The Mirror of Salvation [Speculum Humanae Salvationis]: An Edition of British Library Blockbook G.11784 By Albert C. Labriola; John W. Smeltz
2002 | 194 Pages | ISBN: 0820702307 | PDF | 35 MB
"This blockbook is the key to understanding the "religious climate" of the Middle Ages. It is the first and only edition of its kind of the Mirror of Salvation, among the most significant and influential blockbooks of the fifteenth century. This edition reprints all 58 woodcuts, each with two illustrations, translates into modern English the text of the entire blockbook, and provides detailed explanations of the woodcuts and the text. No other edition approaches the magnitude of this achievement, which is intended to make the blockbook accessible to the present-day reader." "The detailed explanations highlight the biblical passages, both canonical and apocryphal, and mythological legends that develop the theme of the blockbook. As the title Mirror of Salvation suggests, the blockbook's theme focuses on the roles of Christ and of the Virgin Mary in the salvation of humankind." "Because the blockbook was intended as a resource and reference work for sermons and religious instruction in the late Middle Ages, it exemplifies the level of understanding of Scripture and mythology imparted to the common folk."