Norman Manuscript Illumination (Medieval Studies)

Introduction

The phrase “Norman manuscript illumination” is used to describe the styles of decoration found in manuscripts associated with Normandy and England in the 11th and 12th centuries, principally in the period 1066–1154. It has primarily been used in scholarship about manuscript production in England to explore developments during the reigns of the Anglo-Norman and Plantagenet kings from William the Conqueror to Henry II. The emergence of the dukes of Normandy as an important political power, which reached its apogee with the conquest of England in 1066, went hand-in-hand with the development of monasteries in Normandy as centers of culture and education. People and manuscripts crossed the channel before 1066, but the appointment of large numbers of Norman clergy to abbacies and bishoprics in England in the aftermath of the conquest helped to facilitate the movement of books as well as people. This movement was not only in one direction, and styles of decoration that took elements from Norman and Anglo-Saxon traditions developed in both England and northern France. In addition, these new styles of manuscript decoration have been examined as part of the development of a pan-European “Romanesque” style. Scholarship of the mid-20th century concentrated on the development and fusion of styles, and sought to organize material into localized “schools.” More recent scholarship has tackled questions of literacy, text-image relationships, manuscript production, and the role of books in the formation of intellectual and devotional cultures. The study of Norman and Anglo-Norman manuscripts is complicated by patterns of survival, in which some monasteries appear to be much better represented than others. For example, the loss of most of the collection of manuscripts from the hugely influential monastery at Le Bec in Normandy is unfortunate. In addition, scholarship has been influenced by modern European boundaries. Thus, Normandy is often treated as a region of France in French scholarship, and as the source of a cross-channel style in English scholarship. Although the decoration of manuscripts emerged as a field of specialist study in the 20th century, recent work has demonstrated that analysis of the decoration of books should not be divorced from the study of script, text, and the physical object of the book.

General Overviews

Very few studies have attempted to survey manuscript illumination in both Normandy and England in the 11th and 12th centuries. An important exception is Lawrence 1994, which examines the development of illumination in Normandy before and after 1066 and compares this with developments in England. In addition, the proceedings of the conference published in Bouet and Dosdat 1999 brings together a series of case studies from Normandy and further afield, to create an overview of some of the major themes in the scholarship on Norman and Anglo-Norman manuscripts. Surveys and catalogues of manuscripts have tended to focus on either Normandy or England. However, manuscripts from both regions have also been considered as part of broader studies of manuscript production and decoration. Clemens and Graham 2007 offers a wide-ranging introduction to manuscript studies, providing an extremely useful starting point for students. Morgan and Thomson 2008 offers a more detailed introduction to different types of manuscripts, focusing on examples from Britain, while Rudolph 2010 brings together accessible introductions to a range of relevant approaches to the study of medieval art.

Bouet, P., and M. Dosdat. Manuscrits et enluminures dans le monde normand (Xe-XVe siècles). Caen, France: Presses Universitaires de Caen, 1999.
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A volume of conference proceedings, focusing on specific manuscripts and groups of manuscripts, but bringing together material from across the Anglo-Norman lands, including Norman Sicily. A good starting point for the range of approaches taken to the material and further bibliography.
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Clemens, Raymond, and Timothy Graham. Introduction to Manuscript Studies. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2007.
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An accessible and richly illustrated introduction to a wide range of manuscript material and questions pertinent to the study of medieval books. An excellent resource for students new to the field.
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Lawrence, Anne. “Anglo-Norman Book Production.” In England and Normandy in the Middle Ages. Edited by David Bates and Anne Curry, 79–93. London: Hambledon, 1994.
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This study traces the development of illumination in Normandy in the 11th and early 12th centuries. It argues that while Norman manuscripts were exported to England in large numbers, particularly after 1066, the importation of manuscripts from England only began to have significant impact on the style of decoration in the early 12th century.
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Morgan, Nigel J., and Rodney Thomson. The Cambridge History of the Book in Britain. Vol. 2. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
DOI: 10.1017/CHOL9780521782180Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A collection of essays providing a wide-ranging introduction to the production and use of manuscripts in Britain c. 1100–1400, with useful additional bibliography.
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Rudolph, Conrad, ed. A Companion to Medieval Art. Chichester, UK: John Wiley, 2010.
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A wide-ranging collection of essays providing a valuable introduction to a range of approaches to medieval works of art and architecture, and the historiography of the subject. Contains additional bibliography.
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Normandy

