A beautiful and informative exploration of the illuminated manuscripts of the Bible over a millennium and across the globe, shedding new light on some of the most significant, yet rarely seen, paintings of the Middle Ages
For two millennia the Bible has inspired the creation of extraordinary art. Within this history illuminated biblical manuscripts are among the best tools for understanding early Christian painting and artistic interpretations of the Bible.
This extensively illustrated new book, compiled and written by two internationally renowned experts, transports readers, by way of forty-five featured manuscripts, across the globe and through 1,000 years of history. Passing chronologically through many of the major centers of the Christian world, from Constantinople and imperial Aachen to Canterbury, Mozarabic Spain, Crusader Jerusalem, northern Iraq, Paris, London, Bologna, and Rome, Scot McKendrick and Kathleen Doyle shed light on some of the finest but least-known paintings from the Middle Ages, and on the development of art, literature, and civilization as we know it. 300+ illustrations

The Art of the Bible: Illuminated Manuscripts from the Medieval World

McKendrick, Scot

Doyle, Kathleen

Religion & Spirituality

Thames&Hudson

Before the invention of the printing press the import of the Christian Bible as a material book was inestimable. Revered by the faithful, labored over by scribes and artists, studied by scholars, and coveted by the rich and powerful, an actual copy of the book took on iconic significance. Surviving manuscripts of the Bible, therefore, not only reveal the remarkable history of a massively influential text but also allow scholars to map the development of the book prior to the advent of machine printing. The British Library’s collection of Bible manuscripts is incomparable in its depth and breadth, preserving landmark editions from the second century up to modern times. Lavishly illustrated in full color, Bible Manuscripts outlines how the Bible was preserved and passed down over the past two millennia. With expert curators Scot McKendrick and Kathleen Doyle as guides, this book offers an unparalleled opportunity to experience the whole of the rich tradition of Biblical manuscripts.

Bible Manuscripts: 1400 Years of Scribes and Scripture

Arts & Photography

History & Criticism

British Library

The discovery of the Codex Sinaiticus at the Monastery of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai in 1859 was a major archaeological event. Created 1600 years ago, it contains the earliest complete copy of the New Testament, and, arguably, the entire Bible, making it the direct ancestor of all subsequent editions of the Bible. How this priceless treasure came to be, how it managed to survive for so long, and what’s next for this cornerstone of Western civilization is the absorbing story Scot McKendrick spins in In a Monastery Library.The fabrication and binding of the Codex was, as McKendrick shows, a hugely ambitious project necessitating a complex, time-consuming, and costly production process. Separate leaves of the Codex now reside in Egypt, Russia, Germany, and England, and the history of its dispersal is as intriguing as the story of its origin. McKendrick ends with a look at the book’s future, detailing plans to bring the surviving pages back together and to make them available digitally. The only book to accessibly relate the dramatic tale of this rare artifact, In a Monastery Library is a bracing account of a critical piece of world history.

In a Monastery Library: Preserving Codex Sinaiticus and the Greek Written Heritage

Illuminated manuscripts collected by successive kings and queens of England form the heart of a unique and visually stunning collection held by the British Library. A key figure in the formation of this collection was King Edward IV (1461–83), who commissioned a number of luxury manuscripts decorated with his arms. Subsequent monarchs added to this library, which was given to the nation by George II in 1757. Over 150 examples from this exceptional collection are presented in this catalog, which accompanies a major British Library exhibition of the same name. These manuscripts contain paintings produced by some of the finest artists of the Middle Ages. Highlights include the Book of Hours, made for Henry VIII’s great grandmother, Margaret Beauchamp; Henry VIII’s Psalter, commissioned and annotated by the king himself; maps of an itinerary from London to Apulia and to the Holy Land; and the Shrewsbury book, presented to Margaret of Anjou on her marriage to Henry VI in 1445. The catalog features full-page illustrations from each manuscript included in the exhibition, as well as three illustrated essays which explore the wider history and context of this unique collection. Written by the curators of the exhibition, along with contributions from several experts in the field, Royal Manuscripts will be a much-heralded event for scholars and collectors seeking to better understand the lives and aspirations of those for whom these stunning artifacts were made.

Royal Manuscripts: The Genius of Illumination

Lowden, John

British Library Publishing

Before the introduction of printing to Western Europe during the mid-fifteenth century, all books were written by hand. As a result, manuscripts were extremely rare and expensive, particularly those that were illuminated. Decorated with illustrations of brightly colored pigments and burnished gold leaf, illuminated manuscripts were first made by monasteries for their own libraries, but later, as literacy increased, for the visual and literary entertainment of royalty and the wealthy elite. Royal Illuminated Manuscripts showcases the illuminated manuscripts collected by the kings and queens of England from the ninth to the sixteenth century. The forty-one manuscripts featured here, chosen for their beauty and significance, are presented chronologically, beginning in the Anglo-Saxon period and ending in the Tudor period. Accompanying each full-page image is an explanation of its content, symbolism, and provenance, as well as a discussion placing each within the wider context of the tradition of illuminated manuscripts. This informative book will serve as an extraordinary introduction to these beautiful and historically significant texts, offering vivid insights into subjects of royal identity, moral and religious beliefs, learning, faith, and international politics.

Royal Illuminated Manuscripts: From King Athelstan to Henry VIII

This book reproduces in color all fourteen images from a fifteenth-century manuscript, now part of the J. Paul Getty Museum collection. One of the finest illuminated secular manuscripts produced in the Netherlands during the period, the manuscript features miniatures that illustrate important episodes from the short life of the legendary Macedonian general. Titled Les fais d'Alexandre le grant, the manuscript is itself a translation of a text attributed to first-century Roman historian Quintus Curtius Rufus, whose Latin text is one of our principal literary sources for our knowledge of Alexander. McKendrick's authoritative text places the Getty's manuscript in its contexts as history and art and explains how the text and illuminations have much to tell us as well about the politics and aesthetics of the Burgundian Netherlands and the development of secular culture in Western Europe.

The History of Alexander the Great (Monographs on Illuminated Manuscripts)

Oxford University Press

This sumptuous book, which accompanies the Academy's Autumn 2003 exhibition, Illuminating the Renaissance, is illustrated with many of the most important and beautiful illuminated manuscripts ever produced. The ambitious scope of the exhibition is reflected in this publication which reveals the wealth and brilliance of Northern masters such as Gerard David and Rogier van der Weyden. Their polished and refined style emerged under the Burgundian Duke, Charles the Bold and flourished for nearly one hundred years between 1467 - 1560. Over 400 plates reveal the originality of this scintillating style which brings to life an imaginative courtly world of Chivalric romances and medieval banquets. A hallmark of this painting is a type of decorative border which renders flowers, insects and other fauna against solid coloured grounds and where the artist plays illusionistic tricks with the viewer to create some of the most colourful and luminous painting of the late medieval era. The plates are accompanied by full entries with essays written by the foremost scholars in the field from the John Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, The British Library, London and the Metropolitan Museum, New York.

Illuminating the Renaissance: The Triumph of Flemish Manuscript Painting in Europe

Kren, Thomas

Thames and Hudson Ltd.

The Isabella Breviary: Commentary volume

Morgan, Nigel

Ruiz García, Elisa

Painting

M. Moleiro Editor, S.A.

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