Run-over symbol

A decorative device (abstract, foliate, zoomorphic, or anthropomorphic) which indicates that the text of a line has been carried over to occupy the remainder of the line above or below, a space that otherwise would have been left blank.

A decorative device (abstract, foliate, zoomorphic, or anthropomorphic) which indicates that the text of a line has been carried over to occupy the remainder of the line above or below, a space that otherwise would have been left blank. Run-over symbols serve both decorative and space-saving functions, especially in verse forms such as the Psalms, and were initially popularized in Insular and Pre-Carolingian art.

    Michelle Brown, Understanding Illuminated Manuscripts (Malibu, CA: J. Paul Getty Museum in association with the British Library, c1994).