The Romance of Alexander

Come along with Alexander the Great on his conquests and expeditions to the end of the world! Experience the most exciting adventures and encounter cyclopes, speaking serpents, dragons, giant crabs, vampires, and other fabulous creatures! Follow the popular hero of Antiquity on his journeys through the air and into the depth of the sea! Be enchanted by the legendary stories and the magnificent images in one of the most beautiful manuscripts of the medieval Romance of Alexander!

A Role Model for Knightly Virtues

In medieval literature and numerous works of the visual arts, Alexander the Great was seen as a paragon of courtly culture. He was the ‘perfect knight’, the embodiment of all knightly virtues, and those who emulated him gained great prestige. The epic of Alexander’s adventurous exploits did not only satisfy its readers’ desire for exciting entertainment, presenting the king as a role model; it was also judged suitable for the education of young princes. In similar vein, this copy of the Romance of Alexander could have been intended for a youthful recipient. This is suggested not only by the great number of miniatures and the convenient size but also by the importance attached to the teacher-disciple relationship between Alexander and Aristotle.

In the Collection of Henry VIII

The question remains open as to who commissioned the Romance of Alexander. The earliest surviving marks of ownership are found on the front flyleaf (fol. Ir). It bears the distinct handwritten ‘HR’ monogram, which stands for ‘Henricus Rex’, clearly referring to King Henry VIII of England. The Romance of Alexander might already have been part of his father’s library at Richmond Palace. In 1542 the manuscript was listed in the inventory of the Upper Library at Westminster. In 1757 all volumes of the Old Royal Library, the Romance of Alexander included, were donated by King George II to the newly founded British Museum; its library department gave rise to the British Library.

Pariser Alexanderroman

Enjoy Viewing 10 Sample Pages:

A Glance at the Facsimile

The section from the Romance of Alexander depicted here shows fols. 78v–83r. Gold-framed miniatures inserted at the top decorate almost all the pages, while the text follows below, beginning with an initial letter four lines high. Each initial continues into the margin with a generous decoration of fine golden trefoil leaves surrounding the miniature.
The miniatures depict various mythical creatures and strange peoples which Alexander and his army meet on their way to the East: serpent monsters, Cynocephali, Cyclopes, Blemmyes, and horse-lions. These scenes are followed by the burial of Alexander’s horse Bucephalus, the building of a city, some elephants offered as a gift, and the prophetic birds at the palace of Xerxes.

The Bookbinder’s Craft

The facsimile bookbinder traditionally works with his hands. He folds the printing sheets and assembles them in sections or gatherings. At the sewing frame the sections are attached to each other to form the book-block. The binder needs a steady hand for embroidering the headband with coloured threads. For the covers he selects appropriate calf skins to match the original. Subsequently, he attaches the hand-cut leather to the book boards. The folds and bands are then shaped with a folding tool. Finally, gold tooling is applied to the front and back covers, the spine and the edges.