François Avril’s doctoral research, completed in 1963, laid foundations for much of the subsequent scholarship on manuscript illumination in Normandy. A summary of the thesis was published as Avril 1963. In addition, Nortier 1971 provides a valuable history of the libraries of the major abbeys in Normandy, together with lists of surviving manuscripts, although without distinguishing illuminated volumes. A selection of manuscripts from Normandy was included in Cahn 1996, a survey of 12th-century illuminated manuscripts produced in the region of modern France. These overviews can be used in conjunction with exhibition catalogues and studies of specific sites.

Avril, François. “La décoration des manuscrits dans les abbayes bénédictines de Normandie au XIe et XIIe siècles.” Ecole des Chartes. Positions des thèses (1963): 21–28.
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Summary of Avril’s doctoral research, which surveyed the surviving illuminated manuscripts from the Benedictine abbeys of Normandy in a period of significant political and cultural change.
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Cahn, Walter. Romanesque Manuscripts: The Twelfth Century. 2 vols. London: Harvey Miller, 1996.
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A catalogue of a selection of manuscripts made in the region of modern France in the 12th century, organized by region. Manuscripts from Normandy are grouped with those of the Loire and western France (Vol. 2, pp. 13–40). Volume 1 contains a useful collection of illustrations, mostly in black and white.
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Nortier, Geneviève. Les bibliothèques médiévales des abbayes bénédictines de Normandie. Paris: Lethielleux, 1971.
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A study of the evidence for the development of the libraries at the major abbeys of Normandy and their surviving manuscripts. Each site is examined individually, but comparative tables attempt to chart patterns in the books recorded in these libraries. This work explores the medieval evidence for these libraries, and the evidence for their post-medieval history.
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England

The impact of the Norman Conquest on manuscript production in England has been examined from a range of angles. Wormald 1943 and Wormald 1944 examine the impact of Norman traditions on English illumination after 1066, but argue for the continuation of Anglo-Saxon traditions. Kauffmann 1975 suggests that illumination in England after the conquest demonstrates a synthesis of Norman and Anglo-Saxon elements, with regional variations. Ayres 1974 attempts to place English manuscript illumination of the 12th century in a wider European context. Ker 1960 seeks to chart developments in script in the century after the conquest and to set these into a historical context. This work is developed in Gameson 1999, which uses paleographic analysis together with a consideration of decoration in an attempt to identify the surviving manuscripts that were made in or imported to England between c. 1066 and 1130. Kauffmann 1986 draws attention to the emergence of new approaches to illuminated manuscripts between 1974 and 1984, which can be linked, in part, with the popularity of “New Art History.” A move away from questions of style is also demonstrated in Kauffmann 2003, which examines the iconography used in 12th-century Bibles and Psalters. In addition to these studies, Clanchy 2012 is the third edition of an extremely important and influential analysis of the roles and significance of writing and books in medieval England, and includes an assessment of the visual appearance of manuscripts as part of their function. These overviews can be used in conjunction with studies of specific manuscripts and sites.

