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The Art Of Illuminated Manuscripts. Illustrated Sacred Writings. Being A Series Of Illustrations Of The Ancient Versions Of The Bible Copied From Illuminated Manuscripts Executed Between The Fourth And Sixteenth Centuries (original 1843; edition 1988)
Oversized Atlas Originally published under the title PALAEOGRAPHIA SACRA PICTORIA by William Smith, Fleet Steet, London, 1843-1845. Extensively illustrated with copies of manuscripts from the 4th through the 16th centuries. Offers examples of design, composition, and illumination. Examples from Greek and Armenian Gospels, the Psalter of King Henry VI. French, German, and Italian manuscripts, the Book of Kells, etc.… (more)
The Art Of Illuminated Manuscripts. Illustrated Sacred Writings. Being A Series Of Illustrations Of The Ancient Versions Of The Bible Copied From Illuminated Manuscripts Executed Between The Fourth And Sixteenth Centuries
This is a book that was excellent in its day -- but that day the better part of two centuries ago. At the time, there was no way to reproduce a photograph, and a "facsimile" was a hand redrawing. The manuscript facsimiles in this book are laboriously careful. That is not the same as being accurate. (I've seen the pages they're reproducing!) Worse, because they are so laborious, they are dull and dead in a way that an actual manuscript truly is not. The manuscript may have "mistakes" and "imperfections" which these facsimiles do not. But the originals were created -- not reproduced, created -- by human hands, and are the more beautiful for it.
And we have learned very much about old manuscripts since this book's time, and have discovered thousands of additional Biblical manuscripts. Few of them are as beautiful as those shown here, but they have deeply changed our understanding of manuscript production.
Even the terminology has changed. For example, there is a section here on the "Theotisc" version of the Bible, which is called "valuable." These days, if this version is referred to at all, it's called the Old German -- and it's not referred to very often, because it's not valuable in any way, except as a linguistic monument (it's useful to Germanic scholars). But it's a translation from the Latin, not the Greek, and of no help reconstructing the Bible.
This is not to denigrate the noble effort that went into making this book. But, these days, you can find actual photographs of most of these manuscripts on the web, as well as newer information. Far better to consult those sources than to try to contend with this ponderous (both in size and in style of writing) tome. When it was published, it was at least a four star book. Now, I'd give it less than half that. ( )
The factual info is alright, but I was disappointed in the graphics themselves. None are originals. All of them are hand drawn copies... and not very good copies at that. ( )
PREFACE The object of the present volume is to lay before the pubic a series of Illustrations of Ancient Art as varied in their style as could conveniently be obtained consistent with the desire, at the same time entertained, of rendering the work interesting by confining it to a single subject -- of all others the most important -- namely, the historical investigation of the Sacred Text of the Bible through the darkness of the middle ages.
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Oversized Atlas Originally published under the title PALAEOGRAPHIA SACRA PICTORIA by William Smith, Fleet Steet, London, 1843-1845. Extensively illustrated with copies of manuscripts from the 4th through the 16th centuries. Offers examples of design, composition, and illumination. Examples from Greek and Armenian Gospels, the Psalter of King Henry VI. French, German, and Italian manuscripts, the Book of Kells, etc.
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Oversized Atlas Originally published under the title PALAEOGRAPHIA SACRA PICTORIA by William Smith, Fleet Steet, London, 1843-1845. Extensively illustrated with copies of manuscripts from the 4th through the 16th centuries. Offers examples of design, composition, and illumination. Examples from Greek and Armenian Gospels, the Psalter of King Henry VI. French, German, and Italian manuscripts, the Book of Kells, etc.
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This is a book that was excellent in its day -- but that day the better part of two centuries ago. At the time, there was no way to reproduce a photograph, and a "facsimile" was a hand redrawing. The manuscript facsimiles in this book are laboriously careful. That is not the same as being accurate. (I've seen the pages they're reproducing!) Worse, because they are so laborious, they are dull and dead in a way that an actual manuscript truly is not. The manuscript may have "mistakes" and "imperfections" which these facsimiles do not. But the originals were created -- not reproduced, created -- by human hands, and are the more beautiful for it.
And we have learned very much about old manuscripts since this book's time, and have discovered thousands of additional Biblical manuscripts. Few of them are as beautiful as those shown here, but they have deeply changed our understanding of manuscript production.
Even the terminology has changed. For example, there is a section here on the "Theotisc" version of the Bible, which is called "valuable." These days, if this version is referred to at all, it's called the Old German -- and it's not referred to very often, because it's not valuable in any way, except as a linguistic monument (it's useful to Germanic scholars). But it's a translation from the Latin, not the Greek, and of no help reconstructing the Bible.
This is not to denigrate the noble effort that went into making this book. But, these days, you can find actual photographs of most of these manuscripts on the web, as well as newer information. Far better to consult those sources than to try to contend with this ponderous (both in size and in style of writing) tome. When it was published, it was at least a four star book. Now, I'd give it less than half that. (