The Illustrated Beatus: The Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries

This is the fourth in the series of catalogues that present detailed descriptions and complete cycles of illustrations of all existing manuscripts of the Commentary on the Apocalypse written by the eighth century Spanish monk, Beatus. The entire corpus, which spans the ninth to the thirteenth century, constitutes the greatest single tradition of Apocalyptic imagery in the Middle Ages. The manuscripts catalogued here are from the eleventh and twelfth centuries: the Silos Beatus in London; the Corsini Beatus in Rome; the Turin Beatus; the Osma Beatus; the Leon Fragment and the Berlin Beatus. All illustrations in these six manuscripts are reproduced, and each catalogue entry discusses the location of production, the work of the outstanding illuminators and scribes, as well as details of codicology. A short introduction places the manuscripts in their historical context and analyzes the style of miniatures. The volume includes an exhaustive Bibliography, relevant Tables, and Index.