"The dissolution of the Carolingian Empire had a dramatic impact on the production of manuscripts across western Europe. Too often regarded in terms of imitation and decline, the illuminated books produced during the turbulant 10th and 11th centuries in fact reframe critical issues of historical inquiry, from the nature of artistic originality, to the significance of visual styles, to the working relations of artists and patrons. Focusing on rarely studied manuscripts from a range of continental regions, this volume argues for the central role of book painting in an age of transformation"--