Lexicon Browse - G
Gallnut - A swelling that forms on the bark of an oak tree after it has been stung by an insect laying its eggs.Gathering - see QuireGesso - A thick, water-base paint commonly formed of plaster, chalk, or gypsum bound together with a glue.Gilded initial - see GildingGilding - The application of gold or silver to a surface.Girdle book - A small portable book. attached to a girdle or belt.Glair - see Binding mediumGloss - The words or symbols added to the text of a manuscript to clarify or expand on its meaning.Goatskin (Shagreen) - see ParchmentGold leaf - A very thin layer of gold used to decorate illuminated manuscripts.Gospel book - The full text of the Gospels (the four accounts of Christ's life attributed to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, respectively), often accompanied by introductory matter such as the Prefaces of Saint Jerome, Eusebius' canon tables (with or without corresponding marginal numbers in the text indicating Eusebian sections or chapter numbers), and chapter lists (capitula).Gospel lectionary - see Evangelary/EvangelistaryGouache - A type of paint often used in manuscripts.Gradual - A gradual is the response and versicle to the Epistle reading that constitutes one part of the Mass. More commonly, however, the term refers to the principal choir book used in the Mass.Grisaille - A method of monochrome painting, generally employing shades of grey, executed in a black pigment (such as a carbon-based lampblack) and an inert white pigment.Grotesque - A hybrid and comic figure, often combining elements from various human and animal forms.Ground - The support prepared for painting or writing.Guard - A protective support at the sewing edge of a manuscript.Guide letter - A letter written (often by the scribe) to tell the illuminator which initial or littera notabilior to supply.Guideword - see CatchwordGutter - The place where bifolia of writing material are folded and meet the spine inside a codex.Gymnastic initial - An initial composed of lively, acrobatic human and/or animal figures.