her best friends and she could almost always tell when something wasn't quite right. Hmmm. AJ made a mental note to ask Adi about it after class. Did boys even have drama? No time to dwell on it because THINGS were about to be revealed. Please be chocolate. Please be chocolate. It was far fetched, sure, but one could hope.

"Cool," she said to no one in particular as the professor revealed what had been hidden. The different manuscripts were being passed to her. AJ looked at them all in amazement. The last one though, that one was the best. It was so intricate and AJ was in awe. She was by no means an artist, but it was hard to look away at this one. Once she passed the last of them to the person on her left, she stood up. It was time to get all of the supplies she needed. Gold. She needed gold. The lion made sure to grab that one before she picked up the rest of the needed supplies. If somebody needed to borrow the gold she would be happy to share, but she was going to use it first.

As far as the question went, well... she had a theory. She did. With a raised hand she put in her two cents. "I think it's because back in the old days you knew people had money just because they owned gold and silver. It's like a mark or a king and queen too I think. Gold makes you feel important so why not add that to a manuscript?" She was rambling again. The lion was really good at that.

Henric nodded at Adi, he didn't want to press the matter any further so he returned his attention back to the professor. He listened intently while Professor Glendower explained in detail about the illuminated manuscripts. Oh..so it was like an olden fairytale storybook with the colourful illustrations in it. He did see a few of these before in the Hogwarts library while he was browsing through ancient dragon folklore books. He really like those. He muttered a thanks to Adi as he passed the sample over to him. Henric took some time to admire the different intricate designs and colourful decoration being 'illustrated' on this one piece. After he was satisfied taking in the whole feel of the look, he passed the sample over the person next to him. Sorry...for the long wait mate...

Anyway,Professor Glendower had asked them to create one themselves and he couldn't help being excited for this kind of activity. He was definitely going to make a dragon in his piece.Oh yes! Henric stood up from his seat too so he could go to the front and helped himself with the supplies. He also happened to see what Adi did to Benny, woah...that wasn't nice... He wasn't sure if it was intentionally or not but as a fellow Hufflepuffian, it wouldn't reflect well on their house. Henric glanced back towards Benny and gave him a look of apology for his prefect friend. Man...these two...he didn't want to interfere with their problems but he didn't like his two close friends fight.

Henric sighed and took the things his needed from the table. Oh no more gold left...oh well...he would take the silver then.Besides, silvers looked best on dragon scales. Oh maybe that was the answer to Professor Glendower's question,"Professor I think it will make the illustration drawings more grander and magnificent, gold and silver are natural elements that can withstand the wear and tear even after centuries old, and also they probably didn't want to lose their hardwork into creating these manuscripts, I bet it take them months or years to complete it,"Henric said.

Benny couldn't believe how Adi had changed, or at least how quickly he showed his possible true self to him. And he got that seemingly supportive look sent his way by Henric as the boy followed his housemate to the table. Yeah...like he really cared that the Gryffindor was loosing his best friend. Or already had.

Passing on the parchment to the next student without really looking at it, Ben slipped his seat back so he could get back up to his feet. He had to get his supplies even if he wasn't really feeling the creative mood at the moment. Though he supposed it could have been worse...they could be having to do what was common in history of magic class...acting stuff out in groups. Ar least this seemed like a solo activity.

Whatever the case, he reached the previously cloth-covered table and looked over the offerings more closely. The Gryffindor was quick to take the parchment, roughly 20 sheets of it, and almost blindly chose the other pieces as well from the selection that remained. Decorative paper...cover...small assortment of inks that if he thought about it, might not be the best collaboration. And he might not have forgotten a metallic option either. But he returned to his seat with his stash and awaited what came next.

Once the last example had passed her by, Norah jumped up from her chair and walked as fast as she could to the art supplies without actually running. With a giddy grin, she picked out 20 pieces of parchment, and then one more because odd numbers were always more fun than even ones. She wasn't sure why, but they just were. She spent much longer than was probably necessary inspecting the book covers and decorative paper, but it was necessary to her because this type of thing was a very big deal, okay? You couldn't just pick the wrong one. It was practically a science. Once she was satisfied, she picked out a pencil in each of the colors of the rainbow, plus two extra purples 'cause those were the best ones. You never knew when you'd need three purple colored pencils. She had to be PREPARED. The fourth year then picked up some golden ink and walked slowly back to her desk 'cause this time there was some very valuable stuff that needed to NOT be dropped. Didja see that? That was thinking ahead. Where was her mum to see this?

The Hufflepuff slid back into her seat and beamed at Professor Glendower again 'cause did she KNOW how exciting this was? Hint: very exciting. So exciting that once she'd put the colored pencils back in rainbow order, she had to sit on her hands to keep hold herself back from starting the whole art part of this whole thing. That was the problem with exciting stuff, whenever it was there it had to be done RIGHT THEN. Norah removed her right hand from underneath her and put it in the air, because now that the important bits were taken care of she could do the whole answering questions thing too. In theory, anyways. "Gold and silver are awesome and shiny just like glitter, so it's super cool to have them in a book 'cause it makes the illustrations extra special. And when stuff is extra special and extra pretty because of it, I bet people treat it much better so it lasts a long time." She sure respected stuff more when it was glittering. There was no doubt about that.

