The Role of the Scroll

Reviews / Votes

"We all supposed that scrolls had more-or-less died out in the ancient world, to be superseded by the codex. This fascinating book unfolds a parallel universe of manuscripts throughout the Middle Ages. The living fossils from antiquity were actually still there, alive and invisible, in every aspect of medieval book production. They just keep rolling, they keep on rolling along." -- Christopher de Hamel, author of Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts "There is much to admire in Kelly's concise, well-illustrated, and vivid account." -- Bernard Meehan, Research Fellow, Trinity Medieval History Research Centre, Trinity College Dublin "This is a wonderful introduction to the medieval scroll. A thoroughly enjoyable reading with numerous insights on this very popular form and exceptionally illustrated with key examples and explanatory caption." -- Orietta Da Rold, Fellow at St. John's College, Cambridge "... lively book... There are many beautiful images here: we are able to study scrolls containing recipes-culinary, medical, magical and alchemical (some of them were lavishly illustrated); rolls of arms; maps for pilgrimages; and royal genealogies." -- Times Literary Supplement "This lavishly illustrated survey provides a superb overview of these important and often beautiful artefacts." -- Times Higher Education "This book sets out to set the record straight by instancing the scroll in various forms throughout the Middle Ages into the Renaissance." -- The Art Newspaper "... well-illustrated and highly readable volume... decades of research into scrolls by the author has resulted in a fascinating glimpse of their use throughout history..." -- The Catholic Herald