tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40441397910436663632011-04-21T22:48:48.652+02:00on the digitization of medieval manuscriptsr. mentzernoreply@blogger.comBlogger351100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044139791043666363.post-62684762235676688252009-05-12T17:21:00.001+02:002009-05-12T17:22:26.634+02:00

Hello again! I've just completed a transatlantic move from southern Italy to the D.C. area and now have access to the internet with a computer battery that works . . . what a long few months it has been! I actually read through Bischoff's palaeography text (usually used as a reference) while holed up in a hotel waiting for phone calls about jobs/internships.Still waiting on news from the job

r. mentzernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044139791043666363.post-28276015028736993912008-12-21T22:29:00.010+01:002008-12-22T01:37:44.518+01:00

The Making of a Medieval Manuscript is part of the Evellum Scriptorium Series by Bernard Muir and Nicholas Kennedy. I scanned in the DVD cover so you can read the summaries and blurbs provided.There is very little information about this series (aside from the advertisements) available to those of us who are in between universities at present and desperately searching for a fix so my access to

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Greetings! Welcome to the first summary of the news coverage of medieval manuscripts. I hope that I can make this format more my own and not simply a copy of Dr. Nokes', but for now my imitation must be a shining compliment to the practical format adopted at UW. I've taken the liberty of adding an embedded video at the end of this entry; I've been wanting to find a way to include the interviews

r. mentzernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044139791043666363.post-593808309532865342008-12-01T18:08:00.003+01:002008-12-01T18:13:37.184+01:00

Medieval Manuscript Manual"This manual was created in the course of various cultural heritage-projects at the Department of Medieval Studies at Central European University, Budapest. It should offer basic information on the topic Medieval Manuscripts to be comprehended and utilized also by non-specialists in the field. It might be applied as general background knowledge, teaching module, and

r. mentzernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044139791043666363.post-17760862838052719592008-12-01T16:34:00.002+01:002008-12-01T16:38:06.994+01:00

Greetings! After guest-blogging over at Dr Nokes' Unlocked Wordhoard, I have come to realise just how often medieval manuscripts are brought into the blogosphere and even into mainstream news services. To keep up with this, I am going to try out something like what we've been doing at Unlocked Wordhoard and post periodic updates of how medieval manuscripts are being presented in the

r. mentzernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044139791043666363.post-83495616629969876142008-11-11T16:26:00.001+01:002008-11-20T14:29:06.842+01:00

I am now going through the site methodically (though it may appear otherwise) in an attempt to edit and revise much of the content. Hopefully this will make the outline of the site more specific and more easily searched by visitors. Thanks for your patience with the random comments I leave myself to note where I will be adding things!R. M.[EDIT 20/11/08: Tags/labels have been updated, edited,

r. mentzernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044139791043666363.post-77901637236637347172008-05-11T01:01:00.001+02:002008-11-20T14:21:53.971+01:00

These are sites I wish I had time to place into categories that would be more generally studied but regret to exclude, and refuse to lose entirely. Some of these sites are simply more obscure and place online manuscripts that are out of range of the mainstream preference for study, and some of them are too innovative to categorise in a general study.Nevertheless, I place them before you.

r. mentzernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044139791043666363.post-53353848930036754582008-05-11T00:56:00.002+02:002008-11-20T13:59:10.795+01:00

“A daily reading of the entire Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records,which includes all poems written in Old English. By Michael D. C. Drout, Prentice Associate Professor of English at Wheaton College, Norton, MA.”On Anglo-Saxon Aloud, you can hear Old English spoken from the manuscript (or probably a transcription) and placed online. The goal of this project is to hear Anglo-Saxon literature in a manner

r. mentzernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044139791043666363.post-67388201123488230692008-05-11T00:49:00.001+02:002008-11-20T13:52:26.033+01:00

The British Library Caxtons Online provides an early printed edition of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, with commentary and transcription. The image resolution and quality of scholarship is excellent.The De Montfort University at Leicester has hosted and produced this manuscript digitalisation and is working on several others presently in co-operation with the British Library. If you are interested

r. mentzernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044139791043666363.post-58256306520300695482008-05-11T00:28:00.002+02:002008-11-20T13:51:21.238+01:00

“A compilation of medieval recipes from authentic sources adapted for the 21st century kitchen, along with diverse facts on food & feasting in the Middle Ages & Renaissance and other historical culinary items.”Gode Cookery is run by James L. Matterer, a long-time enthusiast who has written a cookbook, runs a catering business called Gode Cookery, and taught a medieval cooking workshop at Penn

r. mentzernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044139791043666363.post-966502530246486272008-05-11T00:16:00.001+02:002008-11-20T13:50:49.768+01:00