Zhenya listened intently as Professor Glendower explained what Illuminated Manuscripts were, and became quite excited when she said they were going to be making their own Illuminated Manuscript. How awesome!?

Zhenya became even more excited when Professor Glandower pulled back the cover of the table in the front. Finally the secrets were revealed. Zhenya could see bits and pieces from where she sat; parchments, loads of parchment, covers of books, decorative papers, pencils of different colours, with different colours of inks, beautiful inks she had never even used before; gold, silver. Finally Professor Glendower picked up some Illuminated Manuscripts for them to look at, and they were beautiful. Truly illuminating. Difference between muggle and wizarding Illuminated Manuscripts? Moving pictures, of course.

Zhenya didn't care that some of them were replicas, they were still amazing. The first one was so lovely, Zhenya wished she could frame it and put it by her bed in the dorm room. The next one was the embellished initial, which was also quite stunning. She remembered reading books as a child with these initials, and always loved them. She had always wondered who had started using the large and decorative initial when publishing books, but obviously it was many many years ago. The next four she received were of other illustrations, including some moving ones. She loved the ones that moved, as she was mostly used to seeing moving pictures. The ones that didn't move were just nice to look at but didn't really capture her as much. Still, all of them had that ancient beauty to them, and Zhenya could certainly appreciate it.

Finally she got the 'carpet page'. The name was quite deceptive, she thought of the carpet runners her parents had in their old home, but it certainly was not a carpet. They were awesome content pages made of images. She looked carefully at that one, but didn't really understand how to interpret it. How clever the ancient people were who not only created these images, or Illuminated Manuscripts, but also understood how to read them.

Once Zhenya had looked at all the pictures and passed them around to her classmates, she followed instructions to gather an array of items from the front. She walked up to the table and looked at everything with wide eyes. Oh, how lovely it all looked. She counted twenty pieces of parchment and two pieces of decorative parchment. She handled them very carefully, even though they were perhaps ordinary pieces of modern parchment, the items she had just looked at reminded her to be gentle. She grabbed a book cover, and took them back to where she had sat down between Adi and E. She didn't have enough hands to gather everything around. She went back to the table and collected some coloured pencils, and there were enough gold and silver there to take one of each, but she would share if she needed to.

Question time. Once she had sat down with her items Zhenya had a thing and raised her hand. "Well the silver and gold are pretty and eye catching, and perhaps quite royal. Maybe the Illuminated Manuscripts were generally of great importance, thus they needed to appropriately decorate them. And..." why were they so well preserved? After a quick think, Zhenya continued. "Perhaps the inks had some preservers in them to keep their shiny look, or, maybe more likely, were charmed to be preserved."

She didn’t know whether to be flattered or offended that Professor Glendower had seemed to have decided to pay extra special attention to her. All Brooklyn knew was that it seemed like her silent response to the question of if she needed the healer seemed to have not entirely convinced the professor. She could sense that she was going to be watched, but she was just as determined not to let her headache and the itchy spot on her neck keep her from making it through the lesson. She wouldn’t let that hurt her grade, or at least hurt Slytherin in any way. Plus, she knew she didn’t look half as icky as Cutty did, and he hadn’t gotten asked about the healer…

She’d stayed quiet as illuminated manuscripts had been explained, mentally trying to make notes since she rarely bothered to actually write notes down. She might need to ask Hady after class this time though. She’d seen her housemate, frequent class partner, and possibly friend actually taking notes anyway. It wasn’t using her if that was the case, and she’d have to actually do something for the activity. At least she thought she’d be able to stay in her seat this time, and there wasn’t any playacting. She didn’t feel like playacting right now. Not when it was taking all her strength not to just put her head down on the desk and hope the headache would go away. She’d given up on the itchiness.

As the examples had been passed around, she’d deigned a glance at several of them. Pretty pictures on the pages, that was it. At least, that was all she was getting out of it all, but she didn’t feel like trying to get more out of it. Just pretty pictures, and now she actually had to stand up. At least it was just to get her supplies, and she could do that quickly enough that nothing bad should happen. Especially since several others had gone up before her, which meant less to choose from.

She went to the inks and pencils first, selecting several colors, maybe heavy on the green, and then some silver ink. Everyone else seemed to be going for gold, but she’d go for Slytherin silver this time. At least she knew it meant she’d get her own. Then, she picked up a stack of parchment, along with a couple sheets of decorative paper and a pretty cover, before turning to head carefully back to her desk. At least she’d managed that, and nothing had been spilled. She hadn’t been so far gone as to allow that, but she’d dropped back into her seat only seconds before a hand had slipped under her hair again to scratch at her neck. Gold and silver cost more, so it made the manuscripts more valuable. People treated things that were valuable more carefully then everyday things. She kept her answer to herself, though. She could only expend so much energy at once.

