Ottonian Book Illumination

The seminal work, originally published in two seperate clothbound volumes, is now made available in a revised one-volume edition, both in hardback and in paperback. It brings to light an aesthic passage of European history which has never before received full-scale treatment in English. It explains, historically and with a rich body of illustrations, the origins and momentum of a magnificent movement of German art, and shows, through this powerful and expressive art, how religion and political ideaology were interwined in Ottonian culture from about 950 to 1050. Besides dealing with the great imperials books such as the Gospels of Otto III and the Pericopes Book of Henry II, as well as other splendid liturgical manuscripts, the author also writes with penetrating insight about the great art-loving bishops such as Egbert of Trier and Bernard of Hildesheim, whose aims ans personalitites are express in the books they commissioned. In addition, the most important art centres of the Ottonian Empire - Reichenau, Cologne, Fulda and Corvey - are discussed in detail.

This book brings to light an aesthetic passage of European history which has never before received full-scale treatment in English. It explains the origins and momentum of a magnificent movement of German art, and demonstrates how religion and political ideology were intertwined in Ottonian culture from about 950 to 1050. Besides dealing with the great imperial books (including the Gospel Book of Otto III and the Pericopes Book of Henry II), as well as other splendid liturgical manuscripts, the author writes with penetrating insight about the great art-loving bishops such as Egbert of Trier and Bernward of Hildesheim, whose aims and personalities are expressed in the books they commissioned. The most important art centers of the Ottonian Empire are also discussed in detail.