The Manuscripts Club: The People Behind a Thousand Years of Medieval Manuscripts

by Christopher de Hamel

* A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice *

The acclaimed author of Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts introduces us to the extraordinary keepers and companions of medieval manuscripts over a thousand years of history

The illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages are among the greatest works of European art and literature. We are dazzled by them and recognize their crucial role in the transmission of knowledge. However, we generally think much less about the countless men and women who made, collected and preserved them through the centuries, and to whom they owe their existence.

This entrancing book describes some of the extraordinary people who have spent their lives among illuminated manuscripts over the last thousand a monk in Normandy, a prince of France, a Florentine bookseller, an English antiquary, a rabbi from central Europe, a French priest, a Keeper at the British Museum, a Greek forger, a German polymath, a British connoisseur and the woman who created the most spectacular library in America—all of them members of what Christopher de Hamel calls the Manuscripts Club.

This exhilarating fraternity, and the fellow enthusiasts who come with it, throw new light on how manuscripts have survived and been used by very different kinds of people in many different circumstances. Christopher de Hamel’s unexpected connections and discoveries reveal a passion that crosses the boundaries of time. We understand the manuscripts themselves better by knowing who their keepers and companions have been.

In 1850 (or thereabouts) John Ruskin bought his first manuscript “at a bookseller’s in a back alley.” This was his “The new worlds which every leaf of this book opened to me, and the joy I had in counting their letters and unravelling their arabesques as if they had all been of beaten gold—as many of them were—cannot be told.” The members of de Hamel’s club share many such wonders, which he brings to us with scholarship, style and a lifetime’s experience.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Art, Books About Books, Medieval, Biography, Medieval History

624 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 29, 2022

About the author

Dr Christopher de Hamel is a Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and is Fellow Librarian of the Parker Library, one of the most important small collections of early manuscripts in Britain. For 25 years from 1975 he was responsible for all sales of medieval manuscripts at Sotheby’s. He has doctorates from Oxford and Cambridge and honorary doctorates from St John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota, and Otago University, New Zealand. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and a member of the Comité international de paléographie. He is author of numerous books on illuminated manuscripts and book collecting, including Glossed Books of the Bible (1984), The Book, A History of the Bible (2001), and Bibles, An Illustrated History from Papyrus to Print (2011). He was recipient of a festschrift in 2010, The Medieval Book, Glosses from Friends and Colleagues of Christopher de Hamel (ed. J. H. Marrow, R. A. Linenthal and W. Noel)

Reviews

[India M. Clamp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though not entirely unknown, authors may be avid readers. This book elicits the use of ones' imagination to bring to life a meeting of dead people. Christopher de Hamel imagines dialogue occurring with notables from churches, the renaissance, merchants and some industrialists from America. This dialogue takes place over dinner to give light and allow free flowing talks about their present infatuations. In this storied cocoon of inspiration some literary “aurum” erupts most forcefully---e.g booked out of one wing and ratted out of the other. Fire is also used to liberate some manuscripts---is this perhaps an alter-less sacrifice in a souless library?

"In a further letter on Hippocrates, Anselm exhorts Maurice to take care when making his copy and not to leave out words in Greek or any he does not understand…"
—Christopher de Hamel

Paradigm used by de Hamel is, "The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club." The illustrations we find within were featured at "The Getty Museum" in the City of Angels. Pondering Pickwick and crew, de Hamel’s club rather leans to be highly spirited and surely single minded. He meanders from the extreme, picture dragons flying with poor humans in claws who make dives into an abyss (filled with decomposing cadavers) then he diverts to an ethereal place resembling castles and turrets of Disneylands' "Sleeping Beauty" castle. He lauds a rerouted flight in midwinter while strolling with a shopping bag containing a treasure. Or a time when he paid a dealer for some waste parchment that fell apart in his car on the way home: fragments---of an ancient valuable relic---unfortunately they were absconded by his wife (from under the car seat) a few days later. Rollercoaster-like read, perfect for Disney patrons.

