In this session, we are going to transform an academic paper into an academic blog post, closely examining the opportunities and challenges afforded by this medium of communication. (1) Methodological: Digital methods can aid us in our book historical research by (a) expanding the community of scholars with whom we engage and (b) expanding and reshaping the archival …
Unfinished Business? – Modern Revisions and The Intriguing Case of an Annotated Spanish Incunabulum.
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 …
Dante Manuscript Project: Plans and Goals for a Digital Edition
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.
“Among Sisters” – The Making of a Feminist Reformation Drama
This article was originally posted on the Taylor Reformation blog which has now become part of the Taylor Editions website with a dedicated Reformation Pamphlets series. Anke von Claer-Schaar Image above: Title page of the play “Schwestern unter sich” by Anke von Claer-Schaar In June 2017, I was asked to write a theatre piece on the …
Hidden in Plain Sight: Secret Messages in Manuscript Marginalia
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 …
Study Guide: Hitchhiker’s Guide to Digital Methods for Book History
Book history is a rich area for experimenting with digital methods. From digitisation to digital editions, there is inspiration aplenty for your own research projects. In this video, I discuss three examples of digital methods in action: the Voltaire Library Project; a digital edition of the Janua linguarum reserata from the Taylorian Library; and the …
Luther and Hegel on Lordship and Bondage
This article was originally posted on the Taylor Reformation blog which has now become part of the Taylor Editions website with a dedicated Reformation Pamphlets series. Dr Susanne Herrmann-Sinai Luther’s On the Freedom of a Christian might leave the reader a bit perplexed. There is hardly any mention of free choice and the free will – …
Portraying Luther
This article was originally posted on the Taylor Reformation blog which has now become part of the Taylor Editions website with a dedicated Reformation Pamphlets series. Neel Korteweg is a Dutch artist who works in different media. In 2017, she discussed her portrait of Martin Luther in the National Portrait Gallery, London, in dialogue with a …
How to Make Watermarks Speak?
Dr Sven Limbeck (Deputy Director, manuscripts and special collections, Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel) spoke on Wednesday, 18 November 2020 at the Michaelmas Term Lecture of the Queen’s College “Centre for Manuscript and Text Cultures” In recent years the analysis of watermarks has become a standard method in dating paper manuscripts. This was made possible by the …
The Secret of an Old French Initial
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 …