My eldest daughter has loved The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy since childhood, when my husband used to read both girls the stories before bed.
This is a piece I did for her birthday illustrating Tolkien’s wonderful first line. The illuminated borders are done in shell gold and egg tempera with traditional pigments. It’s a real shame you can’t see the shine on the gold! The border design is adapted from the Lovell Lectionary, produced in England (probably Glastonbury) around 1400.
