Exploring the world of books at Oxford
Posts about ongoing student work in the History of the Book course.
After an eventful life as a chronicler, translator, and lexicographer in the turbulent world of 15th Century Spain, Alfonso de Palencia settled down in Seville to produce what would be one of his final published works. Born in 1423, he spent ten years of his youth studying in Italy alongside some of the most prominent …
Carrie Heusinkveld The narratives lurking just beneath the surface of a book – the intertwining threads of its inspiration, creation, and original owner – are frequently overshadowed by the story told by the visible words on the page. However, investigating this hidden history often uncovers a surprisingly complex web of movements and connections traversing physical, …
Sebastian Dows Miller on his History of the Book project, increasing awareness of the Bestiary in Merton College Library, MS 249.
Was there an attempt at a revised edition Alfonso de Palencia’s 15th century translation of Plutarch’s Parallel Lives? Were there even multiple attempts? Think back to your school days. You’re sitting in English class, feeling somewhat shell-shocked by Shakespeare, daunted by Dickens, or simply befuddled by the language of [insert name of difficult-to-read and long-since-departed …
It is currently Week 0 of Hilary term 2021, so it’s time to get to work on our project for the History of the Book module. Holly and I have decided to work together to produce an online edition of a manuscript. We both love Dante’s Divina Commedia so we have decided to work on MS.Canon.Ital.108, which is a gorgeous late 14th Century copy of this work.
by Charlotte Ross Manuscript decoration enhanced the appearance of a text, increasing the value of the book and bringing a sense of status. The most illustriously decorated manuscripts ooze wealth and sophistication, acting as a statement of the owner’s importance. Even within the manuscript itself, these decorations establish a hierarchy amongst the text, identifying the …
by Charlotte Ross Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Fr. e. 32 is a beautiful Old French manuscript that dates to the 12th century. Contained in this volume are the Chevalerie Vivien and an incomplete rendition of Aliscans, two poems from the Chanson de Geste tradition, which deals with French crusading narratives against the Moors and Saracens …
This historical and theological introduction to “Von der Freiheit eines Christenmenschen” was written for the launch of the new edition in the Taylorian series of Reformation pamphlets on 30 October 2020, 500 years after it was first published. The article was written by Hannah Clemens, Theology Student at the HU Berlin and Erasmus Intern at Exeter College Chapel (Oxford) in 2019, and Dennis Clemens, Philosophy Student at the HU Berlin, and translated by Raluca Vasiu and Florence Butterfield, two Oxford Modern Languages graduates who took the early modern German period option for their finals.
Previously, Isabelle Riepe introduced to this blog a 1730 festival book in the Ashmolean’s Western Art Print Room commemorating the Augsburg Confession. She reports briefly on her findings in the MSt method option project.
Half-way through Hilary term, the History of the Book students presented their work-in-progress. In chronological order: Vincent Leung: A Catalogue Description of MS. Canon. Ital. 10 Maximilian Krümpelmann: 1520 – Luther’s Year of Freedom. A Taylorian Exhibition Caroline Godard: Jean Poldo d’Albenas and Guillaume Rouillé, Discours historial de l’antique et illustre cité de Nismes (1560) …