[Louis Moisan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Filled to the brim with scholarly detail, yet charming from beginning to end. Take your place at the table and come and join the manuscripts club! Highly recommended.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

The manuscript reproductions in this book are absolutely stunning. The text, though, didn't entirely do it for me. I think part of my dilemma was that I was never quite sure what it was trying to be: it's part history and part biography, part travel writing and part auction reporting. The many parts never formed a cohesive whole for me, but I imagine that the many different bits might appeal to others. I think I really just wanted to have learned more about manuscripts by the end! But I'm still excited to keep this one on my shelf - the art is just so incredible! That really can't be overstated.

[Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded down

The first half of this I actually quite liked! The first four chapters were about people actually involved in the making of manuscripts; the fifth about a man I did a large project on in college, and therefore had a preexisting interest in; and the sixth on a rabbi collecting jewish manuscripts, an area I knew extremely little about.

These sections could occasionally veer into lists of books attached to these people, but there was a lot of interesting stuff around the lists.

The back half of the book was almost all the lists. It felt like the author’s history as an auctioneer steered him in the wrong direction. He clearly finds who sold what book to whom for how much to be extremely interesting. Me? Less so. And that was the bulk of the last 250 pages.

I was excited to reach the end, which isn’t something I expected to say about a book I’ve been eyeing for years. (The author’s other manuscript book is so so good!)

[Casper Van Waesberghe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fenomenaal leuk boek dat mijn liefde voor manuscripten volledig heeft herbevestigd, en meer. Vier sterren ipv vijf voor een schrijnende afwezigheid van vrouwelijke figuren (1 hoofdstuk van de 12 is aan ééntje gewijd) en de duidelijke Britse voorkeur qua voorbeelden van de besproken handschriften.

Toch hebben de prachtige uitgave (de cover alleen al!) en vooral het jongensachtige enthousiasme gemengd met indrukwekkende expertise waarmee de Hamel schrijft over middeleeuwse folio's mijn hartje meermaals doen opleven :).

[Ruben de Gruijl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ge-wel-dig!

[Leonard Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

After this and another book I read recently, The Dictionary People, about contributors to the OED, I think perhaps this format of mini-biographies of people with a connecting interest (in this case, involvement with medieval manuscripts) is not for me, because these books are about those people, and less about the terrifically interesting thing they were passionate about and the reason along with positive reviews, I initially wanted to read them. Also, I hate to say it, but this book did strike me as elitist—as if having the means and “taste” to spend exorbitant amounts on medieval manuscripts was praiseworthy-and also in the last chapter rather sexist.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another enchanting book from Christopher Hamel. I had already read his "Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts" which introduced me to the world of manuscripts, displaying their beauty and revealing the often amazing stories of their creation, history, often unexpected survival, and ownership. A small number of world famous manuscripts feature in that book, such as the Book of Kells. This book introduced me to twelve personalities in the history of manuscripts, whose functions varied - commisioners, scribes, book sellers, collectors and owners - and whose lives certainly did: from an eleventh century saint to a twentieth century librarian. The extraordinary thing about de Hamel's writing is that his immense (and evident) erudition does not submerge the liveliness, wit and charm of his narrative. It reads as if he really is personally guiding his reader to meet these extraordinary people and share their passion. And surely to motivate me to see some of these manuscripts for real.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Years ago when I was in graduate school, all of the first years on my course were asked to present their thesis topic. All of them were wonderful, and I know at least one of us is currently a professor at a prestigious university, but there was one shocker. The most quiet man stepped up and spun the most amazing vision of his dissertation. His tropic was a Welsh border family (I think) and the way he spoke about them was if he was talking about his dearest friends. We were all blown away by his imagination and the quality of his research.

This is what this book reminded me of. I have never met Dr. De Hamel, but I feel as though he has given us a wonderful insight into his academic soul. It is a wonderful book if you are at all interested in history, books, manuscripts, biography, etc.

