Illuminated manuscript page. Illuminated manu- script page showing knights on horseback jousting outside a town. There are a number of tents and spectators, including other participants waiting for their turn. During the middle ages, the illumination of books with hand-drawn pictures was considered a high art, with thin sheets of gold metal (gold leaf) being used in conjunction with paints of animal, plant or mineral origins. The artworks also had a practical purpose, helping to describe events because of widespread illiteracy. Image of jousting at St. Inglevere beside the town of Calais, France, in 1390. Photographed from an 1844 book.