Folio Society Limited Edition - THE WINCHESTER PSALTER Miniature Cycle

One of the first true masterpieces of medieval manuscript illumination, The Winchester Psalter is a jewel of the collection amassed by the great antiquarian Sir Robert Cotton (1570–1631), which formed the basis of the British Library. This 12th-century manuscript is justly famous for the cycle of miniatures depicting scenes from the Old Testament, the lives of Christ and the Virgin Mary, and the Second Coming and Last Judgement, which precede the text of the Book of Psalms. Inspiring, edifying and terrifying in equal measure, the miniatures of The Winchester Psalterrepresent the pinnacle of English Romanesque manuscript illumination.

The turn of the first millennium witnessed a remarkable outpouring of creativity across Europe from artists in all media. Architecture, sculpture, stained glass, painting, manuscript illustration and embroidery all responded to the pre-existing models of classical and Late Antiquity with an extraordinary burst of imagination which combined both deference and independence. This first great movement in medieval art – labelled ‘Romanesque’ by 19th-century scholars for its adoption of features of Roman architecture – flourished until the arrival of Gothic in the 13th century.

A distinctive tendency within Romanesque evolved in England and northern France, especially in the art of manuscript illumination. In Bibles and psalters, miniaturists drew inspiration from Byzantine and late Anglo-Saxon artistic traditions to forge a remarkably elegant and complex style of biblical illustration. The 38 prefatory illuminated folios of The Winchester Psalter are one of the greatest and most original expressions of this new art.

The original provenance and ownership of the manuscript remain tantalisingly elusive. The calendar, the litany and the prayer to St Swithun, whose remains are described as ‘in this nave’, all indicate an association with Winchester Cathedral, while two feasts mentioned in the calendar establish a connection with Cluny Abbey in France. This evidence suggests that the most likely original patron was Henry of Blois, grandson of William the Conqueror and brother of King Stephen of England, formerly a monk at Cluny and then Bishop of Winchester from 1129 to 1171. A great collector and lover of art who had made generous gifts to both Winchester and the abbey of Glastonbury, Henry is likely to have ordered a great psalter for his personal use.

The subsequent history of the Psalter is similarly intriguing. The manuscript migrated from Winchester to the Benedictine nunnery of Mary and St Edward at Shaftesbury, where the red Anglo-Norman captions were added, but after the mid-13th century its whereabouts are completely unknown, and the subject of much scholarly speculation. It next appears in the early 17th century in the collection of Sir Robert Cotton, and was eventually presented to the nation in 1700. Following a fire which ravaged the Cotton collection in 1731, the pages of the manuscript were trimmed, remounted as individual folios and placed in a new binding, preserving the Psalter for posterity.

To accompany this edition, the Folio Society commissioned a new commentary from Kristine Edmondson Haney, who was Professor Emeritus of Art History at UMASS and author of The Winchester Psalter: An Iconographic Study.

Production Details:

 

Facsimile volume

• Copy No 67 of a limited run of 980 numbered copies

• Printed on Biberist Furioso with Merida endpapers

• Bound in Indian Goatskin

• Blocked with 2-colour design by Joe McLaren

• Gilded top edge

• 80 pages

• Book size: 12 ¾" x 9"

Commentary volume

• Bound in Buckram

• Printed on Salzer Wove

• Typeset in Centaur

• 100 pages

• Book size: 9 ½" x 6 ¼"

Solander presentation box

• Bound in buckram and lined with Merida paper

• Blocked on front and spine

• Inset label depicting the Harrowing of Hell: Folio 24, top panel

• Size: 13 ¾” x 9¾” x 2 ¼ ”

CONDITION: Both book and commentary volume appear UNREAD and are in  FINE condition. Internally pages are clean and bright throughout. Binding is tight. No marks to the boards. Slipcase is STURDY and in NEAR FINE condition. Overall a superb copy with very little signs of wear (See Photos)