The Manuscripts Club
The People Behind a Thousand Years of Medieval Manuscripts
0 of 1 copy available
The acclaimed author of Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts introduces us to the extraordinary keepers and companions of medieval manuscripts over a thousand years of history
The illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages are among the greatest works of European art and literature. We are dazzled by them and recognize their crucial role in the transmission of knowledge. However, we generally think much less about the countless men and women who made, collected and preserved them through the centuries, and to whom they owe their existence.
This entrancing book describes some of the extraordinary people who have spent their lives among illuminated manuscripts over the last thousand years: a monk in Normandy, a prince of France, a Florentine bookseller, an English antiquary, a rabbi from central Europe, a French priest, a Keeper at the British Museum, a Greek forger, a German polymath, a British connoisseur and the woman who created the most spectacular library in America—all of them members of what Christopher de Hamel calls the Manuscripts Club.
This exhilarating fraternity, and the fellow enthusiasts who come with it, throw new light on how manuscripts have survived and been used by very different kinds of people in many different circumstances. Christopher de Hamel’s unexpected connections and discoveries reveal a passion that crosses the boundaries of time. We understand the manuscripts themselves better by knowing who their keepers and companions have been.
In 1850 (or thereabouts) John Ruskin bought his first manuscript “at a bookseller’s in a back alley.” This was his reaction: “The new worlds which every leaf of this book opened to me, and the joy I had in counting their letters and unravelling their arabesques as if they had all been of beaten gold—as many of them were—cannot be told.” The members of de Hamel’s club share many such wonders, which he brings to us with scholarship, style and a lifetime’s experience.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
November 14, 2023 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780593629529
- File size: 501685 KB
- Duration: 17:25:10
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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September 25, 2023
De Hamel (Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts) takes an expansive look at the history of creating and collecting ancient and medieval manuscripts since the 11th century. He profiles generations of collectors, some of whom “have held the same manuscripts in their hands, centuries apart.” These include 11th-century monk St. Anselm, whose well-documented life provides insight into the manuscript culture of the Middle Ages; 16th-century illustrator Simon Bening, who became famous for continuing to practice the art of illumination (the decoration of pages with intricate hand-drawn illustrations) well after the invention of the printing press; disgraced 19th-century collector Constantine Simonides, a manuscript forger who “conjur up whatever Greek manuscripts people desired”; 19th-century classicist Theodor Mommsen, who pioneered the recreation of ancient texts through trace remains in surviving sources; and American banking tycoon J. Pierpont Morgan’s famously enigmatic curator, Belle da Costa Greene, who “singlehandedly... created the fashion for millionaire manuscript libraries.” De Hamel’s fascination with rare manuscripts shines throughout, such as when he imagines using his own copy of the Codex Gregorianus, a set of legal codes of the Roman Empire, to attract the attention of the famously preoccupied Mommsen. This erudite yet accessible study is sure to entertain bibliophiles. -
John Lee brings continuity to a narrative that has none of the common linkages of time or place. Author Chistopher de Hamel imagines 12 historical manuscript collectors, 11 men and one woman spread over centuries, as a club that spends a pleasant evening together at the Morgan Library. Collectors are a mixed lot, and these 12 include a priest, a prince, and a forger, along with several colorful fanatics who, thankfully, preserved many irreplaceable manuscripts. Most interesting is Bella da Costa Greene, curator at the Morgan, a woman of remarkable character and acuity. The histories are fascinating, and Lee is an accomplished, highly skilled narrator who finds the precise tone and balance that links these 12 very different individuals. D.A.W. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine -
March 1, 2024
De Hamel's Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts showcased some of the best-known handmade books of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. His latest engrossing work shines a spotlight on 11 men and one woman who insured the survival of such priceless manuscripts over the centuries. Members of de Hamel's imaginary manuscripts club are a diverse group of collectors and preservers culled from eight centuries. He chose each of them to highlight different kinds of interactions with manuscripts, ranging from Saint Anselm, the 12th-century monk who promoted the idea of copying and distributing manuscripts, to Jean de France, Duc de Berry (1340-1416), one of the most important royal patrons of manuscripts in medieval Europe, to Belle da Costa Greene, the Black librarian who was hired in 1905 to curate and organize the extensive collection of J.P. Morgan. Narrator John Lee presents these fascinating mini biographies in a warm, intimate tone, which perfectly matches the narrative's conversational style. His polished delivery and leisurely pace nicely frame de Hamel's work, providing consistency across the wide-ranging eras and individuals the book covers. De Hamel narrates his own introduction and epilogue in a well-paced, lively style. VERDICT Libraries who purchased Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts should acquire this marvelous companion piece.--Beth Farrell
Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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