Facsimile Editions: By Famous Authors
Hildegard von Bingen, Dante Alighieri, Emperor Frederick II, and a few more: here you will find the literary and artistic masterpieces of the most famous and influential authors of the Middle Ages, who not only shaped their time, but the (literary) world up to our time.
De arte venandi cum avibus, one of the most famous manuscripts of the Middle Ages: the masterpiece of falconry, written by the Staufer Emperor Frederick II
Rotunda or Naples (Italy) — ca. 1258–1266
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From one of the first female authors in history: Christine de Pizan's Letters from Othea, the Goddess of Wisdom, with advice for the Trojan hero Hector
Paris (France) — Second half of the 15th century
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The famous great song manuscript from Heidelberg: a unique treasure of German literature, medieval history, and Gothic book illumination
Zurich/Lake Constance area (Zwitzerland) — After 1310 until ca. 1340
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Lost in World War II: one of the main works by the famous abbess and visionary Hildegard von Bingen with her theological-cosmological findings
Monastery of Rupertsberg (Germany) — ca. 1175 The lost original manuscript was copied by hand between 1927 and 1933 by nuns in Abbey of St. Hildegard
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The emperor as a chivalric hero: a partly biographical knightly epic written by Maximilian I himself
Augsburg (Germany) — 1517
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100 famous short stories with 100 perfectly matching miniatures: a large-format masterpiece commissioned by the Burgundian Duke Philip the Good
Gramont (France) and Ghent (Belgium) — 1445–1450
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Inspired by a tragic loss, illustrated with the most beautiful twilight scenes of illumination: an allegorical chivalric romance written by Duke René d´Anjou and illustrated by Barthélemy d'Eyck
France — 1460–1467
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First rediscovered in 1985 in an antiquarian bookshop: personal letters from Christopher Columbus to his patrons King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella
Spain; on the Atlantic Ocean — 1493–1503
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The first encyclopedia of the Middle Ages, created in the Montecassino Monastery: treatises on all aspects of life by a bishop and universal scholar
Montecassino Abbey (Italy) — 1022–1035
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Commentary by Jacopo della Lana and Andrea della Lancia and magnificently illuminated with 100 miniatures by Michelino da Besozzo: Dante's magnum opus for the Obizzi family
Italy — Second half of the 14th century
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With studies on the Virgin of the Rocks and The Last Supper: the discovery of the human form by the greatest genius of all time
Italy — 1483–1513
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One of the earliest prints in book history: famous fables with style-forming, colored woodcuts
Ulm (Germany) — 1476
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The last and simultaneously the largest Spanish Beatus manuscript: over 100 Gothic miniatures, created for the daughter of King Alfonso III. of Castile
Las Huelgas Monastery, Burgos (Spain) — 1220
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The highpoint of the famous chronicler: countless overflowing miniatures in arguably the most beautifully illustrated Swiss chronicle
Lucerne (Switzerland) — 1513
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The tender rose as a symbol for the woman: 93 golden miniatures illuminate what is perhaps the most famous allegorical romance novel of the Middle Ages
Paris (France) — ca. 1280
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On hunting techniques and the keeping of animals: the standard work on medieval hunting, magnificently illuminated by the famous Bedford master
Paris (France) — ca. 1407
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A milestone in medicine with a multitude of vivid miniatures: the big textbook by the famous Arab doctor Abu l'Quasim
Southern Italy — 2nd half of the 14th century
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From the painter of the Medici and Federico da Montefeltro: Petrarch's masterpiece, beautifully illuminated
15th century
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