Medieval Missal Fragment as Early-Modern Cover

February 28, 2026 in History of Printing, Manuscript Studies, Photographic Exhibition, Reports, Research Group Workshops, Reused Binding Fragments, Workshops on "The Evidence of Manuscripts"

A Medieval Missal Fragment
in Latin on Vellum
Reused
as the Early-Modern Binding Cover
for Erasmus Reinhold,
Prutenicae Tabulae (1585)

Mildred Budny

Reinhold (1585), Front Cover. Collector’s Photograph.

[Posted 25 February 2026, with updates]

In a Private Collection, we learn of an early-modern printed book on paper which reuses a medieval vellum binding fragment as cover for the card covers of its binding. Gladly we offer some first fruits of examining this evidence, in the process of work-in-progress process to learn about the original manuscript, the identity of its genre of book, its context, its reuse, and its fate within the printed book which ensured its survival, at least as a partial witness, to its former, intended, state.

With permission, we share the owner’s photographs of the ‘beginning, middle, and end’ of this specimen, or the ‘front, back, and side’.

I. The Printed Book

We introduce:

Erasmus Reinholdus, Prutenicae Tabulae Coelestium Motvem (Wittenberg, 1585)

Opening the book reveals the title page facing an originally blank page containing multiple entries, mostly in ink, in hand-written additions by different hands. Principal among them is the full-page single-column entry relating to the book and its context.

About the book itself, the work of the astronomer Erasmus Reinhold (1511–1553), a summary appears on Wikipedia (currently):

The Prutenic Tables (Latin: Tabulae prutenicae from Prutenia meaning “Prussia“, German: Prutenische oder Preußische Tafeln), were an ephemeris (astronomical tables) by the astronomer Erasmus Reinhold published in 1551 (reprinted in 1562, 1571 & 1585). They are sometimes called the Prussian Tables after Albert I, Duke of Prussia, who supported Reinhold and financed the printing. Reinhold calculated this new set of astronomical tables based on Nicolaus Copernicus‘ De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, the epochal exposition of Copernican heliocentrism published in 1543. Throughout his explanatory canons, Reinhold used as his paradigm the position of Saturn at the birth of the Duke, on 17 May 1490. With these tables, Reinhold intended to replace the Alfonsine Tables; he added redundant tables to his new tables so that compilers of almanacs familiar with the older Alfonsine Tables could perform all the steps in an analogous manner.

— Prutenic Tables

The first edition was printed in Tübingen in 1551 (see the copy for sale via Swann Galleries and an online digital facsimile of another copy via Google Books).

The edition under our consideration appeared in 1585. It was printed in Wittenburg by Matthaeus Welack (see another copy: via Swann Galleries or Swann Galleries).

At the front of the copy, the first verso (the pastedown on the inside front cover) carries a page of annotations in ink and pencil, facing the title page. At the top and bottom of the margins on both pages there gather some sellers’ or owners’ marks, codes, or notations: for example, 1R, N27, F858, 454, apparently to identify the item, such as within one or other individual collection. We note that some of these marks are crossed out or erased. A full-page single-column entry on the pastedown closes with the date ‘1632’, approaching a half-century after the printing of the book.

Reinhold (1585), Opening to Title Page. Collector’s Photograph.

Title Page

Reinhold (1585), Title Page. Collector’s Photograph.

II. The Reused Manuscript Fragment

The reused vellum fragment reveals its characteristics only partly, because the presentation as the covering of the boards of a binding for another set of contents turns one side of the vellum sheet to the back, hidden from view. As it is presented on the front cover, spine, back-cover, and turn-ins of the boards, we might glimpse parts of two columns of text on each of two pages on a single bifolium, plus some of the margins, including the intercolumns, inner columns, and original gutter.

On the cover, the text of the reused sheet stands upright with relation to the printed book. Let us start with the Front Cover of the Printed Book, move to the Spine, and turn to the Back Cover. However, be it noted, taking the original text in columns reading from left to right on a page, let us observe that the reused sheet constitutes a pair of leaves, for which the text starts with the ‘verso’ of the first leaf of the bifolium on the back cover, turns to the portion overlying spine of the volume, and moves to the ‘recto’ of the second leaf on the front cover.

Front Cover of the Printed Copy:
Side 1 of the Reused Manuscript Fragment

Here, with added ties to close the printed book, appears part of a 2-column page of text written in ink, with enlarged 2-line inset initials rendered alternately in blue or red pigment, rubrication written in red pigment for headings, and added strokes of red pigment to mark and highlight in minor text initials within the columns. Red lines set out the rulings for the lines and columns of text.

Reinhold (1585), Front Cover. Collector’s Photograph.

