Customer Reviews

The Medieval Calendar Year

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Bridget Ann Henisch has written a delightful book. She knows what she's talking about, and writes well, with enthusiasm. She imparts her knowledge easily. A reader with scant knowledge of the importance of the medieval calendar year will understand a lot more by the time she's finished the book. The selected bibliography is worth the book's price. Very useful for those interested in medieval history or looking for reliable reference sources. BUT this is a book about the illustrated calendar, stunning medieval illustrations, some tiny, but all in glorious colour. My gripe is that most of the illustrations in the book are in black and white and very small. Henisch urges readers to note some fine detail but the reader often needs a magnifying glass! Surely there is enough interest in the medieval period these days that the publisher, Penn State Press, could have really gone to town on a large, beautifully coloured, lavishly illustrated text? Look at the sales of that lovely medieval calendar! Shame not to support Henisch's excellent text with better reproduced illustrations.

This book is clear and straightforward. There are lots of illustrations around which the text is woven. This is not exactly about my main area of interest (which is depictions of Labours of the Months in wood and stone) but Henisch's comments on manuscript illuminations shed light on my areas too. I liked her utterly unpretentious style - it is a pleasure to read. Perhaps a bit repetitive, and rather too much on gardening(!), but overall a very interesting book on a subject not much seems to have been written about in recent years. (I only know of T.P.Higuera's "Medieval Calendars" 0-297-82370-1.)