Publisher's description:
In the Middle Ages, the alphabet was a popular vehicle for amusement and instruction, as well as beauty. Precisely rendered from treasured medieval manuscripts by one of New York's foremost designers, this ready-to-color collection features 50 initial letters aglow with fanciful devices, symbolic elements, floral interlacements, biblical scenes, grotesque animals, portraits of war and play, and other fascinating embellishments.
Use crayons, paints, markers, and other creative media to breathe colorful new life into each ancient letter. These royalty-free medieval designs will also inspire ideas for stained glass, mosaics, textiles, and a wide variety of graphics projects!

From the back cover:
For us the alphabet is usually a means of communication, but in the Middle Ages it was one of the great vehicles for amusement and instruction, as well as beauty. Fanciful devices, symbolic elements, floral beauty, narrative cartoons and a world of other embellishments worked into initial letters both delighted and improved the medieval mind.
Theodore Menten, one of New York's foremost designers, has selected and rendered 50 fine Medieval initials. They range from beautiful Celtic floral interlacements to biblical scenes, knights, martyrdoms, grotesque animals, portraits, scenes of play and war and much else from treasured Medieval manuscripts. The designs are also permission-free, which means that they are available for use in a wide variety of crafts and graphic arts projects.