Fragments of a medieval manuscript hidden in the spine of a book for hundreds of years could shed new light on Ireland’s greatest cultural treasure, The Book of Kells.
If Books Could Talk: Medieval Manuscripts in Iowa
November 25, 2015 By
The paper, bindings, bookplates, repairs, stains, handwritten notes, stamps and markings all leave traces that give clues to how they were made, where they have been, and can even tell about the lives of the people who have read them. We’re finding clues and following up with research to find out more.
Yale University acquires ‘treasure trove’ of medieval manuscripts
November 17, 2015 By
Otto F. Ege, an Ohio-based scholar and book dealer, made a controversial practice of dismantling medieval and Renaissance manuscripts and selling the individual leaves for profit during the first half of the last century.
Exploring Medieval Manuscripts: An Interview with Erik Kwakkel
October 7, 2015 By
‘I love that something quirky and nerdy like the medieval book is becoming mainstream.’
A Needle’s Breadth Apart: The Unexplored Relationship Between Medieval Embroidery and Manuscript Illumination
October 6, 2015 By
I am currently exploring records showing that there is evidence that some individuals were involved in both. In particular, mention of two nuns who were known as embroiderers and illuminators.
Medieval Manuscripts in Living Colour
October 4, 2015 By
How did medieval people get such magnificent colour, and how can it still be so brilliant a thousand years later? Here’s a five-minute look at colouring manuscripts.
Top 10 Most Beautiful Medieval Manuscripts
October 3, 2015 By
Giovanni Scorcioni gives us his list of the most beautiful manuscripts of the Middle Ages
Medieval iconography of watermelons in Mediterranean Europe
September 30, 2015 By
With the objective of obtaining an improved understanding of watermelon history and diversity in this region, medieval drawings purportedly of watermelons were collected, examined and compared for originality, detail and accuracy.
Top 10 Medieval Book Curses
September 20, 2015 By
Christ’s curse upon the crook who takes away this book.
Simon Fraser University unveils its first medieval manuscript
September 18, 2015 By
Written in Latin on parchment, and dated to 1269, it features student notes scrawled in the margins, as well as amusing decorative drawings.
High tech tools used to understand medieval manuscripts
August 24, 2015 By
Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s Gunnerus Library are developing new high-tech tools to unlock the secrets hidden in old parchment.
Touching the Past: The Hand and the Medieval Book
August 17, 2015 By
Touching the Past: The Hand and the Medieval Book invites visitors to get in touch. Well, not literally since we’re discussing medieval manuscripts, but the exhibition wants viewers to consider the tactile side of books and manuscripts
What is a Psalter?
August 13, 2015 By
Because they didn’t contain the entire Bible, psalters were nice and portable, making good girdle books for the devout – or those concerned with showing off – to carry with them.
Image and Meaning in the Floral Borders of the Hours of Catherine of Cleves
August 11, 2015 By
The Book of Hours of Catherine of Cleves, produced in the Netherlands in the early 15th century, is one of the most beautiful and complex manuscripts of the late Middle Ages.
Qur’an manuscript discovered in England could be over 1400 years old
July 22, 2015 By
Experts at the University of Birmingham believe they have discovered a manuscript of the Qur’an that is at least 1370 years old, making it the oldest known copy of the Islamic Holy Book.
Exhibit: Magna Carta Through the Ages at the Society of Antiquaries of London
July 2, 2015 By
If you’re passing through London and want something to do that is very quick, free, and historical, check out this great little Magna Carta exhibit at Burlington House hosted by the Society of Antiquaries of London.
Medieval Parchment: Sewing Lines and Growing Surfaces
June 27, 2015 By
Talks about growing a medieval parchment by stitching in items to it.
How to travel to the physical and heavenly Jerusalem without leaving home
June 16, 2015 By
By the fifteenth century numerous accounts of the holy places circulated in Western Europe, many of them in Latin, a few in various vernaculars such as French and Middle Dutch.
Rothschild Prayer Book comes to Australia
May 28, 2015 By
One of the most remarkable books from the Renaissance period, the Rothschild Prayer Book, can now be seen at the National Library of Australia in Canberra.
Ruralia Commoda – 14th century gardening manual on display in London
May 26, 2015 By
Written in Latin between 1304 and 1309 by Petrus de Crescentiis, a wealthy lawyer from Bologna in Italy, Ruralia Commoda was the only publication of its kind during Henry VIII’s reign.
The Bible moralisée of Naples
May 17, 2015 By
The Bible moralisée of Naples (c. 1340-1350, Naples, Italy) is housed in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris.
12th-century copy of Consolation of Philosophy was written in Scotland, scholar finds
May 7, 2015 By
A twelfth-century copy of the ‘Consolation of Philosophy’ by Boethius, has been revealed to have been been written in Scotland, making it the oldest surviving non-biblical manuscript from that country.
Angels and the Antichrist: The Cardeña Beatus
May 3, 2015 By
Take a look inside the pages of the 12th century manuscript Cardeña Beatus
Renaissance Splendors in L.A.
May 3, 2015 By
Danielle Trynoski takes in the new Renaissance Splendors of the Northern Italian Courts exhibit at the Getty Center in Lost Angeles
The Great Hours of Anne of Brittany
April 20, 2015 By
The Great Hours of Anne of Brittany, created between 1503 and 1508 in Tours, France, is undoubtedly a masterpiece of French painting.
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