Ayres, Larry M. “The Role of an Angevin Style in English Romanesque Painting.” Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 37 (1974): 193–223.
DOI: 10.2307/1481938Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Examines wall painting and manuscripts from England and western France to argue that English manuscript illumination of the 12th century can be read as part of broader stylistic trends.
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Clanchy, M. T. From Memory to Written Record: England 1066–1307. 3d ed. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012.
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This study considers illuminated manuscripts as part of a wider study about the development of written culture in the wake of the Norman Conquest. It addresses the significance of books as objects and the potential functions of a wide range of their visual features as part of its investigations of questions around orality, literacy, and the making of documents.
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Gameson, Richard. The Manuscripts of Early Norman England (c. 1066–1130). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
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An attempt to identify all the surviving manuscripts made in or imported to England in the period c. 1066–1130. This work builds on and expands the analysis of Ker 1960.
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Kauffmann, C. M. Romanesque Manuscripts 1066–1190. A Survey of Manuscripts Illuminated in the British Isles 3. Edited by J. J. G. Alexander. London: Harvey Miller, 1975.
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A survey of illuminated manuscripts produced in England between 1066 and 1190, this work draws attention to the combination of Norman and English stylistic traditions, particularly at sites populated with Norman clergy. An attempt is made to group manuscripts by date and region of origin, largely on the basis of the style of illumination.
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Kauffmann, C. M. “English Romanesque Book Illumination: Changes in the Field, 1974–1984.” In Art and Patronage in the English Romanesque. Edited by Sarah Macready and F. H. Thompson, 61–70. London: Society of Antiquaries, 1986.
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An update to Kauffmann 1975, offering reflections on developments in manuscript studies in the intervening decade and additional bibliography.
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Kauffmann, C. M. Biblical Imagery in Medieval England 700–1550. London: Harvey Miller, 2003.
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Chapters 3 and 4 of this study note the significance of the Norman Conquest (and the subsequent appointment of Norman clergy to English churches) as a factor in the development of the illumination of Bibles and Psalters in the 12th century. Here the focus is on iconography rather than style.
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Ker, N. R. English Manuscripts in the Century after the Norman Conquest. Oxford: Clarendon, 1960.
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A paleographical study of the scripts found in manuscripts made in England between c. 1066 and c. 1170. Although this work is not concerned with illumination, it addresses the production and circulation of manuscripts in this period.
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Wormald, F. “The Development of English Illumination in the Twelfth Century.” Journal of the British Archaeological Association 8 (1943): 31–49.
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Argues that the Normans helped to popularize large historiated initials, but that features of Anglo-Saxon style continued to be important in English manuscripts made after 1066. Identifies the St. Albans (Albani) Psalter as the foremost example of a new style of painting that emerged in England in the early 12th century, and sees this as a combination of Anglo-Saxon, Byzantine, and Continental stylistic features.
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Wormald, F. “The Survival of Anglo-Saxon Illumination after the Norman Conquest.” Proceedings of the British Academy 30 (1944): 127–145.
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Develops the ideas of Wormald 1943, noting that contact between England and the Continent may have begun to have an impact on manuscript illumination before 1066, but principally arguing for the continuation of elements of an Anglo-Saxon style after the conquest.
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Journals and Annual Proceedings

Articles on Norman manuscript illumination have appeared in journals dedicated to art history and medieval studies. The annual proceedings of the Battle Conference of Anglo-Norman Studies, published under the title Anglo-Norman Studies: Proceedings of the Battle Conference often contain articles on manuscripts from Normandy and England, usually with an emphasis on the circumstances of their creation or their value as historical sources. The journal Scriptorium includes articles on a wide range of manuscripts, and incorporates a Bulletin codicologique with brief notices of works on manuscripts and detailed indexes.

Anglo-Norman Studies: Proceedings of the Battle Conference. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell, 1978–.
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A major publication for work on Anglo-Norman studies, including articles on art, architecture, and manuscripts. These volumes present the papers given at the annual Battle Conference.
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Scriptorium. 1946–.
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In addition to articles, Scriptorium includes a Bulletin codicologique containing notices of other works on manuscripts. This is accompanied by a thorough index, enabling readers to locate references to specific manuscripts.
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Exhibition Catalogues

Much valuable work on illuminated manuscripts has been published in exhibition catalogues. Exhibitions have tended to be devised on regional lines. Thus Avril 1975 and Trésors des abbayes normandes concentrated on material made in Normandy, while La France romane examined material from Normandy in conjunction with material from other regions of France, and Zarnecki, et al. 1984 focused on material from England. Avril 1975 and Zarnecki, et al. 1984 focused on comparisons between manuscripts, but Zarnecki, et al. 1984 also included works in other media, as did Trésors des abbayes normandes and La France romane, allowing for comparisons to be drawn between iconographic and stylistic choices in a range of media. The Norman conquest of Sicily has received little attention in studies of manuscript illumination, but manuscripts were included in the British Museum exhibition, Sicily: Culture and Conquest, for which the catalogue is Booms and Higgs 2016.

