The Carolingians and the Written Word

The Carolingians and the Written Word
Author: Rosamond McKitterick
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 312
Release: 1989-06-29
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780521315654

Functional analysis of the written word in eight and ninth century Carolingian European society demonstrates that literacy was not confined to a clerical elite, but dispersed in lay society and used administratively as well.

The Oxford Handbook of the Latin Bible

The Oxford Handbook of the Latin Bible
Author: H. A. G. Houghton
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 561
Release: 2023-03-24
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0190886099

"The Introduction provides an overview of the history of the Latin Bible, with a summary of the contents of each chapter in this Handbook and the rationale for their arrangement. It then discusses the terminology for referring to the Latin Bible, along with a mini-glossary of specialist terms in manuscript and textual studies which appear in the chapters. The principal editions of the Latin Bible are introduced, along with other resources for its study such as book series and databases. Finally, the conventions for the Handbook are explained, such as spelling practices for Latin and proper nouns"--

The Book of Cerne

The Book of Cerne
Author: Michelle P. Brown
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Total Pages: 270
Release: 1996-01-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780802041135

The ninth-century Book of Cerne offers a fascinating insight into Insular culture and is the only surviving illuminated manuscript that can be firmly attributed to the powerful Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia.

Early Medieval Text and Image Volume 2

Early Medieval Text and Image Volume 2
Author: Jennifer O'Reilly
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 411
Release: 2019-06-19
Genre: History
ISBN: 100000872X

When she died in 2016, Dr Jennifer O’Reilly left behind a body of published and unpublished work in three areas of medieval studies: the iconography of the Gospel Books produced in early medieval Ireland and Anglo-Saxon England; the writings of Bede and his older Irish contemporary, Adomnán of Iona; and the early lives of Thomas Becket. In these three areas she explored the connections between historical texts, artistic images and biblical exegesis. This volume brings together seventeen essays, published between 1984 and 2013, on the interplay of texts and images in medieval art. Most focus on the manuscript art of early medieval Ireland and England. The first section includes four studies of the Codex Amiatinus, produced in Northumbria in the monastic community of Bede. The second section contains seven essays on the iconography and text of the Book of Kells. In the third section there are five studies of Anglo-Saxon Art, examined in the context of the Benedictine Reform. A concluding essay, on the medieval iconography of the two trees in Eden, traces the development of a motif from Late Antiquity to the end of the Middle Ages.(CS1080)

The Codex Amiatinus and its “Sister” Bibles: Scripture, Liturgy, and Art in the Milieu of the Venerable Bede

The Codex Amiatinus and its “Sister” Bibles: Scripture, Liturgy, and Art in the Milieu of the Venerable Bede
Author: Celia Chazelle
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 662
Release: 2019-03-27
Genre: History
ISBN: 9004391320

The Codex Amiatinus and its “Sister” Bibles examines the full Bibles (Bibles containing every scriptural text that producers deemed canonical) made at the northern English monastery of Wearmouth–Jarrow under Abbot Ceolfrith (d. 716) and the Venerable Bede (d. 735), and the religious, cultural, and intellectual circumstances of their production. The key manuscript witness of this monastery’s Bible-making enterprise is the Codex Amiatinus, a massive illustrated volume sent toward Rome in June 716, as a gift to St. Peter. Amiatinus is the oldest extant, largely intact Latin full Bible. Its survival is the critical reason that Ceolfrith’s Wearmouth–Jarrow has long been recognized as a pivotal center in the evolution of the design, structure, and contents of medieval biblical codices. See inside the book.

Illuminating the Word in the Early Middle Ages

Illuminating the Word in the Early Middle Ages
Author: Lawrence Nees
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 589
Release: 2023-07-31
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1009239554

This richly illustrated study addresses the essential first steps in the development of the new phenomenon of the illuminated book, which innovatively introduced colourful large letters and ornamental frames as guides for the reader's access to the text. Tracing their surprising origins within late Roman reading practices, Lawrence Nees shows how these decorative features stand as ancestors to features of printed and electronic books we take for granted today, including font choice, word spacing, punctuation and sentence capitalisation. Two hundred photographs, nearly all in colour, illustrate and document the decisive change in design from ancient to medieval books. Featuring an extended discussion of the importance of race and ethnicity in twentieth-century historiography, this book argues that the first steps in the development of this new style of book were taken on the European continent within classical practices of reading and writing, and not as, usually presented, among the non-Roman 'barbarians'.

Illuminating a Legacy

Illuminating a Legacy
Author: Lynley Anne Herbert
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 504
Release: 2024-07-22
Genre: Art
ISBN: 3111436012

This anthology honors Lawrence Nees’ expansive contributions to medieval art historical inquiry and teaching on the occasion of his retirement from the University of Delaware. These essays present a cross-section of recent research by students, colleagues, and friends; the breadth of subjects explored demonstrates the pertinence of Nees’ distinctive approach and methodology centering human agency and creativity. The contributions follow three main threads: Establishing Identity, Patronage and Politics, and Beyond the Canon. Some authors draw upon Nees’ systematic analysis of iconographic idiosyncrasies and ornamental schemes, whether adorning manuscripts or monumental edifices, which elucidates their unique visual and material characteristics. Others apply a Neesian engagement with the complex dynamics of cultural exchange, visual manifestations of political ambitions and ideologies, and selective mining of the classical past. Ultimately, this collection aims to illustrate the impact of Nees’ transformative scholarship, and to celebrate his legacy in the field of medieval art history.

Books, Scribes and Learning in the Frankish Kingdoms, 6th-9th centuries

Books, Scribes and Learning in the Frankish Kingdoms, 6th-9th centuries
Author: Rosamond McKitterick
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 353
Release: 2024-10-28
Genre: History
ISBN: 1040236243

The focus of this volume is the book production of the Frankish regions of Western Europe in the early Middle Ages. By means of a detailed scrutiny of individual manuscripts, groups of manuscripts, and categories of texts, Dr McKitterick shows how they can be used to throw light on questions such as women and literacy, the knowledge of canon and secular law, and the English contribution to the religious culture of the Continent . Some of the studies are more concerned with palaeography and the achievements of particular scriptoria; studies; others look primarily at the fact of production, the dissemination of the texts, and their implications for intellectual and cultural history. Au centre de ce volume se trouve la production du livre dans les régions franques d’Europe occidentale au début du Moyan Age. Au travers d’un examen approfondi de manuscrits individuels, de groupes de manuscrits et de catégories de textes, le docteur McKitterick démontre l’utilisation qui peut en être faite afin d’éclaircir un certain nombre de questions dont: les femmes et l’alphabétisation, la connaissance du droit canon et séculaire, ainsi que la contribution anglaise à la culture religieuse de continent. Certaines des études s’attachent plus spécifiquement à la paléographie et aux résultats de certains scriptoria; d’autres examinent avant tout le fait même de la production, la dissémination des textes et leurs implications quant à l’histoire intellectuelle et culturelle.