The Mirror of Salvation: Speculum Humanae Salvationis By Albert C. Labriola & John W. Smeltz Focusing on the role of the Virgin Mary and of Christ in human salvation, this edition of British Library Blockbook G11784 offers a fascinating insight into medieval religious art and literature. With a modern English translation and detailed commentary. ISBN-13: 9780227679692 Specifications: 243x168mm, 208pp, Hardback Price: £50.00 • US$102.50 Publication: April 2002 Order this Title Now

About this Book

This blockbook (British Library Blockbook G. 11784) is the key to understanding the religious climate of the Middle Ages. It is the first and only complete edition 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.

In a section entitled 'Interpreting the Blockbook', detailed explanations highlight the biblical passages, both canon and apocryphal, and mythological legends that develop the theme of the blockbook. As the title Mirror of Salvation suggests, this theme focuses on the roles of the Virgin Mary and of Christ in the salvation of humankind.

Because the blockbook was intended as 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.

In manifold other ways, the Mirror of Salvation supplies information and insights that enable a present-day reader more fully to understand:

Religious artwork of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance
Medieval religious dramas
The interaction of visual and verbal elements in other works of the late Middle Ages (such as illuminated manuscripts, illustrated Bibles, and emblem books)
The sequential and schematic arrangement of stained glass windows in a cathedral, convent, or monastery.

This new translation and reproduction makes The Mirror of Salvation fully available for the first time and will be essential for scholars of the period.

Download a Sample Page here (PDF, 296KB)

About the Author

Albert C. Labriola is professor of English at Duquesne University and secretary of the Milton Society of America which named him as its Honoured Scholar of 2000. He is general editor of the Medieval & Renaissance Literary Studies book series.

John W. Smeltz is research associate in English at Duquesne University, specialising in Middle English language and literature, manuscript study and palaeography.