The Illuminated Manuscripts of Medieval Spain - Hardcover

Mentre, Mireille

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0500017328 ISBN 13: 9780500017326

Publisher: Thames & Hudson, 1996

Synopsis

As the end of the first millennium drew near, the beleaguered Christian communities of Spain, still dominated by Islam, were experiencing a profound spiritual crisis. Cut off from the rest of Europe and obsessed by the imminence of God's judgement, these people made of their illuminated manuscripts art forms of extraordinary expressive power. More than 20 manuscripts survive, dating from 900 to 1100, all illuminated in a bizarre and colourful style known as Mozarabic, and depicting an invented world peopled by angelic warriors, demons and beasts, exotic birds and serpents and luxuriant trees. The Beatus manuscripts, based on the commentary written three centuries earlier by the monk Beatus of Liebana, are the largest, but not only body of such work. There are Bibles, and a small number of other religious texts, all sharing the same apocalyptic vision as recounted in the Revelation of St John the Divine. This study explores the context and role of the illuminations and explains their dense theological meaning without dissipating their magic.

About this title

Book Description:

At the end of the first millennium--when many expected the world to end--the Christian communities of Spain, still dominated by Islam, experienced a profound spiritual crisis. To make sense of their predicament, they turned to The Book of Revelation by St. John the Divine, and commentaries on this work were circulated in a variety of illuminated manuscripts of extraordinary expressive power. More than twenty of these manuscripts survive, dating from between 900 and 1100, all rendered in a colorful style known as Mozarabic. Cut off from the rest of Europe and obsessed by the imminence of God's judgment, the creators of these books invented a world peopled by angelic warriors, demons and beasts, exotic birds and serpents, and luxuriant trees.

From Library Journal:

As a result of Moorish invasions, early Spain saw Islamic influences on art, architecture, and culture, including?ironically?Christian art. Focusing on the illuminated manuscripts of 10th- and 11th-century Spain, this book beautifully portrays those influences. Gorgeous color plates make up almost half the content. In this scholarly and well-researched book, Mentre (history of arts and religion, Sorbonne) dissects the illustrations by motif, element, style, and influence, making a strong case for defining Mozarabic (the period when Spain was dominated by Islam) as a distinctive art style. Mentre's arguments are very specialized, however. This volume would stand well in collections on illuminated manuscripts or early medieval art in larger academic libraries.?Karen Ellis, Baldwin Boettcher Lib., Humble, Tex.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Thames & Hudson
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0500017328
• ISBN 13: 9780500017326
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 303