The first mysteries are designated as Initia. In the ancient world strictly closed societies with religious purposes were called mystery. Regarding the literature, such initia are the starting words of medieval manuscripts or even initial letters of these texts. In most cases, the first words of the first and second pages of a work are meant, whereby medieval writings can be identified. Thus the Initia – as well as Incipit and Explicit – serve instead of a title for the identification of ancient, medieval or early-modern texts, which are without title or with different, often not authentic titles. The first word (incipit), the ending formula (Explicit) or the first words and the first-day letters (Initia) are unique, especially in the case of texts whose authors are not clear (see Adespota) and which have been published under different titles which text is meant.
The term is the plural form of the Latin noun Initium, which can be translated with the beginning, the beginning or the beginning. Consequently, the term means the beginnings and thus refers to the fundamental point: namely, the beginnings of a text [and therefore the first words or even initial letters]. Let us take a look at an example that illustrates the whole: Example Initia in a medieval text
The above example shows on the left a manuscript from Benediktinerstift Weihenstephan. At the very beginning, some words can be identified (red), which can be called incipit (“Hie stands in the heyledleben in the wintertayl”). By means of these first words, the titellose text can be distinguished from others. In contrast to the Incipit, which usually consists of two to twelve words, the Initia mean only the initial words or initial letters, which is why the words Hie can be regarded as such. For clear identification, the initial words of the second page would also be mentioned.
The capital letter at the beginning is called initial, since it marks the beginning of a chapter, it can also be called chapter initials. Initials are the ornamental initial letters, which are used in incunabula, handwritten texts or in the writings of larger works with extensive flow text to mark the beginning of chapters or paragraphs.