Avril, François. Manuscrits normands, XI-XIIème siècles. Rouen: Musée des Beaux-Arts, 1975.
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An exhibition catalogue of manuscripts made in Normandy, concentrating on the 10th to the 12th centuries, drawing primarily on the collection at Rouen, illustrated in black and white.
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Booms, D., and P. Higgs. Sicily: Culture and Conquest. London: British Museum, 2016.
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This catalogue brings together a wide range of objects from antiquity and the Middle Ages, including some illuminated manuscripts created in the period after the Norman conquest of Sicily.
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La France romane: Au temps des premiers Capétiens (987–1152). Paris: Musée du Louvre, 2005.
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An exhibition catalogue examining works in a range of media. Normandy is considered in the context of both northern France and England, with an emphasis on manuscripts of the period c. 1100.
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Trésors des abbayes normandes. Rouen: Musée départemental des antiquités, 1979.
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This exhibition featured works in a range of media, including illuminated manuscripts of the 10th to the 15th centuries (pp. 99–162) and documents (pp. 59–98), in order to showcase the artistic treasures of abbeys in medieval Normandy.
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Zarnecki, George, Janet Holt, and Tristram Holland, ed. English Romanesque Art 1066–1200. London: Arts Council of Great Britain, 1984.
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An exhibition catalogue organized by medium. The section on manuscripts (pp. 82–133), contains an introductory essay that examines the creation of monastic libraries in England by abbots of Norman origin, and the “fusion” of English and Norman styles of illumination, followed by entries on individual manuscripts.
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Modern Library Catalogues

Library catalogues are important resources for information about individual manuscripts. However, the standard of cataloguing is inconsistent. Although some manuscripts in England are still housed in cathedrals, including those at Canterbury and Durham, many are now to be found in the British Library, for which the Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts remains the best, though incomplete, resource for the Library’s illuminated manuscripts. However, this is being superseded by Digitised Manuscripts. In addition, large collections of manuscripts are held in the university collections at Oxford and Cambridge. Individual Oxford and Cambridge colleges have their own manuscript catalogues, in addition to the catalogues of the Bodleian Library (Pächt and Alexander 1966–1973) and Cambridge University Library (Binski, et al. 2011). During the French Revolution, many medieval manuscripts in Normandy were taken to Avranches and Rouen. Catalogues of these collections were produced in the 19th century (Omont 1886–1888, and Catalogue général), but the 21st century has seen the development of new online resources for some of these collections, notably through the development of the Bibliothèque virtuelle des manuscrits médiévaux (BVMM), and the online resources of the Bibliothèque nationale, most notably Gallica. In addition, Ker 1964 provides a useful list of surviving manuscripts organized by their medieval provenance, together with indications of the manuscripts’ dates of production.

Bibliothèque virtuelle des manuscrits médiévaux.
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An online resource created by the Institut de recherche et d’histoire des textes to facilitate access to large numbers of digital images of medieval manuscripts. Organized by library collection.
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Binski, Paul, P. N. R. Zutshi, and Stella Panayotova. Western Illuminated Manuscripts: A Catalogue of the Collection in Cambridge University Library. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2011.
DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511780479Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A catalogue of 472 medieval manuscripts in Cambridge University Library, including manuscripts identified as having been made in England and Normandy in the 11th and 12th centuries.
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British Library Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts.
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An online catalogue of the illuminated manuscripts in the British Library, not including the Cotton collection and much of the Additional collection. Includes color images (of varying quality) of most, but not all, of the illuminated pages of manuscripts.
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British Library Digitised Manuscripts.
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An ongoing project making available high-resolution digital facsimiles of complete manuscripts from the British Library’s collection.
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Catalogue général des manuscripts des bibliothèques publiques de France: Départements 10. Paris: Librairie Plon, 1889.
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Brief descriptions of manuscripts in the collections at Avranches, Coutances, Valognes, Cherbourg, Bayeux, Condé-sur-Noireau, Falaise, Flers, Domfront, Argentan, Lisieux, Honfleur, Saint-Lo, Mortain, Chapitre de Bayeux, Pont-Audemer, and Vire.
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Gallica.
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The online platform of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, making available images of manuscripts in that collection, together with a wide range of other documents. The holdings of other institutions are also increasingly being made available through Gallica.
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Ker, N. R. Medieval Libraries of Great Britain: A List of Surviving Books. 2d ed. London: Offices of the Royal Historical Society, 1964.
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A list of surviving medieval manuscripts organized by their medieval provenance. The second edition of this work should be consulted in conjunction with the supplement published by Andrew G. Watson in 1987. An updated digital version of this work is now in production: see online.
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Omont, Henri. Catalogue général des manuscripts des bibliothèques publiques de France: Départements: Rouen 1–2. Paris: Librairie Plon, 1886–1888.
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Brief descriptions of manuscripts at Rouen, Dieppe, Eu, Fécamp, Elbeuf, Gornay en Bray, Le Havre, Neufchatel en Bray, Bernay, Conches, Gisors, Louviers, Verneuil, Evreux, Alençon, and Montivilliers.
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Pächt, Otto, and J. J. G. Alexander. Illuminated Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. 3 vols. Oxford: Clarendon, 1966–1973.
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Catalogues of the illuminated manuscripts in the Bodleian Library, organized by country and then by date, with very brief entries. Manuscripts made in Normandy are in Volume 1 and manuscripts made in England are in Volume 3.
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Medieval Libraries and Scriptoria in England

