Speech Scroll. A speech scroll or banderole is an illustrative device denoting speech, song, or other types of sound. It is portrayed in art as a curling ribbon or scroll that extends from the mouth of a figure, used to indicate speech or thought, particularly in medieval and early Renaissance works. Often inscribed with text or symbols, these scrolls provide a visual representation of spoken words, prayers, or proclamations, making them an early form of speech bubble. Typically seen in religious and narrative art, speech scrolls enhance storytelling by guiding the viewer’s eye and clarifying dialogue or divine messages, especially in illuminated manuscripts and frescoes. Their decorative, flowing style contributes to the visual dynamism of the artwork, blending language with imagery in a way that reflects the symbolic and illustrative traditions of the period. Developed independently on two continents, the device was in use by artists within Mesoamerican cultures from as early as 650 BC until after the Spanish conquest in the 16th century, and 13th and 14th European painters. While European speech scrolls were drawn as if they were an actual unfurled scroll or strip of parchment, Mesoamerican speech scrolls are scroll-shaped, looking much like a question mark. It is used in heraldry for mottos or slogans and war-cries. A Teotihuacan stick-ball player with a bi-color speech scroll. Speech scrolls are found throughout the Mesoamerica area. An early example is a Olmec ceramic cylinder seal, where two lines emit from a bird's mouth followed by glyphs proposed to be 3 Ajaw, a ruler's name. The murals of the Classic era site at Teotihuacan are filled with speech scrolls, in particular tableaus in the Tepantitla compound, this mural, for example, has more than 20 speech scrolls. In Mesoamerica, speech-scrolls are usually oriented upwards along the longest outer edge so that the central element curves downward as it spirals. Some Mesoamerican scrolls are divided lengthwise with each side given a different shade. Glyphs or similar markings rarely appear on the Mesoamerican speech scroll, althoughtabs, small, triangular or square blocks, are sometimes seen along the outer edge. If the speech scroll represents a tongue, then the tabs may represent teeth, but their meaning or message, if any, is not known. A mural in the ancient Mesoamerican city of Teotihuacan, Mexico, c. At times, speech scrolls are decorated with devices that describe the tone of the speech: In an engraving at the Maya site of Chichen Itza, a ruler's speech scroll takes the form of a serpent. A Spaniard's speech scroll in a 16th-century Aztec codex is decorated with feathers to denote soft, smooth words.