Visit: Wednesday 8 February 2012 / Repeated Thursday 9 February at 2pm
Meeting Place: The British Library, 96 Euston Road, London NW1

11am
Visit to the exhibition, “Royal Manuscripts: The Genius of Illumination” with Scot McKendrick, Head of History and Classical Studies, British Library and curator of the exhibition

This major exhibition is devoted to the richly illuminated manuscripts from the British Library’s Royal Collection. Over one hundred and fifty handwritten books, dating from the ninth to the sixteenth centuries, offer unique insights into the lives and aspirations of those for whom they were made; Edward IV’s books, for example, were huge and lavishly illustrated, providing both entertainment and edification for the King and his court. Others provided moral and practical guidance as well as lessons in history, politics and geography. Richly decorated books of Continental origin were made for successive English monarchs and reveal their appreciation of the refined art and culture of the Burgundian and French courts.