The mid-20th-century emphasis on regional schools of artistic production, together with historical evidence for the arrival of Norman prelates at particular churches, has focused attention on manuscript production at individual scriptoria. In addition, the survival of some major library collections, notably that of Mont Saint-Michel, have facilitated studies of book production and acquisition at specific sites. For England, particular attention has been paid to illuminated manuscripts from the monasteries at Bury Saint Edmunds, as discussed in Kauffmann 1966 and McLachlan 1986; Canterbury, as documented in Dodwell 1954 and Lawrence 1982; Durham, as seen in Mynors 1939 and Swarzenski 1950; and St. Albans, as discussed in Thomson 1982 and St. Albans Psalter Project.

Dodwell, C. R. The Canterbury School of Illumination 1066–1200. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1954.
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The study examines the evidence for contact between Canterbury and Normandy (notably the abbey at Le Bec), and the emergence at Canterbury of a style illumination influenced by Norman manuscripts, largely in the first quarter of the 12th century.
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Kauffmann, C. M. “The Bury Bible.” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 29 (1966): 60–81.
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This article focuses on the Bury Bible (Cambridge, Corpus Christi College MS 2) and seeks to locate it in the context of the history of the abbey, as well as exploring issues of iconography and style.
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Lawrence, A. “Manuscripts of Early Anglo-Norman Canterbury.” In Medieval Art & Architecture at Canterbury before 1200. Edited by Nicola Coldstream and Peter Draper, 101–111. Leeds: British Archaeological Association, 1982.
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This article analyzes the evidence found in the manuscripts brought from Normandy and made at Saint Augustine’s Abbey and Canterbury Cathedral after 1066. It argues that the availability of Norman-made books did not immediately prompt changes to the style of script used at Saint Augustine’s, but that under Lanfranc the manuscripts made at the cathedral seem to have responded to Norman models.
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McLachlan, Elizabeth Parker. The Scriptorium of Bury St. Edmunds in the Twelfth Century. New York and London: Garland, 1986.
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An examination of the illuminated manuscripts associated with Bury St. Edmunds, focusing on the works produced in the second quarter of the 12th century, including the Bury Bible (Cambridge, Corpus Christi College MS 2). This study also considers the connections between manuscripts from Bury St. Edmunds and St. Albans.
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Mynors, R. A. B. Durham Cathedral Manuscripts to the End of the Twelfth Century. Durham: Durham Cathedral, 1939.
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A catalogue of the medieval manuscripts at Durham Cathedral from the 7th to the 12th centuries, including a section on the manuscripts given to the cathedral by the Norman bishop William of St. Carilef (pp. 32–45).
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The St. Albans Psalter Project.
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A digital facsimile of the St. Albans Psalter together with commentary essays and extensive additional bibliography on this manuscript.
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Swarzenski, Hanns. “Der Stil der Bibel Carilefs von Durham: Ein Beitrag zu den Beziehungen zwishen England und dem Kontinent.” In Form und Inhalt. 89–95. Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer Verlag, 1950.
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A study of the Carilef Bible (Durham Cathedral Library, MS A.II.4) and its continental parallels.
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Thomson, Rodney M. Manuscripts from St. Albans Abbey 1066–1235. 2 vols. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell & Brewer, 1982.
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St. Albans received a Norman abbot, Paul of Caen, in 1077. This study examines the evidence for the growth of the library at St. Albans between c. 1066 and 1235 and includes a catalogue of surviving manuscripts associated with the abbey. The second volume contains useful illustrations (mostly in black and white).
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Webber, T. “Script and Manuscript Production at Christ Church Canterbury, after the Norman Conquest.” In Canterbury and the Norman Conquest: Churches, Saints and Scholars, 1066–1109. Edited by Richard Eales and Richard Sharpe, 145–158. London: Hambledon, 1995.
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A study of manuscript production at Christ Church Canterbury, concentrating on paleography, that examines whether the community at Christ Church deliberately aimed to develop a new “house style” in the years after the Norman Conquest.
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Medieval Libraries and Scriptoria in Normandy

