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A History of Illuminated Manuscripts Paperback – September 26, 1997

by Christopher De Hamel (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 60 ratings
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Medieval manuscripts are among Western civilization's greatest glories. Laboriously written by hand and often sumptuously decorated, they have always been highly valued and remain as brilliant, fascinating and popular as ever.

Christopher de Hamel vividly describes the circumstances in which such books were created - from the earliest monastic Gospel Books to the most lavish Books of Hours. For the second edition of this book, the text has been revised and updated and the whole volume completely redesigned with a striking wealth of new colour illustrations.

Previous page
  1. Print length
    272 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Phaidon Press
  4. Publication date
    September 26, 1997
  5. Grade level
    8 and up
  6. Reading age
    13 years and up
  7. Dimensions
    10 x 1.13 x 11.5 inches
  8. ISBN-10
    0714834521
  9. ISBN-13
    978-0714834528
  10. See all details
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The Amazon Book Review
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"It is no mere history, but an original, lively and richly illustrated commentary."―Times Literary Supplement

"Gorgeous and informative. A wonderful introduction to handwritten books from the Dark Ages to the invention of printing in the fifteenth century."―Houston Chronicle

"Lavish, beautiful and sweeping look at the beginning of the printed word."―Graphic Arts Monthly

"Along with excellent illustrations, this large volume includes a bibliography and index of manuscripts."―The Good Book Guide

About the Author

Christopher de Hamel is a Fellow Librarian of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. For many years he was head of the Western Manuscripts department at Sotheby's in London. He is the author of The Book: A History of the Bible, also published by Phaidon, which has become established as a definitive work and magnum opus in itself.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Phaidon Press; 2nd ed. edition (September 26, 1997)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0714834521
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0714834528
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 13 years and up
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 8 and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.75 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 10 x 1.13 x 11.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 60 ratings

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
60 global ratings
It's in French and I ordered an English version
1 Star
It's in French and I ordered an English version
The book is beautiful, but I bought an English book and it arrive in French. Seller won't take it back so I have a pretty picture book that I can't read. Crappy customer service!!!
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Top reviews from the United States

Jenifer Jones
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book on illuminations.
Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2024
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Purchased after my interest was aroused by two smaller books on the subject. Forgotten the cost, but was used & in excellent condition. Easy to read & many, many illustrations. Very happy with purchase, well worth the price. Great to curl up with book & hot cocoa!
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Nicholas
5.0 out of 5 stars Not What One Would Expect...and All the Better for It!
Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2012
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After purchasing and perusing Introduction to Manuscript Studies by Raymond Clemens and Timothy Graham, I purchased the book under review, Christopher De Hamel's A History of Illuminated Manuscripts. The former book is wonderful and prepared me for De Hamel's, but De Hamel is so thorough that he includes much of the same information that is in the book by Clemens and Graham. To explain this review's title: I was expecting to find a strictly chronological study, but instead found a work divided into chapters according to the reasons for making manuscripts in the Middle Ages, or, to put it another way, a work organized...as the author himself states in his introduction..."from the point of view of the people who needed them." The result is a felicitous one...and one which ends up, whether in spite of or precisely because of the author's approach, being basically chronological after all. The best way to give a prospective reader an idea of what he or she has in store, I believe, is to quote the chapter headings in order: "Books for Missionaries," "Books for Emperors," "Books for Monks," "Books for Students," "Books for Aristocrats," "Books for Everybody," "Books for Priests," and, finally, "Books for Collectors." De Hamel's reputation in the field, I would say, is well-earned. The volume is packed with information, written in a lively style, and filled with breathtakingly gorgeous color reproductions that enable one both to experience the full impact of a complete illuminated manuscript page and to examine such in detail. Phaidon Press has again done a marvellous job. This book would be worth the price even if one intended only "to look at the pictures."
15 people found this helpful
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T in Utah
5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Available History of Illuminated Manuscripts
Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2008
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Christopher De Hamel's "A History of Illuminated Manuscripts" (now in its second edition) is certainly the definitive history for lay readers, but it is probably the best starting place for aspiring professionals as well. It is well-written, faultlessly researched, and copiously illustrated. I happily use it in my university course on illuminated manuscripts together with Ingo Walther's "Masterpieces of Illumination" (published by Taschen)--in my opinion, the perfect companion piece.

