Illuminated manuscript page. Illuminated manu- script page of a city's walls being bombarded by cannons during a siege. The walls also have a defensive channel of water or moat beside them. The attacking army is at left, waiting for a breach in the walls that will allow them to invade. During the middle ages, book illumination with hand-drawn images was considered a high art, with 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. Artwork of the siege of Tunis, Tunisia, by French forces in 1391. Photographed from an 1844 book.