[Tom Sheridan · Rating 5 out of 5]

True rating: 4.5/5

[Todd Stockslager · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review title: Illuminated passion
When I entered this book in my reading database I was surprised that the last name De Hamel popped up as an author I had previously ready, because I certainly had not remembered him. But sure enough, in 2002--over two decades ago--while living in Raleigh--500 miles away from Pennsylvania where I live now--I had read and reviewed favorably his book The Book: A History of the Bible.

This current book is explicitly not about books, but about manuscripts, hand written, copied, and illuminated over the centuries before the printing press. De Hamel describes those who have created, read, bought, sold, collected, and catalogue or curated them as a community of shared passion,and in The Manuscripts Club imagines himself sitting down to converse with this disparate collection as a humble but equally passionate member of the club. De Hamel has worked for the high-end auction house Sotheby's as a curator and cataloguer, buyer and seller of manuscripts so he certainly qualifies.

Each chapter is based on the life in manuscripts of a key member of the Manuscripts Club, beginning with the 11th-century monk Saint Anselm, who was responsible for creating some of the most coveted manuscripts that figure throughout the rest of the books, and continuing in chronological order through Bella da Costa Greene who served as the curator for the J. Pierpont Morgan collection and later museum in 20th century New York. There is a mix of biography, bibliography (the 75 pages of notes are densely packed small print with references and details behind the text), manuscript analysis, history, economics, culture, and local geography and travelogue, all in a very conversational style. Really, this isn't dry or stuffy as you might imagine, given the age and obscurity of most of these manuscripts, and the fact that almost all are in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, or archaic versions of European languages. Of course, given that most of these manuscripts were written, stored, and used in Europe or the British isles, all of the 12 individual club members given a chapter were from that part of the world, with the exception of Greene.

What makes manuscripts so desirable is their uniqueness. There was no set type that could make a book easily repeatable, so there arises "a common problem in the eleventh century, so obvious that it is easy to overlook. You cannot write out a manuscript without having already located and arranged the use of an exemplar to copy it from. Having done so, you must assign a scribe capable of undertaking the labour. If your own monastery cannot do it, you must look elsewhere." (p. 16). Then there is the time it takes to hand-write and illustrate a manuscript.

‘The length of time which manuscripts took to make is a recurrent refrain of these chapters. Vespasiano tells of Poggio that, when he had discovered a complete copy of Quintilian in Switzerland in 1416, he spent thirty-two days transcribing it: ‘this I saw in the fairest manuscript’. The professional scribe Giovanmarco Cinico records in a large-format Pliny copied in 1465 that it took him 120 days. It has 635 leaves, which would be just over five leaves a day. If several scribes were involved simultaneously, as often happened, the overall time could be reduced. Some clients were impatient. The humanist Niccolo Perotti wrote from Bologna in 1454 about a manuscript of Homer ordered for Pope Nicholas V, urging and beseeching Vespasiano to get it finished and bound in the next eight days, when it was needed. (p. 115)

While some popular texts would be pre-scribed and ready for customers visiting the shop like a modern bookstore (p. 116), almost all were one-off custom-made for a specific buyer; hence the value and mystique of manuscripts, most known today by the name of the buyer, the scribe, the artist who illuminated it, or the monastery or workshop where it was produced. In my lifetime I have seen very few manuscripts. The Book of Kells in Dublin is the most famous, but my favorite by far is the Lindesfarne Gospels in the British Library, named for the island monastery off the northeast coast of England where it was written in the 8th century and translated to Old English written between the original text in the 10th, thus standing as the first known English version of any part of the Bible. It is a fabulous spiritual, historical, and manuscript artifact; when I was in London for a quick two-day business trip in 2023 I made a special effort to see it again some 15 years after my first look at it. It did not disappoint, and De Hamel calls it "probably even now the most precious illuminated manuscript in Britain, " (p. 173) "unsurpassable" (p. 203) in another reference.

