La tradition vive
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Book Series
Bibliologia, vol. 41
- Pages: 240 p.
- Size:210 x 270 mm
- Illustrations:69 b/w, 16 col.
- Language(s):English
- Publication Year:2016
- € 95,00 EXCL. VAT RETAIL PRICE
- ISBN: 978-2-503-56809-6
- Paperback
- Available
The first serious study of a curious and underestimated type of Medieval book
Subject(s)
Review(s)
The catalogue descriptions are exemplary in their clear and expertly-informed treatment of the physical characteristics, contents, and ownership history of each item, as well as the relevant bibliography. The reproductions that accompany each entry are excellent and are an essential element of the catalogue.
Teresa Webber, Trinity College, Cambridge
“I hope that new scholars will draw upon Gumbert’s timely study by further investigating the functions of bat books and the audiences, especially in relation to their impressive textile bindings, a feature that remains to be fully studied.” (Kathyn M. Rudy, in The Library, 20 /1, March 2019, p. 99)
BIO
J. P. Gumbert (1936-2016) was emeritus professor of Western Palaeography and Codicology at Leiden University.
Summary
This work represents an important contribution to the history of medieval books, providing full scholarly description and discussion of an otherwise very little known category of written artefact in quasi-book form, but one that the 60-odd identified examples suggest was relatively common. This volume will be of interest not only to medieval book-historians and codicologists but also to historians of medieval science and of the liturgy, and of medieval written culture and cultural practice more broadly. Although a large proportion of the volume takes the form of a catalogue, the information and explanatory material presented in the introduction to the catalogue as a whole and to each of the sections into which the catalogue is divided give the volume the coherence and value of a historical and codicological survey of this form of artefact, the kind of texts they contained, and how and by whom they were made and used. The way in which the catalogue is structured in chronological and thematic sections, each with their own introduction, also contributes to enhance this aspect of the volume.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Manuscripts by Chapter
List of Manuscripts by Shelfmark
Foreword
Abbreviations and Conventions
Works Cited in Abbreviated Form
Introduction
Chapter I: The Oldest Bat Books
Chapter II:. Continental Calendars
Chapter III: Continental Almanacs
Chapter IV: English Almanacs – Early
Chapter V: English Almanacs – Mid-Century
Chapter VI: English Almanacs – Late
Chapter VII: Late Breviaries
Appendix 1: Fold-out Concertinas
Appendix 2: Oblong Codex, Used Vertically
Indices
Colour Plates
