". . . an indisputably good book. . . assiduous scholarship illumines . . . ."—American Historical Review "McGerr has done an excellent job in reminding her audience to pay attention not only to the words in the manuscript, but their margin as well. McGerr's prose is fantastic, too, flowing naturally and being free from unnecessary jargon."—Mediaevistik "[McGerr's] study, scholarly and intuitive in equal measure, demonstrates that what may appear to be an inert status symbol, is actually a highly charged, and exquisitely wrought, political document."—Renaissance Quarterly "McGerr has examined what might otherwise appear to be a common fifteenth-century legal text and has successfully demonstrated the ways in which its visual characteristics may have much greater political implications."—RBM: A Journal of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Cutlural Heritage "Combining evidence and analyses from literature, codicology, history, and art history, A Lancastrian Mirror for Princes returns a considerable dividend for investing sustained attention in one manuscript."—The Medieval Review "The study presents an original and a highly important reading of the imagery of this distinctively illustrated copy of the 'New Statutes.' . . . Professor McGerr skillfully interweaves the study of codicology, iconography, history and literature offering fresh and expansive interpretations of the interaction of its visual and verbal discourses."—James H. Marrow, Professor Emeritus of Art History Princeton University "A Lancastrian Mirror for Princes is the first monographic study of a medieval English statute book, a deluxe Nova statuta manuscript in the Yale Law School Library, MssG +St11, no. 1. McGerr contextualizes the Yale manuscript by iconographical comparison with contemporary English manuscripts and argues convincingly that its royal portraits and allusions to the imagery of King David in prayer were shaped by Lancastrian and Yorkist dynastic struggle during these critical years of 1460–71, when the manuscript was most likely illuminated in London for a Lancastrian supporter. McGerr's well-researched interdisciplinary study argues forcefully that the historiated initials emphasize royal power and justice based on the king's relationship with God, so that the manuscript can be seen as a commentary on kingship and a mirror of princes. Her study is a valuable contribution to the history of the book in late medieval England."—Don Skemer, Curator of Manuscripts, Princeton University Library "This book is a model of contemporary manuscript scholarship. By splicing together several disciplinary strands of medieval studies, it sheds light on Lancastrian book patrons and what they had in common with their Valois and Angevin relatives in France and other great fifteenth-century bibliophiles. Rosemarie McGerr expertly shows what pedagogical and political aims were served by the New Statutes of England codex at Yale. A strong grasp of fifteenth-century iconography and a sharp eye for tell-tale details enable her to decode the core message lodged within the manuscript's program of miniatures, a message of opposition to Edward IV's usurpation of the throne. A Lancastrian Mirror for Princes splendidly investigates the circumstances under which that pro-Lancastrian manuscript was first created at the behest of Queen Margaret of Anjou and then later preserved intact in spite of Yorkist supremacy. Here codicology splendidly opens the way for lucid historical inferences."—M.A. Bossy, Professor Emeritus of Comparative Literature and French Studies, Brown University