Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts

De: Christopher de Hamel

Narrado por: Christopher de Hamel

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts written and read by Christopher de Hamel.

This is a book about why medieval manuscripts matter. Coming face to face with an important illuminated manuscript in the original is rather like meeting a very famous person. We may all pretend that a well-known celebrity is no different from anyone else, and yet there is an undeniable thrill in actually meeting and talking to a person of world stature.

The idea for this book, which is entirely new, is to invite the reader into an intimate conversation with a selection of the most famous manuscripts in existence, and to let each of those manuscripts illuminate the Middle Ages and sometimes the modern world too. Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts invites the reader to accompany the author on exclusive private visits to a dozen very varied collections, in different parts of the world, to discover twelve great manuscripts and to explore their historical and intellectual significance.

Reseñas de la Crítica

Christopher de Hamel's exploration of medieval manuscripts - a dozen peaks from St Augustine to Chaucer and beyond, gorgeously and copiously illustrated - is itself an extraordinary book, a work of scholarship and history salted with the author's excitement as he conducts us among the great libraries of Western civilization. It is full of delights (Tom Stoppard)

A book of marvels (John Banville)

Great manuscripts are the reclusive stars of European cultural history; to be close to one is to enter a secret garden to which few have ever been granted access. With scholarly elegance, Christopher de Hamel opens the door and invites us to join him for the intellectual expedition of a lifetime. As he introduces us to twelve star manuscripts in their sanctuary homes, these complex creations emerge as major players in the great game of ideas and power. They are agents as well as creatures, with histories that embrace and explain our own. This is an endlessly fascinating and enjoyable book. (Neil MacGregor)

Spectacular ... If I could walk you to your nearest bookshop, take £30 from your wallet, and place this wonderful book in your hands, I would (Peter Thonemann)

Truth, as this entrancing book proves, is wonderfully stranger than fiction. Christopher de Hamel's learned adventures amid some of the West's greatest manuscript treasures effortlessly outclass Eco's The Name of the Rose in elegance and excitement. They are also much funnier. (Diarmaid MacCulloch)

One of the cultural highlights of the autumn is an edge-of-the-seat tale inspired by Medieval Manuscripts. Christopher de Hamel has turned a lifelong obsession with ancient literature into a book that critics are comparing to A History of the World in 100 Objects and the wonderful The Hare with Amber Eyes. (Kirsty Wark)

Reading is my life, but only about once a decade do I find a book that seems to tilt the world, so afterwards it appears different. (Fiammetta Rocco)

De Hamel's book, scholarly but unfailingly readable, is the beginning of wisdom in all things scribal and scriptural (Ian Thomson)

Christopher de Hamel's outstanding and original book pushes the boundaries of what it is and what it means to write history. By framing each manuscript of which he writes as the story of his own personal encounter with it, he leads the reader on many unforgettable journeys of discovery and learning. Deeply imaginative, beautifully written, and unfailingly humane, Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts distils a lifelong love of these astonishing historical treasures, which the author brings so vividly to life. It is a masterpiece. (David Cannadine)

I've been waiting a long time for a book like this

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely. I can't imagine a better introduction to the seductive world of illuminated manuscripts.

What did you like best about this story?

Each manuscript has a fascinating back story, and de Hamel covers each one in detail. From a looted Nazi hoard to a dusty volume hidden inside a wall.

What does Christopher de Hamel bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I am easily seduced by a British accent, but de Hamel is a natural story teller. There's not the slightest hint that he's reading from a text. When he's in a library looking at the actual manuscript, you feel like you're there with him, turning the pages.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Not cry, no. But sometimes chuckle. And often just feel the wonder of such amazing books and how they survived.

Any additional comments?

Lamentably, this audiobook does not come with a supplementary Pdf containing the illustrations. And you really need to see the illustrations! So I bought the iBooks version as well (for a total cost still less than the hardcover). The iBooks version has very good quality color illustrations which you can enlarge on iPhone or iPad to view the details. Mainly, I viewed the illustrations (which are numerous) while listening to the audiobook -- an ideal way to experience this book.

Caressed by a Manuscript

I took as intended by the author whirlwind tour of some of most beautifully illuminated books in the world. He held my hand and let me peek over his shoulder as her enabled my entrance into very private experienced. His intention was for me to eventually make this and even newer journeys on my own. The trip was edifying, and ennobling. The author is a great teacher who enchants and encourages his listener to go forth to explore further with the tools of his trade that he shared with you. I could not have found a better companion to travel with and his only moods were quiet euphoria tempered with astonishment of the old. I shan’t delete this book from my audio library because I can open it up and get exhilarated after just a few moments of listening.

Marvelous. Informative, passionate, funny.

Christopher de Hamel does his own narration, and is brilliant. His dry, humble sense of humor is a delight. I’m immediately looking for his next book.

A wonderful adventure with a “Paleographer”

“Meeting with Remarkable Manuscripts” was a wonderful adventure with a “Paleographer”, exploring the greatest medieval manuscripts known in the Western World. Christopher de Hamel, the author and Paleographer, has done an outstanding job of keeping this read at a level that keeps the average reader interested without lowering the content to average and mondain. The true gem of the book was the back-stories for each manuscript, each was colorfully interesting and informative. On a personal note, the author mentions Bella da Costa Greene, the librarian for the Pierpont Morgan library, who was the subject in a book I have recently read. I will confess that I missed out on the fabulous illustrations in the print addition because I experience this remarkable book as an audio book. This was a wonderful adventure and I highly recommend.