It is this one-of-one unique character of manuscripts that makes them the community so passionate about finding, seeing, buying, and preserving them. The Lindesfarne Gospels were almost lost in an 18th century fire in London (p. 179-180) at which several others in the collection of Sir Robert Cotton were lost. As De Hamel writes of Cotton's near-contemporary Rabbi David Oppenheim:

Preserving knowledge comes first and is at the heart of Jewishness. Collective memory was (and is) extremely important. That dreadful sense that accumulated Jewish wisdom might be lost lies closely behind the library of Rabbi Oppenheim and other great collections of Hebrew books. (p. 230)

"Money alone does not determine the intrinsic merit of a work of art", write De Hamel, "but a sale price is often the most quantifiable scale for measuring public appreciation, " (p. 268) a measure that has reached millions of pounds, dollars, or euros in some examples that he provides when these rarely-sold documents reach the market. But it is the preservation of a world of wisdom and knowledge that does and indeed should make for a passionate community. This is 600 pages--beautifully and copiously illustrated--of a book that can be printed by the hundreds and thousands of copies so it will always be available to those who are interested in it. But the manuscripts and the club who love them that De Hamel writes of in it made me treat the book with reflected respect. I love books, and own many (more than I should), but after The Manuscripts Club I would have to agree with the 15th century book seller quoted by De Hamel describing the Vatican manuscript library at the dawn of the age of printing: "In this library all the [manuscript] books are superlatively good, and written with the pen, and had there been one printed volume it would have been ashamed to be in such company." (p. 120)

[Beatrice · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure if I knew too little about illuminated manuscripts to read this book, but I certainly struggled my way through it. De Hamel tosses paragraph's worth of names and dates around, making the final product feel a bit like a Wikipedia article at times. Between these never-ending lists, he throws in untranslated French and Medieval Latin. The only languages he cares to translate seem to be the ones that he himself doesn't understand. The twelve figures profiled in this book seemed to be picked at random, they added up to no larger overarching thesis. In fact, the thesis just seems to be "These people did stuff with illuminated manuscripts". On top of all of this, de Hamel centered himself far too much in this book. It was constantly "I've touched this manuscript" and "Here's what the meeting between this person and me would be like". He felt simultaneously as though he was trying to prove his street cred and boasting. Only one woman is considered good enough to be chapter-worthy throughout this whole book, and he entirely refuses to call her by her last name after introducing her, a respect he has given to all of the men he covered who had last names. He either refers to her by her first name or her full name. It's cool to be so involved in this type of field, but it often felt more like the author was writing for himself than for his readers.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 4.0 of 5

There was a time when I considered myself more than just an avid reader, but a collector of books. Had I the resources, I have no doubt that I would have collected manuscripts if I'd had the resources (ie money) and so this title really grabbed my attention. I have to admit, though, that I had no idea where this book might go.

This book is really a series of twelve mini-biographies of people who, through the course of history, have been collectors of manuscripts and who very well may have saved (or at least preserved) many rare manuscripts from destruction. Something that comes across as relatively common is the desire to own a rare item more than owning a specific item due to its significance. What is also common among the people included here is a real joy among the collectors for manuscripts.

Author Christopher de Hamel does a really wonderful job of researching these manuscript collectors (and he gives a lot of credit to others for some of this work) and presenting their lives and collecting rigor in an easy-to-read, conversational tone. Each of these lives was fascinating in unique ways and I'd be interested in learning more about all of them.

Regular readers of my review blog might recognize that the last person in the book, Belle de Costa Greene, was the subject of the historical fiction novel I reviewed in 2021, The Personal Librarian, by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray.

My one complaint about the book is a technical one, and I don't know if it's only on my ARC, or if the published version (printed or digital) would be this way as well. The "Bibliographies and Notes" at the end of the book take up nearly 20% of the book, but the font is roughly half the size of the rest of the book and there are no paragraph indentations. This makes for a very long, tedious notes section and I truly wish that more of this information had been included in the narrative or at the very least used as individual footnotes.

