Description

This is the tenth volume in a continuing series of publications listing and identifying all illustrations contained in English manuscripts from the time of Chaucer to Henry VIII. This was an important period in the history of book production in Britain, and the range of subject-matter illustrated is of significance to historians of art, religion, literature, costume, natural science, and social custom. The present volume extends the survey to Scotland and catalogues not only English but also Scottish and Gaelic manuscripts from the collections of the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh, as well as manuscripts made on the Continent for English and Scottish book-owners. The catalogue contains entries for 112 manuscripts and notes the subject-matter of every illustration in each manuscript, from full-page miniatures and historiated initials to marginalia, added drawings and nota bene signs. A comprehensive index of pictorial subjects provides readers with complete references to the visual material with thematic groupings making the following categories easily accessible: animals, architecture, birds, Christ, costume, furniture, kings, musical instruments, occupations/professions, plants, saints, Virgin Mary, weapons, and women. The volume also includes a user's guide, an extensive glossary of subjects and terms, and indexes of authors/texts, manuscripts with coats of arms, and Scottish and English names.