By far the best-studied manuscript collection from medieval Normandy is that compiled at Mont Saint-Michel. This is largely the result of the survival of a large number of illuminated manuscripts, many of which are now preserved at Avranches. Alexander 1970 is a detailed study of the manuscripts from Mont Saint-Michel, concentrating on the period before the Norman Conquest. These manuscripts are also the subject of Dosdat 1991, which provides a shorter introduction to some of the major themes, focusing on the manuscripts still at Avranches. Avril 1967 places more emphasis on the 12th-century manuscripts from the abbey, exploring parallels with manuscripts associated with other sites. In addition to the works on Mont Saint-Michel, Hesbert 1955 offers a survey of the illuminated manuscripts associated with Jumièges, while Branch 1983 and Lecouteux 2007 draw attention to the surviving volumes from Fécamp.

Alexander, Jonathan J. G. Norman Illumination at Mont St. Michel, 966–1100. Oxford: Clarendon, 1970.
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A study of manuscripts produced at Mont Saint-Michel in the 10th and 11th centuries. This work examines the evidence for artists and patrons, as well as parallels between manuscripts produced in Normandy and further afield.
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Avril, F. “La décoration des manuscrits au Mont Saint-Michel (XIe-XIIe siècles).” In Millénaire Monastique du Mont Saint-Michel. Vol. 2. Edited by R. Foreville, 203–238. Paris: P. Lethielleux, 1967.
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Examines the evidence for the work of artists at Mont Saint-Michel in the 11th and 12th centuries, and draws attention to similarities with books associated with other sites, notably Le Bec.
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Branch, Betty. “Willermus Peccator et les manuscrits de Fécamp, 1100–1150.” Cahiers de civilisation médiévale 26 (1983): 195–208.
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Examines manuscripts produced at Fécamp in the early 12th century and compares these with works from England and elsewhere in Normandy. Identifies fifteen manuscripts as having been worked on by one “Willermus Peccator.”
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Dosdat, Monique. L’enuminure romane au Mont Saint-Michel: Xe-XIIe siècles. Rennes: Editions Ouest-France, 1991.
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A richly illustrated study of manuscripts from Mont Saint-Michel, concentrating on manuscripts of the 11th century preserved at Avranches.
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Hesbert, R. -J. “Les manuscrits enluminés de l’ancien fonds de Jumièges.” In Jumièges: Congrès scientifique du XIII centenaire. Vol. 2, pp. 721–736. Rouen, France: Lecerf, 1955.
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An overview of the manuscripts associated with the medieval library at Jumièges.
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Lecouteux, Stephane. “Sur la dispersion de la bibliothèque bénedictine de Fécamp. Partie 1: identification des prinicpales vagues de démembrement des fonds.” Tabularia “Études” 7 (2007): 1–50.
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An examination of the dispersal of Fécamp’s library, with a list of surviving Latin manuscripts of probable Fécamp provenance, and extensive bibliography. Available online.
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Artists

Most medieval manuscripts were produced by scribes and artists whose names are now unknown. A useful starting point for the evidence for medieval illuminators is Alexander 1992, and de Hamel 2001 is an accessible introduction to the processes involved in manuscript production. The famous example of a self-portrait by the illuminator from Normandy who called himself “Hugo Pictor” is explored by Pächt 1950–1951 and Gameson 2001.