Spine

Reinhold (1585), Spine. Collector’s Photograph.

Back Cover
Side 2 of the Reused Manuscript Fragment

Reinhold (1585), Back Cover. Collector’s Photograph

Details

Back (Middle): Column B, Inner Margins, Gutter, and Initial of Column A

Reinhold (1585), Back Cover, Midsection. Collector’s Photograph

Front (Middle)

Reinhold (1585), Front Cover, Middle. Collector’s Photograph

*****

The Medieval Fragment

The RGME offers to the Private Collector and the wider world a preluminary report on “The Reinhold Missal Fragment.” It is available freely for download on our website.

With thanks to our Research Consultant, Leslie J. French, its preliminary findings can be summarized thus:

The two visible pages are consistent with a Roman Missal containing texts near the end of the Temporale. Another extant missal containing exactly the sequences on these pages has not been located, so it is not yet possible to determine for which Use the original might have been constructed. The following texts have been identified and matched against missal entries in the Usuarium database (https://usuarium.elte.hu/).

See the report:

Reinhold Missal Fragment

******

Would you like to join the quest to discover more about the original manuscript, and if possible to identify its producers, place of origin, and audience? Please let us know.

*********

Tags: Erasmus Reinhold, history of printing, Medieval Latin Missals, Medieval Manuscript Fragments, Prutenicae Tabulae Coelestium Motvem, Reused Binding Fragments
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2026 RGME Colloquium at The Grolier Club: Report

February 27, 2026 in Announcements, Bembino, Friends of the Research Group on Manuscript Evience, Manuscript Studies, Theme of the Year, Visits to Collections

Report!

2026 RGME Colloquium
at The Grolier Club

“Transformations and Renewals”
Examining and Celebrating
Treasures of the Grolier Club Library

Wednesday 11 February 2026
Hybrid, in Two Events:
Workshop
+
Roundtable

[Posted on 18 February 2026, with updates]

New York, New York. Front entrance of The Grolier Club. Photo courtesy of The Grolier Club.

We celebrate the successful accomplishment of the 2026 RGME Colloquium at The Grolier Club of the City of New York on Wednesday 11 February. We give thanks to Jamie Elizabeth Cumby, Grolier Club Librarian who offered to give the Workshop which set the plan in motion, the contributors, the staff of the Grolier Club, RGME advisers, and members of the RGME Production Team supporting both the hybrid and in-person aspects of the pair of events.

The events comprised two parts:

1) “Show-Off-and-Tell” Workshop in the upstairs Council Room

2) “Transformations and Renewals” Roundtable with Lightning Talks, open to the public, in the downstairs Exhibition Hall.

For a description and the Program, please see:

2026 RGME Colloquium at The Grolier Club

Here we celebrate the Colloquium, describe its characteristics as accomplished, and, with permission, share some photographs. For their photographs inside the Club, we credit and thank the photographers: Mildred Budny, Hannah Goeselt, Justin Hastings, and Beppy Landrum Owen.

Entering The Grolier Club (11 February 2026). Photograph by Hannah Goeselt.

The Nature of the Event

This first hybrid event for the RGME in the Year 2026 — for which we have chosen the Theme of “Transformations and Renewals” for exploration across our activities and projects — brought the RGME to The Grolier Club of the City of New York, in central Manhattan, for a curated set of hybrid events on Wednesday 11 February 2026. In keeping with the RGME’s dedication to accessibility for events reaching a wider audience, these events were designed to be available both in person and online.

We gathered a generous team of specialists, collectors, and curators of books — all Grolier Club Members and mostly RGME Associates— to examine, reflect on, and celebrate selected treasures of the Grolier Club Library. On offer: reports and conversations about research discoveries, work-in-progress, and the joys of experiencing the materials directly and also sharing their stories.

Speakers and/or Panelists

Participants offered comments and/or lightning talks. Speakers made comments at the afternoon workshop over original materials, and Panelists gave lightning talks at the early-evening roundtable:

Jamie Elizabeth Cumby (Grolier Club Librarian)
“ ‘Show-Off-and Tell’: A Curated Selection from the Grolier Club Library”
Beppy Landrum Owen (also Oral History Project: Beppy Landrum Owen)
“ ‘That skull had a tongue in it, and could sing once. . .’
Lost Stories of the Making of the Bremer Presse’s 1934 (but 1935) Vesalian Icones anatomicae”
John T. McQuillen (Morgan Library & Museum, Associate Curator of Printed Books & Bindings)
“Blockbooks Dismembered”
Note:
Watch for the coming exhibition at the Morgan later this year:

