Illuminated Manuscripts

They certainly are beautiful.

From a post on AbeBooks...

An illuminated manuscript is any manuscript whose text is accompanied by decoration. It originally referred only to silver or gilt adornments, but came to be acceptable terminology for any manuscript with drawings, paintings or decorations such as ornate initials, borders, floral accoutrements and the like. Often the illuminations would depict a historical or rural/pastoral scene.

The earliest confirmed example of illuminated manuscripts in existence today originated some 2000+ years ago. While some of the oldest instances were on papyrus, a thick, papery substance produced from the pulped flesh of the Egyptian papyrus plant, most were made of parchment, a thin writing material made from the skin of an animal, usually calf, goat or sheep. The highest quality parchment, very smooth and fine, was called vellum.