The chant is usually an elaborate form of the well-known recitative of the preface. In some uses a long bravura was introduced upon the word "accendit", to fill in the pause, which must otherwise occur while, in the pre-1955 form of the rite, the deacon is lighting the candle. In Italy the "Praeconium" was sung from long strips of parchment, gradually unrolled as the deacon proceeded. These "Exsultet Rolls" were decorated with illuminations and with the portraits of contemporary reigning sovereigns, whose names were mentioned in the course of the "Praeconium". The use of these rolls, as far as is known at present, was confined to Italy. The best examples date from the tenth and eleventh centuries.