In the Beginning Was the Word: The Power and Glory of Illuminated Bibles

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Survey of handmade bibles.
Review: This is a wonderful survey of illuminated bibles that is so reasonably priced that I would gladly recommend it to *anyone* interested in illuminated manuscripts. For artists working in the medieval style, I strongly recommend adding this to your reference collection.

The book starts with an introductory chapter on book production in medieval monasteries and then quickly moves on to its stated purpose: a primarily visual survey of a variety of hand-made bibles from their beginnings to the mid-17th century. Each book featured is accompanied by a short text and at least one exploded view of the illumination details. The majority of bibles surveyed fall squarely between 1200-1500, but there are several earlier and later manuscripts. The preponderance of manuscripts come from central and eastern European libraries, so in addition to the usual Franco-Flemish and Italian examples, there are also a number of Greek, Armenian, German, Spanish, Ethiopian, Slavonic, and other under-represented areas included in this book.

The exploded details of the illumination are one of the best things about this book. They are so greatly enlarged that one can often identify the brush strokes. Added to the greater-than-usual breadth of the survey-in styles and in quality--and the reasonable price, it's a book you shouldn't skip.