This seminal study addresses one of the most beautifully decorated 15th-century copies of the New Statutes of England, uncovering how the manuscript's unique interweaving of legal, religious, and literary discourses frames the reader's perception of the work. Taking internal and external evidence into account, Rosemarie McGerr suggests that the manuscript was made for Prince Edward of Lancaster, transforming a legal reference work into a book of instruction in kingship, as well as a means of celebrating the Lancastrians' rightful claim to the English throne during the Wars of the Roses. A Lancastrian Mirror for Princes also explores the role played by the manuscript as a commentary on royal justice and grace for its later owners and offers modern readers a fascinating example of the long-lasting influence of medieval manuscripts on subsequent readers.

How language and marginalia shape the perception of a landmark legal text

About the Author

Rosemarie McGerr is Professor of Comparative Literature and Director of the Medieval Studies Institute at Indiana University Bloomington. She is author of Chaucer's Open Books: Resistance to Closure in Medieval Discourse and The Pilgrimage of the Soul: A Critical Edition of the Middle English Dream Vision.

Reviews

. . . an indisputably good book. . . assiduous scholarship illumines . . . .

* American Historical Review *

McGerr has done an excellent job in reminding her audience to pay attention not only to the words in the manuscript, but their margin as well. McGerr's prose is fantastic, too, flowing naturally and being free from unnecessary jargon.

* Mediaevistik *

[McGerr's] study, scholarly and intuitive in equal measure, demonstrates that what may appear to be an inert status symbol, is actually a highly charged, and exquisitely wrought, political document.

* Renaissance Quarterly *

McGerr has examined what might otherwise appear to be a common fifteenth-century legal text and has successfully demonstrated the ways in which its visual characteristics may have much greater political implications.

* RBM: A Journal of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Cutlural Heritage *

Combining evidence and analyses from literature, codicology, history, and art history, A Lancastrian Mirror for Princes returns a considerable dividend for investing sustained attention in one manuscript.

* The Medieval Review *



Book Information
ISBN 9780253356413
Author Rosemarie McGerr
Format Hardback
Page Count 232
Imprint Indiana University Press
Publisher Indiana University Press
Weight(grams) 635g