A History of Illuminated Manuscripts by De Hamel, C - 1994

Book Club Associates, London, second edition, 1994. Cloth, 4to, 29 cm,. 256 pp, 250 ills, 80 in colour. From the blurb: "Medieval manuscripts are counted among the greatest glories of Western civilization. With their gold and painted decoration and their charming miniatures, they have always had immense appeal, and images from them can be seen everywhere - from greeting cards and wrapping paper to expensive facsimiles. This entertaining and authoritative book is the first to provide a general introduction to the whole subject of the making of books from the Dark Ages to the invention of printing and beyond. Christopher de Hamel vividly describes the widely different circumstances in which manuscripts were created, from the earliest monastic Gospel Books to university textbooks, secular romances, Books of Hours and classical texts for humanist bibliophiles. As the story unfolds the wonderful variety of manuscripts and their illumination is revealed, and many fundamental questions are answered - who wrote the books, what texts they contained, who read them, how they were made and what purposes they served. Illuminated manuscripts have always been highly valued, and among them are some of the world's great masterpieces of art. With its lively narrative and many new and superb illustrations, this new edition of a much-praised book provides the perfect introduction to a large and fascinating subject. " Contents: Introduction; I Books for Missionaries 7th - 9th centuries: the written word as an essential tool for the early missionaries of Britain and Ireland, who produced books of extraordinary sophistication; II Books for Emperors 8th-11th centuries: books as treasure and as luxurious objects of display and diplomatic gifts in the courts of Charlemagne and his successors; III Books for Monks 12th century: the golden age of the monastic book, when monks in their scriptoria produced manuscripts for their libraries; IV Books for Students 13th century: the rise of the universities and the emergence of a professional book trade to meet the new need for textbooks; V Books for Aristocrats 14th century.- the Age of Chivalry - a wealthy and newly literate aristocracy generating a new type of book, the secular romance; VI Books for Everybody 15th century: the emergence of the Book of Hours as a devotional book for ordinary households as well as the aristocracy; VII Books for Priests13th—16th centuries: the Bibles, Missals, Breviaries, Psalters and other service books and handbooks that sustained the life of the Church; VIII Books for Collectors 15th -16th centuries: the revival of classical learning and the creation of de luxe manuscripts for wealthy humanist patrons; Bibliography; Index of Manuscripts; General Index. Bookplate on front pastedown endpaper, minor residue from an earlier label, corners a trifle bumped, otherwise Very Good in Near Very Good dustwrapper.