Picturing Kingship: History and Painting in the Psalter of Saint Louis [Hardcover]

Harvey Stahl (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0271028637 | ISBN-13: 978-0271028637 | Publication Date: February 1, 2008

Picturing Kingship presents the first comprehensive art-historical study of the personal prayerbook of King Louis IX. The book approaches the St. Louis Psalter through a rich range of perspectives and methodologies and positions it within the contexts of its production and use. Not only is the manuscript's production and structure given detailed study, but the king's ways of handling his prayerbook--his habits of reading, looking, and praying--are also set forth in a compelling narrative of his view of his sacred responsibilities as king. In the first half of the book, Stahl investigates the Psalter's physical construction and development within the context of manuscript production in thirteenth-century Paris. The second half looks at the Psalter's thematic and iconographic workings and the role of the king's adviser--Vincent of Beauvais--in the Psalter's shaping. Most important, though, the author delves into the meanings the Psalter might have held for the king, who was a crusader and so devout a Christian that he was canonized by Boniface VIII. Stahl makes it clear that the Psalter, already recognized as one of the true masterworks of thirteenth-century French culture, should also be recognized as a significant force in Louis IX's life and reign.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Harvey Stahl's posthumous study of the St. Louis Psalter promises to take its place as one of the finest monographs ever published on a medieval illuminated manuscript. The psalter provided the backbone of the liturgy and the primary vehicle of private prayer and study before the Book of Hours. One of the best-known manuscripts of the entire Middle Ages, St. Louis's psalter is also, astonishingly, among the least studied. Stahl's monograph considers all aspects of the manuscript, from its codicology to its content. Above all, he expands our notion of the expressive and visual capacity of thirteenth-century illumination, which too often is dismissed as stylized mannerism. This is a glorious book on a glorious manuscript. --Jeffrey Hamburger, Harvard University

The superlative Psalter of St. Louis was at the center of the late Harvey Stahl's scholarly career. This study was conceived by him as a work that would do justice to that incomparable book. It is a worthy monument to scholar and subject. --John Lowden, Courtauld Institute of Art

Stahl's analysis is cogent and in the main persuasive, written with concise elegance and conviction. This handsome volume will be the fundamental point of departure for any further study of the psalter, and necessary reading for all interested in this famous, important king. It should be in every library. --L. Nees, Choice

About the Author

Harvey Stahl was Professor of Medieval Art at the University of California, Berkeley.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 371 pages
• Publisher: Pennsylvania State Univ Pr (Trd) (February 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0271028637
• ISBN-13: 978-0271028637
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.9 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,248,877 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Picturing Kingship - flawed product, October 21, 2010

By 

LTC "in Madison WI" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Picturing Kingship: History and Painting in the Psalter of Saint Louis (Hardcover)

The book while of considerable interest to ms specialists but is unfortunately flawed by a number of missing folios of the Psalter illustrations to which the author refers. The edition of the Psalter of St Louis published by the BNF contains all the folios.

The text, however, is quite interdisciplinary and of interest to medievalists. The production is sumptuous with full page color illustrations and a double -column format. The number of appendices (7) makes handling the book cumbersome if you like to read captions, notes and attributions. I have an extensive review forthcoming in "Church History".

L. Courtenay, PhD, FSA