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 symbols
Medieval 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, university libraries, and religious institutions.
Each of these institutions has their own methods and motivations in producing these manuscripts, which affects exactly what they choose to put online. The Welsh National Library places its mythological texts online before it does the entire Chaucer manuscript they have, which would be of international interest, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art uses only brief sections of the book of hours of Jeanne D’Evreux to describe the wider area of manuscript illustration. Hopefully it will become clear just how the are related as you read further through these links.
Showing posts with label The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Show all posts
Friday, May 9, 2008
Museum Holdings
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, are no exception.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY: The Cloisters
The Met houses an unique department called The Cloisters, which preserves medieval sculpture, stained glass windows, artefacts, and a plethora of other items. Within this department there are several exhibits on manuscripts; they hold the Book of Hours of Jean D’Evreux, the Belle Heures de Jean de Berry, and a leaf from a Beatus manuscript.
The Fitzwilliam Museum
This museum in Cambridge places selections from the Macclesfield psalter online in high resolution, accompanied by several articles about it that describe the history of the book, its value, and what makes it unique.
The Pierpont Morgan Museum & Library
This museum has put up a great many manuscripts for public viewing online with a feature that allows you to zoom in on the manuscript in question, but these manuscripts are only selections and not whole works. That in mind, enjoy the high resolution and incredible detail of these manuscripts.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY: The Cloisters
The Met houses an unique department called The Cloisters, which preserves medieval sculpture, stained glass windows, artefacts, and a plethora of other items. Within this department there are several exhibits on manuscripts; they hold the Book of Hours of Jean D’Evreux, the Belle Heures de Jean de Berry, and a leaf from a Beatus manuscript.
The Fitzwilliam Museum
This museum in Cambridge places selections from the Macclesfield psalter online in high resolution, accompanied by several articles about it that describe the history of the book, its value, and what makes it unique.
The Pierpont Morgan Museum & Library
This museum has put up a great many manuscripts for public viewing online with a feature that allows you to zoom in on the manuscript in question, but these manuscripts are only selections and not whole works. That in mind, enjoy the high resolution and incredible detail of these manuscripts.
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