![]() Jo Koster from Winthrop University have volunteered to make a site visit to ZSR next week, to look at our manuscripts and help me identify and describe them in detail. I definitely learned a lot, and I met some terrific medievalists. My goal in attending the USC symposium was to learn more about medieval manuscripts so that I could use them more effectively in teaching and so that I could create catalog records for our codices, which are currently undocumented. And of course I pull them out every time someone asks the ever-popular “What’s your oldest book?” question. I show the books to many medieval and Renaissance history and literature classes, and my History of the Book class uses the manuscripts extensively. Though the ZSR medieval manuscripts collection is not large, it gets a lot of use. Below, a page from a manuscript missal covers the outer binding of a 1532 Basel imprint. Above is a manuscript page pasted inside the cover of a volume of the works of Horace, printed in Venice in 1490. One typical use was in the bindings of other books. Manuscript books were sometimes disbound and the parchment sheets put to other uses. Manuscript production in Europe fell off rapidly with the invention of printing from moveable type in the mid-1400s. The right margin shows a tear in the parchment, which was at one point repaired by sewing up the hole with thread. The image above is a detail from another of ZSR’s manuscript books. These might have uneven pigmentation, holes, or other flaws. Parchment was durable but very expensive, so bookmakers on a budget often made do with lower-quality skins. Most medieval manuscripts were written on parchment (also called vellum), which was specially prepared animal skin, usually goat, sheep or calf. This very small New Testament manuscript from our collection is an example of the trend for “pocket Bibles” which began in the 12th century. Marginal notes and symbols, like the manicule (pointing finger), could be used to highlight important passages, add text or commentary, or correct errors in the text. Rubrication in medieval manuscripts served as a sort of punctuation, orienting the reader to line breaks and different sections in the text. The red and blue ornamentation is not just decorative. It is probably Italian (though the text is of course in Latin) and has many typical features of a manuscript from the 14th century. The image above is a page from one of ZSR’s manuscript codices. We also have a few manuscript fragments taken from larger works. We have five manuscript codices (bound volumes) which I believe date from the late 14th/early 15th centuries. ZSR’s Rare Books Collection does not have an extensive collection of medieval manuscripts. We also talked a lot about ways to use medieval books and fragments in the college (and even K-12) classroom. There is much to recommend this magnificent manuscript, produced in Bruges in the late 1480s and illustrated by the foremost artists of its day, but particularly noteworthy are the many strew and foliate borders which surround the text and miniatures. We learned about how manuscript books were created– from the making of parchment, to the scriptorium, to the bindery– and how they were used by their original owners. During the two-day symposium Eric described in detail the physical and textual features of medieval manuscripts, with a focus on religious texts. Participants included teaching faculty, librarians, and students from various academic institutions. Eric Johnson, Curator of Early Books and Manuscripts at Ohio State University. Scott Gwara of the USC English department and held in USC Library’s Irvin Department of Rare Books and Special Collections. It was my first time attending this seminar, which is organized by Dr. ![]() Previous AMAs | Previous Roundtables Featuresįeature posts are posted weekly.This week I attended the third annual “Understanding the Medieval Book” symposium at the University of South Carolina. May 25th | Panel AMA with /r/AskBibleScholars Please Subscribe to our Google Calendar for Upcoming AMAs and Events To nominate someone else as a Quality Contributor, message the mods. Our flaired users have detailed knowledge of their historical specialty and a proven record of excellent contributions to /r/AskHistorians. Please Read and Understand the Rules Before Contributing. Report Comments That Break Reddiquette or the Subreddit Rules. Serious On-Topic Comments Only: No Jokes, Anecdotes, Clutter, or other Digressions. Provide Primary and Secondary Sources If Asked. ![]() Write Original, In-Depth and Comprehensive Answers, Using Good Historical Practices. 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