Stephan Füssel

The Most Beautiful Bibles covers examples from every epoch of the Middle Ages, presenting the Bible as it was visualized in both theological and historical contexts. As the beauty and significance of the illustrations are undeniable, the manuscripts are also examined from an art historical point of view.

"From typefounding through typesetting to the printing process itself, this narrative offers a fresh look at the unprecedented success story of the spread of the "black art" right across Europe in a mere 40 years. Stephan Fussel here analyses the earliest printings, placing them in the context of the history of communication and the intellectual climate of a Europe-wide educated elite by about 1500. He foregrounds the tremendous rise in European culture and the history of education experienced as a direct result of this media revolution." "Stephan Fussel traces the modern resonances of Gutenberg's invention, which persisted in virtually unchanged from for a further 350 years. It underwent decisive technological change through industrialisation and mechanisation in the nineteenth century, and again through digitalisation at the close of the twentieth century. However, as Fussel shows, the mass diffusion of information and the related communication revolution which began with Gutenberg continue unabated."--Jacket.