A Survey of Manuscripts Illuminated in the British Isles. Volume Five: Gothic Manuscripts 1285-1385. Vol.1 : text and illustrations [with] Vol. II: Catalogue. [ 2 vols, complete set ]

Harvey Miller Publishers, London, first edition, 1986. 2 vols, cloth, folio, 34 cm,. 70 pp, 450 ills + 231 pp. From the blurb: "This volume covers the period from 1285-1385, a century in which English painting flourished with great mastery and produced works of exceptional quality and characteristic style, as exemplified in the East Anglian school that developed both in the provinces and in London. Courtly and aristocratic patronage accounted for many elements in the style of illumination and decoration, in which French, Flemish and Italian influences played some part, while ecclesiastical and private devotional needs determined the type of book. In her introductory text. Professor Sandler explains the grouping of manuscripts, discusses the components of the books and their decorative repertoire, and sets book illumination in the context of the other arts of the 14th century and against its historical background. 158 manuscripts are included in the catalogue, to provide a well-balanced survey of the output of the period. The works represented are wide-ranging, embracing famous masterpieces such as the Queen Mary Psalter, the Alphonso, De Lisle, Peterborough, Gorleston and Luttrell Psalters, as well as a diversity of Chronicles, Apocalypses, Hours, Missals, and even an early Encyclopedia. The catalogue is supplemented by 450 illustrations, arranged to provide a visual survey of English 14th-century book illumination. Each manuscript catalogued is represented by at least two or three folios, in many cases more, and examples have been chosen to support the stylistic, iconographical and aesthetic considerations put forward in the author's text and catalogue entries. And by reproducing many of the initials and decorative features in their original size, this visual compendium helps in the recognition of the significant compositional and decorative elements of a particular style, and thereby in the subsequent identification of an individual hand. In addition the work is exhaustively documented: catalogue entries provide detailed descriptions of manuscripts and their contents, as well as full bibliographical references and provenance. Origins and destinations are classified (a Genealogical Table is provided of the important Bohun Family), and manuscripts are indexed by their present location. The iconographical index is of particular importance and is complemented by Tables of Apocalypse subjects and Bestiary subjects, while the general index gives access to historical names, places and selected themes. Dustwrapper spines sunned, otherwise Near Fine in Near Fine dustwrapper.