As Hady listened to Professor Glendower's explanation on just what Illuminated Manuscripts really were she lifted her quill to her sheet of parchment and began to take down detailed notes. Surely she might need these notes at some time. Whether it be now or in the distant future really didn't matter much to her.

Setting her quill down she accepted the examples of manuscripts that were being passed around. As she did this she noticed her fellow year and housemates Brooklyn didn't appear to be looking so well. She'd make note of asking her later on if she was alright. You know them being 'friends?' and all had her somewhat curious of the other girls well-being. Nothing wrong with that at all. Anyhow for the moment Hady shifted her attention back to the colorful and somewhat detailed examples in her hands. As she look a moment to carefully examine each one she then passed it over to the person sitting beside her.

Since she'd taken her time at looking at the examples there weren't many others at the tables selecting their supplies when she got up there. That was alright by her really. Gathering up twenty or so sheets of parchment first she then made sure to take two sheets of the decorative papers as well. Now she needed some colored pencils which she randomly picked out mostly in her favorite shades when she could. Next was the ink which wasn't hard at all to choose since she knew that it'd be silver. It being one of her favorite colors anyhow. Last but not least she grabbed herself a nice cover and made her way back to her desk.

Slipping back into her seat Hady laid out all her supplies neatly in order so she could see what it was she gathered exactly. There that was good for now. Raising her hand she gave a go at the answer, "I think it could have to do with gold and silver being worth more and how well they hold up when used so the manuscripts were sure to last for a very long time." Simple and straight to the point really. Why say the same thing as everyone else over and over. Even if silver and gold were incredibly shiny and not all that easy to miss up.

Jackson listened to Professor Glendower's explanation about Illuminated manuscript while he was biting his quill. They're gonna make their own illuminated manuscript. Well, he's not that good in crafty arts so didn't know if he was excited about this activity or not. He saw some replicas of the illuminated manuscript that the Professor showed to them. Hmmm... They looked pretty by the way.

Maybe he should start collecting the materials for creating the manuscript. First, he's gonna need parchment. Lots and lots of parchment. Then he grabbed some decorative paper, muggle colored pencils, and of course the silver and gold ink. Shoot, it seemed like he had to ask the ink from the other students since he didn't get any. The Korean boy then asked Zhenya and Ethan if he could ask their ink. "Guys, I don't get the ink. Do you mind sharing with me?"

Why they had to use the silver and gold ink, by the way?

"Maybe because... to make the manuscript to be easily read." He answered the question. "And I think they used a specific potion to preserve the manuscript, or a preserving charm?" He wasn't really sure about that.

Angel totally wanted to do a time capsule, she thought that it would be epic if it succeeded but for now she would have to get on with this lesson though she made a note to speak to the Professor after this lesson at some point when she wasn't so busy or the Professor wasn't so busy.

She turned her attention back to the Professor just as the Professor told them to get some supplies and so Angel decided to do what the Professor had told them and got her art supplies, she made sure she got the amount of sheets the Professor told them, where they going to do a book or something and further more if the Professor got the money to pay for this collection she would have to consider teaching after her Herbology exploration days were over because the Professor much be making a killing if she could afford these because weren't they expensive.

Angel finished collecting her supplies and then she went back to her seat just in time to here the question. She raised her hand. "Professor isn't in because in the olden days Gold or Silver was more important than it is today, like if you had gold basically you lived in comfort and owned loads of properties where as if you were poor you didn't and since these were important they would want them to look amazing." Angel smiled. "Like they didn't normally use normal parchment when making them did they?" Angel had thought they used something else.

Dante just shrugged. He had no idea what they were and that was his best guess, as bad as it was. And now he knew what illuminated manuscripts were. They were more interesting than what Dante first thought they were.

"Maybe it has to do with gold and silver being originally metals and not eroding over time as faster as other materials."

Maybe.

He could be completely wrong but it sounded smart. He went for the silver first since it was a house color and all. Plus he could probably get a little bit instead having to share with someone else.

Sharing is definitely not caring.

Most of what Glendower had said had gone right through Cutty. Well, some of it at least. His head felt like it was throbbing and his fever was taking hold once more making him tired and robbing him of his normally sharp attentiveness. He resolved to fight it off and it painted a scowl on his flushed looking face as he went up to gather materials, aggressively taking up one silver and one gold pen. He was not in the mood to share.

He stuffed his fist with the twenty sheets of parchment, the book cover and the decorative paper before likewise taking his grip to the most uncarefully chosen array of coloured inks. He then quickly headed back to his seat and heard (although as if underwater) the voice of Professor Glendower go on about Illuminated manuscripts. As they came around he noted their romantic nature. Or maybe it was violence. Were those leaves the ladies were gathering...or where they HEARTS??! Yeah. Violence. The two guys on the animals fighting cemented that idea for Cutty and he suppressed a chortle at the term carpet page.

Raising his hand he wanted to add to the conversation. "I think the answer to one lies in the other a bit like. Of course it would last if it were made of a durable and precious material such as gold or silver. And I think the monks knew this and they were probably trying to make something that had a sense of durability and lasting so that it would mimic the lasting and eternity of God and Heaven."