MANTSCRIPTS, literally writings of any kind, whether on paper or any other material, in contradistinction to such as are printed. Books were generally writ ten upon vellum, after the papyrus used in classical times had become obsolete, until the general introduction of paper made from rags, about the 13th century after Christ; and the finest and whitest vellum is generally indicative of great age in a manuscript. The dearness of this material gave rise to the practice of using old manuscript books on which the writing had been erased, and also to that of abbreviations. These were carried to excess in the 12th century, and from that time until the invention of printing; and for a long period subsequent to Ihat invention, abbreviations were still in com mon use : in Greek printing they were usual until within the last fifty years. Of Latin MSS., those prior to the reign of Charlemagne (a.n. SOO) are consi ered ancient. Manuscripts of the early classical age were written ea sheets rolled toget inunawripir are such as are embellished with ornaments, drawings, emblematical figures, &c., il lustrative of the text. This practice was introduced at n very early period ; for we find the works of Varro. Pomponius Attieus, and others adorned by illumina tions. But it was chiefly employed in the breviaries and prayer-hook of the early Christian church. The colors most em ployed for this purpose were gold and azure. Illuminations were in a high state of perfection between the 5th and 10th centuries; after which they seemed to have partaken of the barbarism of the middle ages, which threw their chilling influence over every description of art.
On the revival of the arts in the 15th and 16th centuries many excellent perform ances were produced ; but the art did not take deep root, and became extinct with the invention of printing. .
MAP, a delineation of a country ac cording to a scale, in which the prop. r tion, shape, and position of places are exactly preserved. The top is usually the north, and the right hand the east, and, when otherwise, distinguished by a fear de lis pointing to the north. It is called a universal map when it repre sents the whole surface of the earth, .or the two hemispheres ; and a particular limp when it only represents particular regions or countries. A map is properly a representation of land, as distinguished from a chart, which only represents the sea or sea-coast. In maps, three thing= are essentially requisite : 1, that all places have the same situation and dis tance from the great circles therein, as on the globe, to show their parallels, longi tudes, zones, climates, and other celestial appearances; 2, that their magnitudes be proportionable to their real in ignitudes on the globe ; 3, that all places hare the same situation, bearing and distance, as on the earth itself. The degrees of longitude are always numbered at top and bottom, and the degrees of latitude on the east and west sides.