Imperial Splendor : The Art of the Book in the Holy Roman Empire, 800-1500

'Expertly combines cogent, insightful text with superlative illustrations' - Art Eyewitness

A sweeping overview of manuscript production in the Holy Roman Empire

This handsome book presents in beautiful colour the fascinating history of book production and use within the Holy Roman Empire over the course of 700 years. It is the first English-language study of its geographical and chronological scope to draw primarily from North American manuscript collections, especially those of the Morgan Library & Museum.

Imperial Splendor features more than 150 full-colour illustrations of these magnificent books and their elaborate bindings. Essays by the Morgan's Joshua O'Driscoll and professor Jeffrey Hamburger explore book production and patronage in the Holy Roman Empire from the Carolingian and Ottonian periods (9th-11th century), through the Monastic era from the 12th to the 15th century, and finally to urban and city production driven by the growing monied merchant class in major cities such as Prague, Vienna, Mainz, and Nuremberg between the late 14th and early 16th century. The volume also features a glossary, an index of cited manuscripts, a general index, and maps showing the evolution and development of the Holy Roman Empire over this period.

Details

• Author: Jeffrey F. Hamburger is Kuno Francke Professor of German Art & Culture at Harvard University. Joshua O'Driscoll is assistant curator in the department of Medieval & Renaissance Manuscripts at The Morgan Library & Museum, New York.
• Hardcover: 216 pages | 152 colour illustrations
• Date published: October 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9781911282860
• Product Dimensions: 28.8x 23.7 cm