Richard Gameson - Böcker

This study explores the role of early medieval religious art in its historical context, focusing on England from the reign of Alfred the Great to the aftermath of the Norman conquest. Tenth and eleventh century society expressed itself extensively through visual means, and the surviving material provides a rich body of evidence for the religious culture of the time. Combining visual and documentary evidence, The Role of Art in the Late Anglo-Saxon Church sheds new light on a wide range of magnificent art works and their functions, and offers fresh perspectives on the ecclesiastical history and beliefs of late Anglo Saxon England, with important implications for the study of early medieval civilization in general.

Are there angels within spitting distance of men? What did Pope Gregory the Great think of pagans? Were the monks of Battle compulsive forgers? Is temptation always a bad thing? These and many other fascinating questions are explored in this book.Commisssioned in honour of the distinguished medieval historian, Henry Mayr-Harting and reflecting the range and focus of its honorand's interests, the twenty-five essays provide a panoramic and stimulating exploration of the interrelated fields of belief and culture in the middle ages. Sanctity and sacred biography, seduction and temptation, forgery and litigation, patronage and art production, conversion and oppression were all part of the rich fabric of medieval Christian culture that is scrutinized here. Individually the studies shed new light on a series of key issues and questions relating to the cultural, religious, and political history of the sixth-century church, of Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, and of Carolingian, Ottonian, and Investiture Contest Europe; while collectively they illuminate the interaction of Christianity and politics, of secular and sacred, and of belief and culture from late antiquity to the thirteenth century.

The significance of the Bible in the life, thought and culture of the early Middle Ages can hardly be overstated. Here eleven linked studies, embracing palaeography, history, art history, theology and textual scholarship, examine and interpret the evidence of Bible manuscripts (including gospel books and Psalters) in their cultural context from late antiquity to the thirteenth century. Subjects include the earliest Bible manuscripts, the Gospels in a missionary context, the scriptorium of Tours, the development of the early glossed Psalter, the Old Testament in tenth- and eleventh-century England, the Italian Giant Bibles, the origins of the Paris Bible, the illustration of the early Gothic Psalter and the planning and production of the Hamburg Bible. Together these essays provide a broad-ranging, authoritative treatment of themes which are of central importance for the history and culture of the times.

This spectacular oversize volume offers a new way to look at the illuminated manuscripts of the High Middle Ages—through the magnificent handwriting of their scribes.In the era from 1000 to 1250, Europe underwent momentous social changes—including a growth in literacy and the emergence of the first universities—that resulted in a demand for more books. This in turn spurred new methods of book production and a critical period of development in calligraphy: through a series of incremental changes, bold leaps, and cultural exchanges, the rounded forms of the Caroline minuscule gave way to the straight strokes of Gothic blackletter, which were easier to produce—and would form the basis of the first typefaces cut by Gutenberg and his contemporaries. Scribes and Scripts traces this evolution through 56 noteworthy illuminated manuscripts—and their scribes, many of whose names and circumstances are known to us. Author Richard Gameson, an eminent historian of the book, provides a fascinating commentary on the calligraphy and illumination of each manuscript and the career of its scribe, including the social factors that influenced his or her work. At least one page from each manuscript is shown in its entirety, and additional details highlight salient aspects of the calligraphy and decoration. A talented scribe himself, Gameson provides model alphabets and samples of the key stages in the evolution of high medieval script—an invaluable resource for calligraphers. Scribes and Scripts is perhaps the finest survey of high medieval calligraphy for a general audience, and certainly the richest, for it places the subject in the context of history and, indeed, individual lives. It will be an essential volume, and a source of considerable delight, for anyone interested in calligraphy, illuminated manuscripts, or medieval history.

Key articles on the Bayeux tapestry collected in one volume, providing a comprehensive companion to its study.This volume presents a selection from the classic literature on the tapestry, providing a comprehensive companion to its study. The articles have been carefully chosen in order to provide a strong, balanced coverage of most aspects of the tapestry; all the major themes - the material fabric of the artefact, its origin, its relation to other early sources, its visual language, the form and function of the inscriptions, the work's general meaning and purpose, and the way it was perceived - are discussed in authoritative contributions collected here. The volume also includes substantial new essays by the editor on studying the Bayeux tapestry, and on its origin, art, and message.Contributors: RICHARD GAMESON, CHARLES STOTHARD, EDWARD FREEMAN, W.R. LETHERBY, CHARLES PRENTOUT, SIMONE BERTRAND, RENÉLEPELLEY, C.R. DODWELL, N.P. BROOKS, H.E.J. COWDREY, H.E. WALKER, RICHARD BRILLIANT, SHIRLEY ANNE BROWN, MICHAEL HERREN

This is the first comprehensive survey of the history of the book in Britain from Roman through Anglo-Saxon to early Norman times. The expert contributions explore the physical form of books, including their codicology, script and decoration; examine the circulation and exchange of manuscripts and texts between England, Ireland, the Celtic realms and the Continent; discuss the production, presentation and use of different classes of texts, ranging from fine service books to functional schoolbooks; and evaluate the libraries that can be associated with particular individuals and institutions. The result is an authoritative account of the first millennium of the history of books, manuscript-making and literary culture in Britain which, intimately linked to its cultural contexts, sheds vital light on broader patterns of political, ecclesiastical and cultural history extending from the period of the Vindolanda writing tablets through the age of Bede and Alcuin to the time of the Domesday Book.