About HoB Hands-On Libraries

From the Holy Land to the Bodleian

Arnold von Harff’s travelogue travels to Oxford by Aysha Strachan The year is 1813. The Bodleian library acquires what is later to be known as MS Bodley 972 as part of a collection of late medieval travelogues which tell of the encounters of knights on their pilgrimage to the Holy Land.  One of the most …

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Around Oxford Hands-On Libraries

Blind Date with a Manuscript

A personal encounter with MS. Lat. liturg. f. 4  by Marlene Schilling For my generation it is perfectly normal to meet a partner first online, with dating apps on the rise during the pandemic – but the ultimate desire is to meet in person. This is the story of such a longed-for encounter in the flesh, …

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About HoB Hands-On Libraries Palaeography Posts Student Projects

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 …

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Digital Humanities Libraries

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 …

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Hands-On

Recycling Parchment

Henrike Lähnemann took part in a webinar series organised by the ICON (The Institute of Conservation) Paper Conservation group – a fascinating series which started with two papers by Bodleian Library conservators; you can watch most of the previous talks on the “Conservation Together At Home” website and follow the hashtag #ConservationTogetherAtHome on twitter About …

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