In this way, miniatures arose that are witty and humorous, cryptic and entertaining, and which illustrate medieval life in all its aspects: from fashion to food to agrarian work. This is not because of a lack of general index per se (which nevertheless is a bit shameful of the British Library) but because of a lack of any reference point to the pages of the Luttrell Psalter itself.

It was commissioned by Sir Geoffrey Luttrell (died 1345), a wealthy English landowner who lived at Irnham, Lincolnshire. With over 600 extensively illuminated pages, the Luttrell Psalter depicts medieval life with lively images. There is a list of further reading at the end, but no index, and hear we come up against the main complaint I have with this volume. The Luttrell Psalter is exceptional for the inventiveness and number of its humorous and charming decorations. Below them, a tiny grotesque stands on a patch of grass with hooved hind legs and a fanged head like a cat.The large lines of text are surrounded with decorative ornamental bordures, vines and escutcheons, but also have all kinds of colorful figures and scenes. Shortly before the middle of the 14th century, Luttrell commission and unknown master with the work.

The major text divisions are demarcated with ten historiated initials and another thirty-nine smaller versions make further subdivisions.Brown FSA is Professor Emerita of Medieval Manuscript Studies at SAS, University of London, and is a Visiting Professor at University College London. It has more than 600 pages and the delicate task of recreating this masterpiece of English medieval art so accurately into a complete full size facsimile edition has taken well over a year to achieve. Along with the Psalms, the book contains luxuriously illuminated pictures of saints and bible stories, and of rural life; farming, cooking, doctoring, spouses squabbling, musicians playing, etceteras. This psalter is the Gallican version written in black ink in a single column over fourteen lines in a skillful Gothic precissa script.