Illuminated Manuscripts and Their Makers

the long version

"Illuminated manuscripts are widely recognized as among the most beautiful objects produced in the medieval west. This book looks at the skills and people involved in making them, and features pages from some of the most notable examples held by the Victoria and Albert Museum. It is a book about the making of books, and about the many talents involved in producing the missals, books of hours, breviaries and bibles that astonish us still with their richness and beauty. Illuminated manuscripts were collaborative productions, with different specialists contributing script, initials, borders, illustration, and binding to any work. Rowan Watson's study is both scholarly and rich in anecdote; he brings individual scribes and book dealers vividly to life and throws light on the commercial and religious environments in which they worked, as well as on the cooperative working practices devised for their production."--Jacket.