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Psalteries
The Psalms of King David in golden masterpieces of book illumination
The Psalter, a collection of 150 psalms from the Old Testament, has been a central part of the Christian liturgy since the Middle Ages. Psalms were read daily at mass, and children from noble families often learnt to read and pray with them. Illustrated psalteries familiarised users with
biblical stories and supported devotional exercises. In monasteries and chapels there were simple and magnificent psalteries, and they were often made as wedding gifts. The psalms, which originated in ancient Israel, contain praise, thanksgiving, petitions, lamentations and repentance towards God.
The Golden Psalter of St. Gall
ca. 870-900
The Munich Golden Psalter
ca 1190-1200
sold out
sold out
The Bamberg Psalter
ca 1220-30
Shining brightly with vibrant colours, the seemingly dark Middle Ages are sparkling with gold and silver in very sumptuously illuminated manuscripts preserved from this period. Quaternio Editions Lucerne, by producing facsimiles which are faithful to the original, will enable you to experience certain masterpieces of medieval book art. The highest quality standards applied in the production of the facsimiles make this experience not only highly impressive visually, but also appealing to the touch, down to the smallest detail.
Each facsimile is published as a unique, limited, hand numbered edition, thus offering direct access to the sheer wealth of book illumination. At home you can peruse the manuscript at your leisure and indulge in the splendour of medieval book art to your heart’s content, even though the century-old originals, preserved in libraries, museums and archives, are inaccessible to the public.
Each facsimile is published as a unique, limited, hand numbered edition, thus offering direct access to the sheer wealth of book illumination. At home you can peruse the manuscript at your leisure and indulge in the splendour of medieval book art to your heart’s content, even though the century-old originals, preserved in libraries, museums and archives, are inaccessible to the public.
Using facsimile editions, scholars are able to compare manuscripts which are dispersed throughout the world; the opportunity of viewing the originals might well be denied to them.
The reproduction of a facsimile is always accompanied by a scholarly study of the manuscript. Therefore, as a part of each edition, a comprehensive commentary volume provides the key for understanding the manuscript. A facsimile folder containing several facsimile pages is published in advance for you to get a close look at the characteristics of the corresponding manuscript. Test the publications of Quaternio Editions Lucerne for their excellent quality!
Discover wonderful imaginative worlds, be enchanted by their gold and vibrant colours, and surrender to the fascination of medieval book illumination! It is only in our facsimile editions that this age-old art can be experienced as intensely and as vividly.
The reproduction of a facsimile is always accompanied by a scholarly study of the manuscript. Therefore, as a part of each edition, a comprehensive commentary volume provides the key for understanding the manuscript. A facsimile folder containing several facsimile pages is published in advance for you to get a close look at the characteristics of the corresponding manuscript. Test the publications of Quaternio Editions Lucerne for their excellent quality!
Discover wonderful imaginative worlds, be enchanted by their gold and vibrant colours, and surrender to the fascination of medieval book illumination! It is only in our facsimile editions that this age-old art can be experienced as intensely and as vividly.
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