A review by casparb
Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts by Christopher de Hamel

this is a Chunky one I picked up because I missed zooming in 400% on scans of holes in the exeter book, the beowulf manuscript. It's big and one of those Huge works of criticism where it feels the author has heaved their entire career into it. But it's well written and entertaining and a long story short I recommend. It felt a little bit Old Boys club for a while but chris managed a feminist sentence & honestly I think my hackles were needlessly raised.

Besides my mumblings, there's nothing quite so electric as this proximity. De Hamel writes & detectives his way through medieval history in such ! an exciting way the glimpse of (probably) Bede's handwriting, st augustine;'s gospel, the light fingerprints brushing thru. golden. histories of art upturning in older shadows too I love books sm