This book contains the following:

The Monk: Saint Anselm
The Prince: The Duc de Berry
The Bookseller: Vespasiano da Bisticci
The Illuminator: Simon Bening
The Antiquary: Sir Robert Cotton
The Rabbi: David Oppenheim
The Savant: Jean-Joseph Rive
The Librarian: Sir Frederic Madden
The Forger: Constantine Simonides
The Editor: Theodor Mommsen
The Collector: Sir Sydney Cockerell
The Curator: Belle da Costa Greene
Epilogue: An Evening at the Morgan
Looking for a good book? The Manuscripts Club, by Christopher de Hamel, biographizes twelve important figures through history who have collected and preserved rare manuscripts.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

[Nicholas (was Allison) · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4.43 Stars
Notes: I really enjoyed reading this book about those in the past who had read, transcribed and/or written, and collected manuscripts for years. There are several historical topics covered as well over various chapters regarding certain scholars, academics, or other historical figures who were alive in previous centuries and had grander accomplishments. This book was entirely distracting for me, even as it contains very long paragraphs that are found frequently throughout multiple chapters. I’ll try not to include too many spoilers in this review, due to how long this book is, though it’s still worth it to be read all the way through.

The chapters were different from one another - enough so I would know everything I had to about what was discussed in one, by the time it ended. I was glad to get to know more information as to how manuscripts were designed, written in detail, as well as additional things included about their artwork - which is quite intricately styled. Other languages are mentioned - it’s necessary to include at least a reference to that, since not all of the artfully designed manuscripts discussed were written in English typography. I have done some previous research into art history earlier this year, so I just liked getting to read so much about that type of content - it was never boring to me at all. It’s also why I own a physical copy of this novel, too, from knowing I would really have enjoyed reading through it anyways as well.

The writing style explains things well enough, so that I never had to reread anything. I was almost always comprehending what was being described as either a biography about an individual who was necessarily relevant to the current historical topic that was being discussed, a detailed explanation on past historical events, or any other very important info. There are long sentences used in this book, so a longer attention span is really required before reading. This novel still can be read, especially if someone is extremely interested in what it contains - there are dense segments of accurate historical content.

I would much rather have taken around a year to read through this book in its entirety, so I could try to understand as much of it as I could. This book can get slightly difficult to understand at times, though the sheer amount of detailed content more than makes several chapters very much so worth it to read through. A lot is explained in most of the chapters regarding very well-researched content relating to what is being currently explained in a chapter.

I would recommend this to those interested in the description. This novel is very unique in how well-researched the content in it simply was to read through. I would have never missed out on reading through this book, so I was very extremely glad that I could.

[Marks54 · Rating 5 out of 5]

What were books like before Gutenberg and the development of movable type? Maybe you have had the chance to see them. If you have not had the chance, you should look in the document room at the British Library or even visit the Morgan library in New York. These are artworks that you can read. These are books not made from paper whose handling itself requires training and care. To even purchase a page or two from such a document would cost tens of thousands of dollars. They are filled with illustrations and with fancy ornate letterings. Some were intended to convey religious doctrines and stories at a time when most people could not read. They are more than that, however, and continued being made and being in demand after the invention of printing. An inexpensive way to see some of them if you are unable to travel is to get the annual calendars offered by the British Library (via Amazon to avoid high shipping costs).

Mr. De Hamel’s is the author of “Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts”, an astonishing book on medieval illuminated manuscripts. He has had a long career at Southeby’s focusing on these sorts of manuscripts and is likely the most knowledgeable person alive today who works with them.

This book - “The Manuscripts Club” is an examination of the different types of individuals and their jobs that all come together to produce and dissseminate these manuscripts. So the individuals who commission or write the books are important, but also important are the booksellers and merchants, the various scholars and experts who make it their business to know about these manuscripts, The forgers, who … and the librarians and acquisition managers and other curators who link major institutions to these works on a continuing basis.