The second edition of De Hamel's book is structured as was the first: an informative introduction is followed by chapters which divide and discuss the manuscripts according to their intended users (missionaries, emperors, monks, students, aristocrats, everybody, priests, and collectors); an extended bibliography precedes several useful indexes. This Phaidon paperback edition is a beautiful book, with a white paper cover adorned with a full-color dust-jacket. Many new illustrations have been added, and there are many more color illustrations than there were in the first edition. More importantly, the text has been updated to reflect ongoing research in the field.

My only complaint about this edition is that many of the important full-color and full-page illustrations in the first edition (to which I often referred in my classes) have either been reduced in size or eliminated entirely in the new edition. There are also significant (and inexplicable) differences in the color reproduction of illuminations between the first (David R. Godine, Publisher) edition and this second (Phaidon Press) edition--sometimes the differences are so radical that only a close inspection (or a familiarity with the actual documents) reveals they are photographs of the same manuscript. And since many of these manuscripts are from private collections (to which Mr. De Hamel apparently gained access by reputation or through associations established during his tenure at Sotheby's), it would be impossible for most readers to know which of the differing reproductions are the more accurate. My own experience would suggest that not all the changes in the new Phaidon edition are indeed improvements.

Publishing faults aside, this is a fine book by a scholar with impeccable credentials and a gift for clarity and sensibility in his writing. I highly recommend it.
25 people found this helpful
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sarah moore
4.0 out of 5 stars A delight slightly marred by printers' considerations. Thoroughly recommended.
Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2016
Verified Purchase
An excellent conspectus of the subject matter, well ordered and charming. Some print was too small so difficult to enjoy and I wondered about the colour chosen for the material on which the mss were reproduced. Some of the 'snippets' I felt could have had more surrounding them but on the whole a joyous volume.
One person found this helpful
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Just A Girl
5.0 out of 5 stars Breathtaking!
Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2011
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First, let me admit that I have not yet read the text of this book. I have been so overwhelmed with the sheer beauty and quality of manuscript photos that I haven't been able to drag myself away from oogling them to focus on the text.

Some of the photographs are so detailed that you can see the individual brushstrokes and the colors are incredibly vibrant. This is by far the best book on illuminated manuscripts I have seen. Other books simply pale in comparison to the beauty, detail and color of this one.

As others have stated, there are prints of manuscripts in this book that have rarely been seen before. For those interested in re-creating manuscripts, there are several "unfinished" examples which allow you to see the sketches behind the color.

The book is divided into sections covering "books for students", "books for clergy", "books for everybody" etc. It is quite interesting to see the differences between the quality of the various books as well as Latin vs vernacular languages.

I would highly recommend this book for anyone interested in art, illuminated manuscripts or medieval history.
11 people found this helpful
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Lynne Kelly
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful in all aspects
Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2014
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This book is simply beautiful to just sit and turn the pages and drool over the images. You can do that over and over because the images are so complex and so stunning. And there are so many of them!

But once I managed to calm down and start reading the text, I fell in love with the book even more. It is clearly written, yet technical enough to give a full understanding of the astounding illuminated manuscripts. Putting them in a historical context added so much more to my understanding and therefore appreciation. I have quite a few books on the topic. This one draws them all into a single fabric.
6 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Cliente de Amazon
5.0 out of 5 stars This book is amazing
Reviewed in Mexico on July 8, 2017
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For such an old book it pretty much has everything you need to follow the basics of illuminated books. And just in case someone falls in the same superficial traps that I do, despite the very uninspired cover, this book is top quality stuff.
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sharon steinberg
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful book about illuminated manuscripts
Reviewed in Canada on November 21, 2016
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I love the color illustrations of the manuscripts being discussed.
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rossella
4.0 out of 5 stars bello
Reviewed in Italy on February 6, 2017
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completo, ricco, un libro davvero molto bello, unica pecca è tutto in inglese , cmq di grandi dimensioni come fosse un catalogo e le figure sono molto belle
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Carole Blake
5.0 out of 5 stars Exquisite
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 6, 2016
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I bought this before booking for the exhibition of illuminated manuscripts that is currently on in Cambridge. A good survey of a fascinating subject, and a beautifully produced book. Highly recommended.
3 people found this helpful
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Cliente de Amazon
5.0 out of 5 stars Antecedentes de la imprenta
Reviewed in Mexico on August 15, 2018
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Ofrece un panorama de los primeros manuscritos iluminados. Buen material e ilustraciones que detallan el contenido.
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