“The Joan of Arc Archive is an online collection of information, both general and scholarly, concerning Joan of Arc [Jehanne d’Arc or Darc in medieval French]; including biographies, trial excerpts and commentary, letters and other such documents. English translations and transcriptions of the original languages are provided.”This site is put together by an historian, Allen Williamson, who is

r. mentzernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044139791043666363.post-9998827380581287582008-05-10T18:21:00.004+02:002008-11-20T14:24:26.902+01:00

Obviously, the Latin language provided a huge background for medieval language, literature, and culture. It was the tie that bound so many cultures and countries together. It was the language of diplomats and that of intellectuals, who in turn controlled literacy and literature amongst the people.References to history and older literature is often assumed natural in medieval literature, and those

r. mentzernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044139791043666363.post-66318835340319222812008-05-10T18:01:00.003+02:002008-11-20T13:49:31.462+01:00

Since you are going to be searching through Latin resources by way of medieval studies, the resources I’ve provided here are only cursory and most have translations to English attached to them.A lot of references to older Latin literature are to ecclesiastical sources, sources relating to the Christian church. You might be looking for a sermon by one of the early teachers of Christian doctrine,

r. mentzernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044139791043666363.post-62847457641878350102008-05-10T16:29:00.001+02:002008-11-20T13:47:49.849+01:00

Being introduced to medieval literature in this way if often confusing: many sources mention people such as Augustine, Cato, Cicero, and Vergil as if they were learned men whose works were commonly known, and yet sometimes it is difficult to find anything other than commentary on them on sites relating to medieval studies. This is because these men and many others belonged to a time before the

r. mentzernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044139791043666363.post-71392775223200570392008-05-10T00:31:00.002+02:002008-11-20T14:22:14.407+01:00

Even when manuscripts were being copied by hand in scriptoria, there was doubt as to how to transcribe them, and difficulty deciding exactly what processes should be used to preserve valuable meaning and artistic integrity. When printed transcriptions began to appear, we had the option os using runes or not, then using photographs or not, and with technology our options multiply into types of

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Online reproductions take many forms, from simple textual transcriptions to multimedia productions. There are some reproductions that are totally innovative that form a very unusual group of reproductions of medieval manuscripts.The Luttrell PsalterA non-profit group of filmmakers, actors, craftsmen--indeed, an entire community--has come together to bring to life this manuscript on film through a

r. mentzernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044139791043666363.post-77893561706013971782008-05-09T20:27:00.002+02:002008-11-20T13:42:12.252+01:00

Several web sites take advantage of the internet’s capacity to entertain two or three ways of presenting a single piece of information. These sites make use of text, pictures, sound, and video presentations to help bring medieval manuscripts to a wider audience.The Medieval Bestiary ProjectThis project compiles a number of medieval bestiaries and presents the definitions of the animals in

r. mentzernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044139791043666363.post-70249601183466873992008-05-09T19:13:00.003+02:002008-11-20T14:24:07.414+01:00

Literacy rates of higher socio-economic classes have always been greater than the lower classes. This is true today as well as in the Middle Ages. Though books are no longer status symbolsMedieval manuscripts are published online by many different entities, the chief of which belong to large groups of professionals working together: therefore we have national libraries, regional/national museums,

r. mentzernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044139791043666363.post-8632110135793157432008-05-09T17:22:00.002+02:002008-11-20T13:31:26.411+01:00

Countries often see manuscripts as cultural icons and as national treasures. Books were once incredibly valuable objects, made by hand and with very expensive materials: aside from their monetary value, they carried with them a national identity. To simply possess a shelf full of books was an amazing thing. National libraries still value their medieval manuscripts, but are now trying to save them

r. mentzernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044139791043666363.post-10349872770144398262008-05-09T16:27:00.004+02:002008-05-09T16:30:29.359+02:00

It is typical of online presentations that a library would place a more complete, annotated or transcribed edition of a manuscript online for the public perusal while a museum is concerned with a more holistic representation of manuscript, along with timelines or contextual notes. These museums, though sometimes working hand in hand with libraries to produce digitised versions of their holdings,

r. mentzernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044139791043666363.post-84086011348023740732008-05-09T14:18:00.004+02:002008-05-09T14:23:16.077+02:00

Manuscripts were often written by monks or nuns in scriptoria (the plural of “scriptorium”), and it is no surprise that many manuscripts were kept in monastic libraries. Monastic libraries still hold a great deal of the world’s medieval manuscripts today, and here are some of them that have digitised parts of their collections.Hill Museum & Monastic Library (HMML)This library holds a variety of

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Selected images of manuscripts are placed online usually because the manuscripts are too damaged to be handled very much without expert care, or because the department putting up the manuscript was not funded well enough to place the entire manuscript on the internet. Such is the case in some of the following manuscripts.As you can see, though, placing only part of a manuscript online does not

r. mentzernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044139791043666363.post-90132251975138236992008-05-08T19:45:00.005+02:002008-11-20T13:38:02.771+01:00

