LoveReading Says
Winner of the Wolfson History Prize 2017.
Christopher de Hamel is a man happy in his work – his enthusiasm and love for his subject lights up this account of medieval manuscripts and their history. With first-rate illustrations, we too can feel that we are examining these early books, sharing their beauty, learning of their importance and their long and complex histories. Above all I loved this book as a celebration of scholarship refuting the ridiculous comments regarding experts we have heard recently. Experts this painstaking, knowledgeable and inquisitive are to be welcomed – especially when they communicate with such wit and enjoyment. ~ Sue Baker
Like for Like Reading
Books of Hours, Phaidon Editors
Bestiary, Richard Barber
Wolfson History Prize Judges: “Imaginatively conceived, beautifully written and illustrated… de Hamel offers serious new insights in every chapter.”
Sue Baker
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| Primary Genre |
History
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Meetings With Remarkable Manuscripts Synopsis
WINNER OF THE WOLFSON HISTORY PRIZE AND THE DUFF COOPER PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION
'Endlessly fascinating and enjoyable' Neil MacGregor
'A marvellous book' David Attenborough
'Full of delights' Tom Stoppard
An extraordinary exploration of the medieval world - the most beguiling history book of the year
This is a book about why medieval manuscripts matter. Coming face to face with an important illuminated manuscript in the original is like meeting a very famous person. We may all pretend that a well-known celebrity is no different from anyone else, and yet there is an undeniable thrill in actually meeting and talking to a person of world stature.
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. Christopher de Hamel introduces us to kings, queens, saints, scribes, artists, librarians, thieves, dealers, collectors and the international community of manuscript scholars, showing us how he and his fellows piece together evidence to reach unexpected conclusions. He traces the elaborate journeys which these exceptionally precious artefacts have made through time and space, shows us how they have been copied, who has owned them or lusted after them (and how we can tell), how they have been embroiled in politics and scholarly disputes, how they have been regarded as objects of supreme beauty and luxury and as symbols of national identity. The book touches on religion, art, literature, music, science and the history of taste.
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. At the end, we have a slightly different perspective on history and how we come by knowledge. It is a most unusual book.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9780141977492 |
| Publication date: |
5th April 2018 |
| Author: |
Christopher De Hamel |
| Publisher: |
Penguin Books an imprint of Penguin Books Ltd |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
640 pages |
| Primary Genre |
History
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