Sure the business today does not work the same way that it did in 1800 or 1900 hundred, but these are not digital products and they are still generally circulated among the well to do. So while the stars of the manuscripts in the 1900s are very different from those today - and very entertaining - there are more than enough similarities to engage the reader.

The book is lavishly illustrated, well written, and well crafted. This is a book to place on a coffee table for people to see.

I highly recommend it.

[Lukerik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very much the counterpart of Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts, and just as good. Here the focus is on twelve people who had some sort of connection to manuscripts, whether writing them or collecting them etc. These aren’t just potted biographies. Each essay has that little bit extra. He’s researched properly, gone to where they lived, studied their books. I think the secret here is imagination. He can conjure up a scene from the past from some jotting on a scrap of paper. Particularly nice are his imagined conversations with these people. In the one on St. Anselm he’s taken his side of the conversation of various places in his works and cobbled it together.

This is a particularly nicely made book, as it would have to be for £40 (I borrowed it from the library). Good quality paper and beautifully illustrated. Lots of the illustrations run to the edge of the page so you can see their strata if you look at the edges when the book is closed. So I wouldn’t want you to think I’m unappreciative of a beautiful book. There’s an illumination by Simon Bening on page 134 that at first glance I thought was some sort of 3D embroidery. I’ve seen a few Medieval manuscripts under glass. I’m not the kind of person who would ever be allowed to handle them – and rightly so. I like to go to churches with fragile medieval wall paintings and chat up the vicar until she trusts me. Then, when no-ones looking I like to climb up on the pews and poke the paintings all over. But I’ve handled some modern manuscripts and there’s a real thrill to know that what you hold in your hands is a totally unique object and no-one else can be reading another copy at the same time. However, if you put a Books of Hours in front of me I’d be bored in five minutes. There’s a particularly interesting bit in the essay on Theodor Mommsen where de Hamel is obviously nonplussed by his interest in manuscripts because of the text. Really I’m with Mommsen on this one. De Hamel is interested in manuscripts as art. One thing this book does is give a history of the place of manuscripts over time – from working tools in monasteries to over-priced status symbols for the wealthy.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming book, a companion to his previous book about selected manuscripts - in this one you meet people instead of manuscripts. De Hamel is clearly past master of his subject, and he manages to make all of these individuals likable, even Abbé Rive who was evidently a difficult person. Designating each one with a label defining their role (Illuminator, Collector, Curator) helps the reader to understand from the beginning where their most important influence lay in the history of manuscripts.

For me the find here was Belle Da Costa Greene, librarian and manager of the manuscript collection of JP Morgan. What a fascinating character, I'd love to read an entire book about her. Born to two people descended from slaves, she passed as white her whole life starting from when her parents separated and her mother began asserting white identity. It's pleasing to think, throughout the chapter as she becomes well connected to European manuscript experts and is authorized to manage Morgan's collection by spending his money, that an African American woman did all this. (As an aside, this may be the only book where you read the phrase "celebrity art historian".)

Throughout, there are many comments from de Hamel about the ways the different individuals approached collections and collecting and what was important to them about their manuscripts. In the chapter about Sydney Cockerell, he says: "All collectors are alike, but all justify and enjoy their addiction in their own way. Cockerell would entirely have understood the cravings of the Duc de Berry and Cotton and Phillipps, but he used his manuscripts differently. He was not at all interested in early printing, [...] For him, manuscripts had human interest, in the way that a printed book never quite did. They were handmade, by people not machines." This is still important to many of us who collect various things that are not mass produced.

[Socraticgadfly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: This has a different title in the US, or at least what I got from my library does. It's "The Manuscripts Club: The People Behind a Thousand Years of Medieval Manuscripts."

This was moderately interesting, and to be honest, I sort of grokked. Belle Greene I'd heard about in depth before; de Hamel doesn't add much. Ditto Anselm, and Mommsen.

