Christopher de Hamel Book order

Focusing on the lives of twelve individuals from the eleventh to the twentieth century, the narrative explores their shared obsession with illuminated manuscripts. Each character, from saints to curators, reveals unique motivations that intertwine their fates with these historical treasures. The author takes readers through various settings, highlighting the profound societal impact of manuscripts. This account delves into themes of human connection, ambition, and the complexities of manuscript preservation, celebrating the enduring significance of these remarkable works.

A selection of nearly seventy fakes and forgeries of famous illuminated manuscripts from the Voelkle Collection. This fascinating book tells the story of the building of William M. Voelkle's collection of fakes and forgeries of manuscript illumination. With thorough essays and beautiful illustrations, Voekle tells the story of nearly seventy fakes and forgeries. This illustrated catalog presents a group of nearly seventy fakes and forgeries that display astonishing breadth. They include not only the Spanish Forger and other Western European miniatures by Ernesto Sprega, Caleb William Wing, Germano Prosdocimi, and others, but fascinating examples from the Christian East, Ethiopia, Mexico, Persia, and India. Published here in its entirety for the first time, the Voelkle Collection is the only comprehensive collection of fakes and forgeries of manuscript paintings in private hands. Including an engaging introduction by Christopher de Hamel that raises tantalizing questions about the meaning of authenticity and our fascination with forgery, the book takes the reader on a journey that sheds light on the nature and detection of forgery of manuscript illumination.

The Manuscripts Men tells of twelve men and women, from the eleventh century to the twentieth, who all share an overwhelming obsession with illuminated manuscripts. The saint, the patron, the bookseller, the artist, the antiquary, the collector, the rabbi, the savant, the librarian, the editor, the forger and the curator had very different reasons for their passion, but manuscripts animated the lives of them all. Christopher de Hamel takes us into in their homes and workplaces, from the monasteries and synagogues of Normandy and Moravia to the universities of Germany and the museums of America, to chart a kinship of minds and to peer into these extraordinary lives among manuscripts. In the pages of his book, remarkable manuscripts tumble through the centuries, connecting a French prince and a Greek peasant and an Afro-American curator. This is a story about society and manuscripts, what manuscripts do for people, and why they mattered and still matter to us. It is also a story of greed, discovery and disaster and of the unquenchable joy in the greatest and most treasured books ever made.

From the bestselling author of Meetings With Remarkable Manuscripts, a captivating account of the last surviving relic of Thomas Becket The assassination of Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral on 29 December 1170 is one of the most famous events in European history. It inspired the largest pilgrim site in medieval Europe and many works of literature from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales to T. S. Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral and Anouilh's Becket. In a brilliant piece of historical detective work, Christopher de Hamel here identifies the only surviving relic from Becket's shrine: the Anglo-Saxon Psalter which he cherished throughout his time as Archbishop of Canterbury, and which he may even have been holding when he was murdered. Beautifully illustrated and published to coincide with the 850th anniversary of the death of Thomas Becket, this is an exciting rediscovery of one of the most evocative artefacts of medieval England.

"Many beautiful illuminated manuscripts survive from the Middle Ages and can be seen in libraries and museums throughout Europe. But who were the skilled craftsmen who made these exquisite books? What precisely is parchment? How were medieval manuscripts designed and executed? What were the inks and pigments, and how were they applied? This book looks at the work of scribes, illuminators and book binders. Based principally on examples in the Bodleian Library, this lavishly illustrated account tells the story of manuscript production from the early Middle Ages through to the high Renaissance. Each stage of production is described in detail, from the preparation of the parchment, pens, paints and inks to the writing of the scripts and the final decoration and illumination of the manuscript. This book also explains the role of the stationer or bookshop, often to be found near cathedral and market squares, in the commissioning of manuscripts, and it cites examples of specific scribes and illuminators who can be identified through their work as professional lay artisans. Christopher de Hamel's text is accompanied by a glossary of key technical terms relating to manuscripts and illumination, providing an invaluable introduction for anyone interested in studying medieval manuscripts today."-- Provided by publisher

This beautiful catalogue explores four books that are remarkable survivals of what people read in the Middle Ages? the finest of medieval Bibles (the greatest text of Western civilization), one of the oldest 'Books of Hours' (the most famous medieval manuscripts of all), 'Biography' (the unique legend of an Anglo-Saxon princess), and the 'History of Troy' (the oldest chivalric story in European history). 0These are all manuscripts unknown on the market for at least eighty years. One of the four was last described in print in 1588; the others were last catalogued for sale in 1909, 1932 and 1938 respectively. All are richly illustrated, with a total of 133 miniatures between them, as well as hundreds of borders and illuminated animals and grotesques. Some of the finest artists of the period were responsible for the miniatures, and at least two of them likely issue directly from the greatest of European courts.00Exhibition: Les Enluminures, New York, USA (17.-23.10.2018)

"This is a book about why medieval manuscripts matter. The idea for the book, which is entirely new, is to invite the reader into intimate conversations with twelve of the most famous manuscripts in existence and to explore with the author what they tell us about nearly a thousand years of medieval history -- and sometimes about the modern world too. Part travel book, part detective story, part conversation with the reader, Meetings with remarkable manuscripts conveys the fascination and excitement of encountering some of the greatest works of art in our culture which, in the originals, are to most people completely inaccessible."-- Provided by publisher

A snapshot of the biblical tradition over nearly 2,000 years presented through beautiful illustrations of sixty rare and unique Bibles.

Illuminated manuscripts survive in great numbers from the Middle Ages. They are often beautifully preserved, enabling us to appreciate the skilled design and craftsmanship of the people who created them.Christopher de Hamel describes each stage of production from the preparation of the vellum, pens, paints and inks to the writing of the scripts and the final decoration and illumination of the book. He then examines the role of the stationer or bookshop in co-ordinating book production and describes the supply of exemplars and the accuracy of texts. He follows the careers of a number of specific scribes and illuminators who emerge not as anonymous monks but as identifiable professional lay artisans. He also looks at those who bought the completed books, why they did so, and how much they paid.His survey ranges from the eleventh century through the golden age of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries to the luxurious manuscripts existing at the invention of printing.

A narrative account of the Bible as a book and as an artefact, from the earliest fragments found in the Egyptian desert to the great number of modern editions and translations