Later Gothic Manuscripts, 1390-1490

This is the sixth and final volume of the Survey of Manuscripts illuminated in the British Isles . The author has made a selection of 140 illuminated books; she includes those of the many surviving manuscripts of the period which contain the finest works of art, and also some of the illustrations to the great masterpieces of Middle English literature such as Chaucer, Lydgate and Gower which should be of particular interest to English scholars. The greatest masterpieces of the period are liturgical works, among them the Carmelite, Abingdon and Sherbome Missals, the Bedford Hours and the Lovell Lectionary. Besides these, medical, botanical and topographical books are represented as well as works of chivalry and chronicles of the Kings of England. Dr. Scott describes workshop practice and the way in which different craftsmen contributed to the same book. Thus the manuscripts of this period provide insights into the 15th-century view of court, church, ways of life and working methods.