Were all of them, and the others about whom I knew less, "obsessive," as that is the theme of de Hamel's book? Some, one could give a pretty unqualified yes, like Mommsen or the forger Simonides. Bening, for doing medievalist-type manuscript illustration decades after the printing press, probably. Others? Not so much. Greene, for example, might indeed be called a manuscript lover, but not an obsessive.

And, there's another sidebar. Anybody who's been to a world-class or near-world-class art museum has probably seen manuscripts from outside the Western world. But, other than a few Indian collections, none of the persons mentioned here seem to have gone outside "the West," and even more, de Hamel doesn't scour non-Western history for possible "obsessives" in the collection of Chinese, Japanese, Indian or similar manuscripts. Surely one or several people would fit the bill.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very pretty and just a cool diversion into a bunch of people's lives and how they intersected with the books they collected.
Also it wasn't until the chapter on David Oppenheim that I realized that most of the collectors...weren't collecting to read and that threw me for a loop. It's not that I know a ton about manuscript culture, but I do have a rather different relationship to them than the average person and it took de Hamel pointing out that the rabbis were different for me to realize that I had completely wrong assumptions about everyone else (except Anselm, yes).
It was a really fun book and my major critique, unsurprisingly, is that he brings up neurodivergence and mental illness to explain problematic character traits when, I promise you, the guy who forgot to change out of his bright green slippers when putting on a tailcoat and hated traveling and fell asleep with the candle burning is not neurotypical, my dude. That could have been handled way better.

[Cynthia Marcus · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lushly illustrated, meticulously researched work about ancient manuscripts. This is not a book for beginners. It precludes a significant knowledge of medieval art, history, and of course, manuscripts.

Through a series of 12 mini biographies, the author traces the history of manuscripts. The lives of people as diverse as a saint (Anselm) and an 20th century African American woman (Belle da Costa Greene), an Eastern European Rabbi (Oppenheim) and a Greek forger (Constantine Simonides) are described, discussed and disected. Each contributed to the understanding of ancient manuscripts. Some studied them; some preserved them. There were illustrators, collectors, editors and curators. All were bibliophiles and through their individual stories we come to more a complete comprehension of why they loved these works and spent their lives perpetuating, protecting, and promoting them.

[Brian Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by the esteemed and knowledgeable medieval manuscript specialist Christopher De Hamel,we are transported through the various ages to twelve important collectors of the manuscript.
In his easy and relaxed stye, De Hamel introduces the reader to each of his chosen subjects within the historical and social settings of their time,and so, as we reach the conclusion of the book, we have a more clear understanding and appreciation of this fascinating and dedicated fraternity of book lovers.
With his background as the manuscript specialist at Sotheby`s, and curator of the Parker Library, Corpus Christi College Cambridge, Christopher De Hamil brings all his experience and knowledge of the world of manuscripts to vivid life, and in the process providing a book of sheer delight and enjoyment - highly recommended !!

[Joseph Adelizzi, Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book as a Christmas gift. I'm pretty sure if I were browsing around in a book store chances are I would not have exited the store with this book under my arm. However, once I had the book I was drawn in by its beauty. The quality stock, the strong binding, the amazing color plates moved it up my reading list, and I was off and reading with the arrival of the new year.

I was pleasantly surprised by the easy flow of the book. I guess I expected stodgy, pedantic, and abstruse prose, but instead I felt I was conversing with a friend. I enjoyed the way in which Christopher de Hamel personalized each personality he profiled, and his enthusiasm and love for medieval manuscripts was startlingly contagious. In what felt like an affront to the gravitas I expected the topic to demand, each time de Hamel referenced a key individual he had previously profiled while he was fleshing out a new significant personality I found myself acting like Buddy the Elf on hearing Santa would be making an appearance at the store the next morning: "Mommsen! I KNOW HIM!"

I never imagined saying this relative to reading about medieval manuscripts, but this was fun.

