S1·E2 – Medieval Masterpieces

The medieval era was the heyday of illuminated manuscripts. In the 14th and 15th centuries, there was a flowering of religious texts set into beautifully-decorated pages. Among these devotional books were psalters, or books of psalms. Hundreds of these were produced, but the Luttrell Psalter is remarkable for its whimsical, humorous and vivid pictures of rural life and a demonic world that is terrifying and grotesque.

Cast

Richard Dormer

Narrator

Stephen Bayley

Himself - Author & Design Critic

Rick Gekoski

Himself - Writer & Rare Book Dealer

Michelle Brown

Herself - University of London

Christopher de Hamel

Himself - Corpus Christi College Cambridge

Alison Bailey

Herself - Curator British Library

Andrew Biswell

Himself - Burgess Biographer

Alixe Bovey

Herself - University of Kent

Michael Foreman

Himself - Illustrator

John Gray

Himself - Designer