The digitalization of large collections of medieval illuminated manuscripts has provided access to cultural treasures that has hitherto been reserved only for specialists. These codices present more than mere examples of medieval painting - they allow a glimpse at the social and intellectual culture of their time. This course will explore the production and reception of late medieval manuscripts. Who planned the page and decided its content? How did illuminators use the folio and how did their illuminations invite readers to gaze, touch, kiss or turn the page? During the course we will examine the role of the illumination as an aid for memory, devotion, mental pilgrimage or mystical vision; as well as different types of miniatures: the initials, mariginalia, the narrative and the iconic. We shall explore the complex relationship between words and images, the centre of the page and its margins,the sacred and profane as well as focus on manuscripts made especially for women.