Description
From around 1250 to the close of the fifteenth century, an important and original work being done in secular illumination used to be certainly in French vernacular history manuscripts. This volume celebrates the vivid historical imagery produced throughout these years by bringing together one of the vital finest masterpieces of illumination created in the Middle Ages. It’s the first major publication to concentrate on exploring the ways in which text and illumination worked together to assist show medieval readers the role and purpose of history. The images enabled the past to come alive before the eyes of medieval readers by relating the adventures of epic figures such as Hector of Troy, Alexander the Great, the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne, and even the Virgin Mary.
Presented here are approximately fifty-five manuscripts from over twenty-five libraries and museums across the US and Europe, supplemented by medieval objects ranging from tapestries to ivory boxes. Together they show how historical narratives came to play a decisive role at the French court and in the process inspired one of the vital most original and splendid artistic endeavors of the time. Additional contributors to this volume include Élisabeth Antoine, R. Howard Bloch, Keith Busby, Joyce Coleman, Erin K. Donovan, and Gabrielle M. Spiegel.