Universities hold many of the manuscripts and manuscript digitalisation projects currently on the internet. I’ll only introduce a few here, since there are so many, but hopefully from these sites you will be able to search for others. You can also search for university official web sites, navigate to the library section, and look for special projects or collections. Often you will find more

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Transcripts tend to be useful for printing, for editing, and for gaining insight by the commentary or annotation that usually accompanies a simple reproduction. Unfortunately, the nature of a transcription is that often a transcriber will have two possible interpretations for a single hand-written word on a manuscript, and will have to choose one of the two. Sometimes a transcriber does not even

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Manuscripts containing musical scores have been preserved online mostly by their incorporation into database projects, though there exist many individual projects and efforts to draw on multimedia sources now available.Medieval Music DatabaseLa Trobe University Library hosts this site, which holds an extensive database of medieval musical texts, usually accompanied by transcriptions, translations

r. mentzernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044139791043666363.post-26699777615524585312008-05-07T21:41:00.005+02:002008-11-20T13:36:30.528+01:00

Stories of adventure were called “romances” in the Middle Ages--a word very nearly divorced from the definition we think of today. Along with romances, there were stories of the lives of saints (called vitae), allegories, and song lyrics--a huge variety when you see them as a whole, but unfortunately not too much of them have been put online. This is a very small selection of an enormous amount

r. mentzernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044139791043666363.post-9809325043846007982008-05-06T16:58:00.003+02:002008-05-06T17:13:01.426+02:00

Bibles in the Middle Ages were usually written in Latin, although translation into common (vernacular) languages was becoming popular as people became more literate.The Lindisfarne GospelsThe British Library’s “Turning the Pages” display on the Lindisfarne Gospels has shown the immense progress technology has afforded manuscript studies. There has been an incredible amount of research done on

r. mentzernoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044139791043666363.post-80942474205677062512008-05-06T12:28:00.007+02:002008-11-20T14:23:50.308+01:00

The types of manuscripts that have been scanned and uploaded to the internet are various. There are complete manuscripts of highly artistic complexity that have been annotated by scholars and experts, and stubs of parchment without transcription or translation that have been scanned in a low-resolution setting. I have attempted to filter the less professional projects and introduce here only

r. mentzernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044139791043666363.post-79490009499080081642008-05-05T00:18:00.002+02:002008-05-05T00:20:48.972+02:00

Psalms are songs of praise, and 150 (or 151!) of them make up a single book in the Old Testament of the Bible, and one which was often recited by monks and nuns throughout the week. Like books of hours, books of psalms (psalters) could be personal objects but unlike books of hours, psalters were also used in church services or by individuals in a professional capacity.“Glimpses of Medieval Life”:

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A book of hours is a private devotional book that provided prayers for different times of the day; monks often prayed together as a community as many as seven times a day, and though a pious man or woman outside the cloister might not be able to celebrate with the church as a whole, prayer books provided guidelines for personal prayer.That was the idea, anyway: prayer books were customizable and

r. mentzernoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4044139791043666363.post-1494953797243016102008-05-03T16:03:00.004+02:002008-12-01T18:15:55.208+01:00

When people first see a medieval manuscript, often the first things they notice are how difficult (or impossible) they are to read, how different the figures and illustrations are from modern art, and how distant they seem from our world of iPods, magazines, and airplanes. They are, after all, written in ancient languages, illustrated with a heavy emphasis on symbolism that seems obscure to us,

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“Palaeography means, in the strict sense, the study of ancient handwriting, and its basic objects are these: first, to read ancient texts with accuracy; secondly, to date and localize their handwriting.”--Julian BrownPalaeography can be an immensely challenging and rewarding study. With the advent of the internet, it has become a field more easily accessible to the general public. Below are some

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Latin was the language of the scholarly world for a very long time, and many medieval manuscripts are written in Latin. If you’re interested in learning to read Latin on any level, you might like these web sites.I. Oxford Latin Course: Latin LinksCornell College provides a wide variety of online exercises for learning Classical Latin, from flash-cards and derivative lists to trivia and

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Welcome!Viewing Medieval Manuscripts Online Latin PalaeographyOther Introductions to Medieval MSS OnlineTypes of MSS Books of Hours Psalters Gospels Stories & FictionMusicTypes of digitalisation Transcriptions Selected Images Edited Multimedia Unusual ExamplesWhere to find MSS University Libraries Monastery libraries Museum holdings National LibrariesIn

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This site was developed to provide easier access to medieval manuscripts as they are presented online.There are a variety of institutions that provide access to the manuscripts and the presentation of the manuscripts themselves is provided in a variety of ways. I intend to provide a basic introduction to some of these in a series of short articles that deal with individual aspects of manuscript

r. mentzernoreply@blogger.com1