Alexander, Jonathan J. G. Medieval Illuminators and Their Methods of Work. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1992.
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An overview of the evidence for the working practices of medieval illuminators, including the often-cited self-portrait of the Norman illuminator “Hugo Pictor” in Oxford, Bodleian Library MS Bodley 717.
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de Hamel, Christopher. The British Library Guide to Manuscript Illumination: History and Techniques. London: British Library, 2001.
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A good introduction to the processes and techniques involved in manuscript production.
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Gameson, Richard. “Hugo Pictor: enlumineur normand.” Cahiers de civilisation médiévale 44 (2001): 121–138.
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A reassessment of the work of “Hugo Pictor,” examining his contribution (as both scribe and artist) to a proposed group of eight manuscripts.
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Pächt, Otto. “Hugo Pictor.” Bodleian Library Record 3 (1950–1951): 96–103.
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A short article examining the self-portrait of “Hugo Pictor” and his involvement with the production of Oxford, Bodleian Library MS Bodley 717.
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Patrons and Users

The arrival of Norman prelates in England has been widely associated with the movement of books and changes in book production. Macready and Thompson 1986 is a collection of essays exploring the importance of patronage for the creation of art in a range of media in the 12th century. Rouse and Rouse 1990 and Stirnemann 1993 both explore the evidence of booklists associated with Robert of Toringi and Phillippe de Harcourt as sources for the significance of powerful individuals in the creation and circulation of manuscripts. Pohl 2015 examines preparatory sketches in Rouen, Bibliothèque Municipale MS 1173, and considers links between elite patronage and the inclusion of images in manuscripts. Similarly, Geddes 2005 reads the imagery in the St. Albans Psalter as evidence for its association with Abbot Geoffrey of St. Albans and Christina of Markyate. One of the most influential studies of the connections between illumination and reading practices is Camille 1985.

Camille, Michael. “Seeing and Reading: Some Visual Implications of Medieval Literacy and Illiteracy.” Art History 8 (1985): 26–49.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8365.1985.tb00148.xSave Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
An examination of relationships between text and imagery, concentrating on manuscripts made in England in the 12th century. This article addresses questions of literacy and whether images can be said to serve as a substitute for text.
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Geddes, Jane. The St. Albans Psalter: A Book for Christina of Markyate. London: British Library, 2005.
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This book argues that the St. Albans Psalter was made for Christina of Markyate, and explores the significance of both Christina and Abbot Geoffrey for the manuscript’s production.
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Macready, Sarah, and F. H. Thompson. Art and Patronage in the English Romanesque. London: Society of Antiquaries, 1986.
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A collection of essays exploring the importance of patronage for the production of works of art in a range of media. A useful starting point for some of the major areas of debate, with additional bibliography.
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Pohl, Benjamin. “The Illustrated Archetype of the Historia Normannorum: Did Dudo of Saint-Quentin Write a ‘chronicon pictum’?” Anglo-Norman Studies 37 (2015): 221–251.
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This article examines the 11th-century manuscript Rouen, Bibliothèque Municipale MS 1173, and argues that the plan to include imagery in this volume may have been linked to the association of the text with the dukes of Normandy.
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Rouse, Richard, and Mary Rouse. “‘Potens in opere et sermone’: Philip, Bishop of Bayeux, and His Books.” In The Classics in the Middle Ages: Papers of the Twentieth Annual Conference of the Center for Medieval and Early Renaissance Studies. Edited by Aldo S. Bernardo and Saul Levin, 315–341. Binghamton, NY: Center for Medieval & Early Renaissance Studies, 1990.
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This essay examines the list of books owned by Phillippe de Harcourt and attempts to identify surviving manuscripts.
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Stirnemann, Patricia. “Two Twelfth-Century Bibliophiles and Henry of Huntingdon’s Historia Anglorum.” Viator 24 (1993): 121–142.
DOI: 10.1484/J.VIATOR.2.301244Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This article explores the significance of two well-documented book collectors, Robert of Torigni and Phillippe de Harcourt, for the creation and circulation of manuscripts in Normandy and beyond.
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