Ars sacra, 800-1200.

Appraisal of the first edition (CH, Sep'73) identified it as a readable, tight, chronological study of the "minor" arts, mostly ivory carvings and small works in metals, from the time of Charlemagne to the proto-Gothic naturalist style of small sculpture by Nicholas of Verdun at the end of the century. The second edition, although virtually identical in text, nevertheless has some significant modifications. The format has changed with the integration of text and illustration (a change begun about 20 years ago when the series issued paperback versions), and it is now larger under the imprint of Yale. Color plates have been added (84), and there are now 75 more total illustrations, about half of which are of English objects from the period. The inclusion of the coverage of England is also new in two areas: Anglo-Saxon art from the 10th and 11th centuries (nine pages) and Romanesque of the 11th century (six pages). The text itself has been fine-tuned to acknowledge the "explosion of literature in the fields" in the past 25 years, and a study of the 29 pages of notes reveals the main areas of these changes. Selected bibliography (interestingly, some sources listed in the first edition have disappeared). Lasko is professor emeritus at the Courtauld Institute, which he directed from 1975 to 1985. His book is still strongly recommended. Upper-division undergraduate; graduate. D. K. Haworth; Carleton College