[Danny · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book that's chock full of historical detail and interesting stories, but not one I'd be able to read through. It's a tour through illuminated manuscripts and the like from the ones creating them in Medieval times to those collecting them later.

I read the introduction and the Epilogue, which imagines a dinner party where all of the guests across the centuries can discuss their passion for these books. And then I read the first chapter on St. Anselm (creating volumes, trading with other monasteries to create copies of works to share) and the last chapter on Belle da Costa Greene (using her skills and knowledge, and the money of J. Pierpont Morgan, to build an impressive collection housed in its own building in New York City). Those two lived 800 years apart and the rest of the characters described in the other chapters are scattered between.

[Giana Vitale · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absolute beast of detailed historical information about the Goliaths of manuscript collecting through history. The depth of information presented by Hamel is overwhelming at times, but his passion for this fascinating topic shines through at all times. I loved learning about manuscripts and the collecting of them, which I’ve never seen discussed anywhere else before. I recommend this book for its comprehensiveness and the infectious enthusiasm Hamel shares with his readers.

There are also some fabulous full page images of the manuscripts mentioned throughout the book, which does a great deal to help the reader understand why these works are so beautiful and valuable.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Used the ebook to look at the pictures and the audiobook to listen to the narrative. It's an agreeable enough "read" in audio, though because the British narrator swallows all the final syllables of names and final words in sentences, a little historical background is required to recognize many of the people mentioned. Still, de Hamel is a fine raconteur with gifts for talking about art, for spinning an entertaining anecdote, and for making connections across centuries. He's to be commended too for including illustrations from nearly all the major manuscripts he talks about...though that's not going to matter much if a print or kindle edition of the book isn't to hand.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christopher de Hamel is both a brilliant source of knowledge and a soulful storyteller. Throughout his dense narratives he includes the ethnographic stories of 12 people whose lives revolved around manuscripts, from ancient times to the early 20th century. The monk, the prince, the bookseller, the illuminator, the antiquary, the rabbi, the savant, the librarian, the forger, the editor, the collection, and the curator all come together at the end, at de Hamel's imaginary table, talking about some of the same manuscripts they shared. A stellar resource for those with serious interest in medieval manuscripts, and for those with an inkling of curiosity.

[Crab · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook for what I did do so not having the pictures might have contributed to my abandoning it. I also knew nothing about medieval manuscripts before I read it. Some take always from what I did listen to:

1. Knowledge is very easily forgotten and only by great effort is it passed down from generation to generation.

2. If you are going to be wealthy and do a great work, you might as well be so for the only eternal kingdom: God’s.

I may come back to this if I ever develop an interest in manuscripts and learned a bit and for that I am grateful for this book even though its not for me.

[Nann · Rating 5 out of 5]

In "Meetings With Remarkable Manuscripts" Christopher de Hamel wrote about twelve significant illuminated manuscripts from western Europe. "The Manuscripts Club" follows that with twelve biographies of those involved with such manuscripts -- writing, illustrating, binding, selling, editing, organizing, forging, curating -- from the 11th century (St. Anselm) to the 20th century (Belle da Costa Greene). Once again, de Hamel provides context to bring these people to life.

De Hamel's style is authoritative but not off-putting. I learned so much!

[Elizabeth]

Medieval manuscripts have dazzled people for centuries, albeit for different reasons as time has marched on. The Manuscripts Club pulls back the curtain on twelve major players in the lives of these works of art and history. I greatly enjoyed getting to know these book lovers and how they affected the trajectory of the use and preservation of their beloved manuscripts. All in all, a lovely but slightly dense work. A definite read for people who are interested in the history of books.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part travelogue and part history of the book, the author examines the history of illuminated manuscripts from the time of their creation into the twentieth century through the lives of twelve people whose lives were largely devoted to creating, collecting, curating or otherwise being intimately connected with the manuscripts. It is a bit slow but every page uncovers something new and surprising and the illustrations are fascinating.