Best Books on Medieval Manuscripts & Magic

Discover illuminated manuscripts, grimoires, and magic books that shaped belief.

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Gift for the Enchanter

The Magic Books: A History of Enchantment in 20 Medieval Manuscripts
The Magic Books: A History of Enchantment in 20 Medieval Manuscripts

Explore twenty enchanted manuscripts where magic, astrology and scholarship intertwine beautifully together.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Gift for the Manuscript Lover

The Manuscripts Club: The People Behind a Thousand Years of Medieval Manuscripts by Christopher De Hamel
The Manuscripts Club by Christopher De Hamel

Meet collectors, scholars and scribes who shaped a thousand manuscript treasures worldwide.

 
 
 
 
 
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Gift for the Scholar

Magic in the Middle Ages by Richard Kieckhefer
Magic in the Middle Ages by Richard Kieckhefer

Clear, authoritative survey of medieval magic, from church suspicion to practiced sorcery.

 
 
 
 
 
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Illuminated Manuscripts & the Medieval Book

The Illuminated Page: Ten Centuries of Manuscript Painting in the British Library by Janet Backhouse
The Illuminated Page: Ten Centuries of Manuscript Painting in the British Library by Janet Backhouse
Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts: Twelve Journeys into the Medieval World by Christopher de Hamel
Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts: Twelve Journeys into the Medieval World by Christopher de Hamel
Illuminated Manuscripts (Shire Library Book 841) by Richard Hayman
Illuminated Manuscripts (Shire Library Book 841) by Richard Hayman
Illuminated Manuscripts Masterpieces of Art by Michael Kerrigan
Illuminated Manuscripts Masterpieces of Art by Michael Kerrigan
Illuminated Manuscripts and Their Makers by Rowan Watson
Illuminated Manuscripts and Their Makers by Rowan Watson
The Lindisfarne Gospels (Annotated): Complete Facsimile (Historical Bible Facsimiles) by Aleph Omega
The Lindisfarne Gospels (Annotated): Complete Facsimile (Historical Bible Facsimiles) by Aleph Omega

Making & Reading Manuscripts

Introduction to Manuscript Studies by Raymond Clemens & Timothy Graham
Introduction to Manuscript Studies by Raymond Clemens & Timothy Graham
Understanding Illuminated Manuscripts: A Guide to Technical Terms by Michelle P. Brown
Understanding Illuminated Manuscripts: A Guide to Technical Terms by Michelle P. Brown
The Medieval Manuscript Book: Cultural Approaches (Cambridge Studies in Medieval Literature, Series Number 94) by Michael Johnston
The Medieval Manuscript Book: Cultural Approaches (Cambridge Studies in Medieval Literature, Series Number 94) by Michael Johnston
Medieval Illuminators and Their Methods of Work by Professor Jonathan J. G. Alexander
Medieval Illuminators and Their Methods of Work by Professor Jonathan J. G. Alexander
A Guide to Western Historical Scripts from Antiquity to 1600 by Michelle P. Brown
A Guide to Western Historical Scripts from Antiquity to 1600 by Michelle P. Brown
Erik Kwakkel – Books Before Print
Books Before Print by Erik Kwakkel

Magic, Divination and Forbidden Books

Art of the Grimoire: An Illustrated History of Magic Books and Spells by Owen Davies
Art of the Grimoire: An Illustrated History of Magic Books and Spells by Owen Davies
The Book of Magic: From Antiquity to the Enlightenment by Brian Copenhaver (ed.)
The Book of Magic: From Antiquity to the Enlightenment by Brian Copenhaver (ed.)
Forbidden Rites: A Necromancer’s Manual of the Fifteenth Century by Richard Kieckhefer
Forbidden Rites: A Necromancer’s Manual of the Fifteenth Century by Richard Kieckhefer
The Cambridge History of Magic and Witchcraft in the West by David J. Collins (ed.)
The Cambridge History of Magic and Witchcraft in the West by David J. Collins (ed.)
Grimoires: A History of Magic Books by Owen Davie
Grimoires: A History of Magic Books by Owen Davie
The Book of Grimoires: The Secret Grammar of Magic by Claude Lecouteux
The Book of Grimoires: The Secret Grammar of Magic by Claude Lecouteux

Bestiaries, Monsters and Imagined Worlds

The Grand Medieval Bestiary: Animals in Illuminated Manuscripts by Christian Heck & Rémy Cordonnier
The Grand Medieval Bestiary: Animals in Illuminated Manuscripts by Christian Heck & Rémy Cordonnier
Book of Beasts: The Bestiary in the Medieval World by Elizabeth Morrison & Larisa Grollemond (eds.)
Book of Beasts: The Bestiary in the Medieval World by Elizabeth Morrison & Larisa Grollemond (eds.)
Monsters and Grotesques in Medieval Manuscripts by Alixe Bovey
Monsters and Grotesques in Medieval Manuscripts by Alixe Bovey
A Medieval Book of Beasts: The Second-Family Bestiary – Commentary, Art, Text and Translation by Willene B. Clark
A Medieval Book of Beasts: The Second-Family Bestiary – Commentary, Art, Text and Translation by Willene B. Clark
Beasts Factual and Fantastic by Elizabeth Morrison
Beasts Factual and Fantastic by Elizabeth Morrison
Myths and Legends of the Medieval World by Paul Watts
Myths and Legends of the Medieval World by Paul Watts

Visions, Mystics and Devotional Manuscripts

Hildegard of Bingen, Doctor of the Church: A Spiritual Reader by Carmen Acevedo Butcher
Hildegard of Bingen, Doctor of the Church: A Spiritual Reader by Carmen Acevedo Butcher
Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich
Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich
The Book of Margery Kempe by Margery Kempe (trans. Barry Windeatt)
The Book of Margery Kempe by Margery Kempe (trans. Barry Windeatt)
Medieval Women’s Visionary Literature by Elizabeth A. Petroff (ed.)
Medieval Women’s Visionary Literature by Elizabeth A. Petroff (ed.)
Visions and Longings: Medieval Women Mystics by Monica Furlong
Visions and Longings: Medieval Women Mystics by Monica Furlong
Hildegard von Bingen’s Mystical Visions by Hildegard of Bingen (trans. Bruce Hozeski)
Hildegard von Bingen’s Mystical Visions by Hildegard of Bingen (trans. Bruce Hozeski)
Best Medieval History Books for Beginners
Best Books on Daily Life in the Middle Ages
Best Medieval History Books on War, Dynasties & Crusades
Best Books on Medieval Manuscripts & Magic
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Medieval tapestry, Basel, c. 1450 CE
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The Tuatha Dé Danann as depicted in John Duncan's Riders of the Sidhe (1911)
Medieval Fairy: The Perilous World of Enchanted Beings
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