Western Illuminated Manuscripts: A Catalogue of the Collection in Cambridge University Library

Description

Cambridge University Library's collection of illuminated manuscripts is of international significance. It originates in the medieval university and stands alongside the holdings of the colleges and the Fitzwilliam Museum. The University Library contains major European examples of medieval illumination from the ninth to the sixteenth centuries, with acknowledged masterpieces of Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance book art, as well as illuminated literary texts, including the first complete Chaucer manuscript. This catalogue provides scholars and researchers easy access to the University Library's illuminated manuscripts, evaluating the importance of many of them for the very first time. It contains descriptions of famous manuscripts, for example the Life of Edward the Confessor attributed to Matthew Paris, as well as hundreds of lesser-known items. Beautifully illustrated throughout, the catalogue contains descriptions of individual manuscripts with up-to-date assessments of their style, origins and importance, together with bibliographical references.

Paul Binski is Professor of the History of Medieval Art at Cambridge University. He specializes in the art and architecture of medieval Western Europe. His previous publications include The Painted Chamber at Westminster (1986), Westminster Abbey and the Plantagenets (1995), which won the Longman's History Today Prize, and Becket's Crown, Art and Imagination in Gothic England, 1170-1300 (2004), winner of the 2006 Historians of British Art Prize and the Ace-Mercers 2005 International Book Prize. Patrick Zutshi is Keeper of Manuscripts and University Archives at Cambridge University Library and a Fellow of Corpus Christi College. He has published extensively on the medieval papacy, from the twelfth century onwards, including Original Papal Documents in England, 1305-1415 (1990). He frequently lectures on aspects of papal history, and has published articles on university history and the provenance of medieval manuscripts.

'Impressive ... A concise, lucid account of the sources and art historical aspects of the collection introduces the volume and there are exceptionally useful indexes.' Art Newspaper 'Paul Binski and Patrick Zutshi decided 'to keep the catalogue within a manageable compass and to ensure that its completion was not inordinately delayed' and should be congratulated on achieving their end to the benefit of all with an interest in medieval manuscripts.' The Burlington Magazine