If you are familiar with illumination and wish to have more in depth knowledge about techniques, processes, materials, nomenclature and styles used for making illuminated manuscripts, then Understanding Illuminated Manuscripts can satisfy your curiosity. This is a revised edition of a book first published in 1994. Think of it as an “anatomy guide” full with terms, easy to read explanations and beautiful images. It also feels like a dictionary to accompany your studies.

It is a technical book, so I wouldn’t recommend it for the casual reader. However, explanations are easy to understand and you don’t need to be an scholar or researcher to benefit from it. If you are an autodidact, this book would be perfect to help you understand many terms you might encounter in other related texts. Anyone trying to gain a deeper understanding of illuminated manuscripts can benefit from it.

Understanding Illuminated Manuscripts: A Guide to Technical Terms is an incredibly useful handbook and a glossary. I am at the moment taking a class on romanesque art and illuminated manuscripts are an enormous part of it, so I found this not only interesting, but it also made many things clearer for me regarding that topic.

I recommend this book very much!