“Late Medieval European Blockbooks: The First Printed Picture Books” (6 November 2026 to 16 May 2027)
Mildred Budny (Director of the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence)
“A Medieval Missal Fragment from the Otto F. Ege Collection and its Provenance”
Note:
“Break-Up Books and Make-Up Books: Encountering and Reconstituting the Legacy of Otto F. Ege and Other Bibliocasts” (See 2025 RGME Autumn Colloquium on Fragments)
Reid Byers (Reid Byers, Author)
“Secrets in Secrets in Secrets”
Note:
Reid Byers, Imaginary Books: Lost, Unfinished, and Fictive Works Found Only in Other Books (Oak Knoll Press and Le Club Fortsas, 2024)
Richard Kopley (Distinguished Professor of English, Emeritus, Penn State DuBois, and Author)
“William Gowans, New York Bookman and Poe Family Boarder”
Note:
Richard Kopley, Edgar Allan Poe: A Life (2024)
Mark Samuels Lasner (Mark Samuels Lasner)
“A Gift from William Morris to the Grolier Club”
Note:
Wilhelm Meinhold, Sidona the Sorceress (Kelmscott Press, 1893), translated by “Francesca Speranza” / Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde, Lady Wilde—a novel drawn from the life of the Pomeranian noblewoman Sidonia von Borcke (1548–1620), accused of witchcraft and executed.
Mary Crawford (Co-Curator, current exhibition at the Grolier Club; Bio)
“From ‘By a Lady’ to Global Superstar: Curating 250 Years of Jane Austen”
Note:
Grolier Club Exhibition. “Paper Jane” (to 14 February 2026)
Online exhibition. Exhibition Gallery
Online curators’ tour. Tour of Paper Jane
Catalogue. Catalogue

Presider/Moderator for Roundtable

Anna Siebach–Larson

Book-Signings at Roundtable for Grolier Authors’ Publications

Reid Byers, Mary Crawford, Richard Kopley, and Mark Samuels Lasner

Beppy Landrum Owen prepares for her comments at the Workshop and Lightning Talk for the Roundtable. Photograph by Mildred Budny.

I. The “Transformations and Renewals” Roundtable
in the Grolier Club Exhibition Hall
(Hybrid, Live-Streamed)
6:00 to 7:30 pm EST (GMT-4)

Open to the public both in-person and online
Book-signings available

Overview

Friends of the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence, a Princeton-based 501(c)(3) educational organization, visited the Grolier Club for an in-person/hybrid ‘Roundtable’. In lightning talks, several Club members discussed a curated selection of books, manuscripts, and prints on the RGME’s 2026 organizational theme of “Transformations and Renewals. Open to the public, this event offered offer book-signings for Club member guides who recently published works discussed.

Panelists for the Roundtable: Mildred Budny, Beppy Landrum Owen, John T. McQuillen, Reid Byers, Richard Kopley, Mark Samuels Lasner, and Mary Crawford

Presider: Anna Siebach–Larsen

The Panelists prepare

After the Workshop (see below), our panelists gathered for the “Transformations and Renewals” Roundtable with Lightning Talks in the ground-floor Exhibition Hall.

Here we see, at the front, beneath the display screen, and between the display cases for the current exhibition, the panelists take their seats in speaking order, from right to left.

2026 RGME-Grolier Colloquium Roundtable: Left-Hand Side with Podium. Photograph by Hannah Goeselt.

The RGME Executive Director introduces the Panel

2026 RGME-Grolier Colloquium Roundtable: Right-Hand Side with Podium. Photograph by Hannah Goeselt.

The Roundtable Presider introduces the Panelists

Anna Siebach-Larsen presides over the Roundtable. Photograph/Screenshot by Justin Hastings.

II. The “Show-Off-and-Tell” Workshop
in the Grolier Club Council Room
(Hybrid, Zoom Meeting)
2:30 to 4:30 pm EST (GMT-4)

Open to the public online;
In-person seats limited, for Grolier Members and invited RGME Guests

Overview

As a prelude to the Roundtable on “Transformations and Renewals”, Friends of the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence and Grolier Club Members had a hybrid “Show-Off-and-Tell’ Workshop to examine, up close, the original materials (as book, manuscript, print) to be discussed further at the evening Roundtable in lightning talks. The curated selections comprised favorites from the Grolier Club Library which have given rise to detailed study and discoveries for them and their contexts.

Like our pair of hybrid workshops recently over original manuscript and printed materials in Special Collections at the Princeton University Library, held by our Associate Eric White at the 2025 RGME Colloquium on Fragments (see below), this hybrid workshop took place over original materials at the Grolier Club, guided by the Librarian Jamie Cumby (see also Jamie Cumby).

We shared experiences of delight and wonder, to celebrate the joys of learning from original materials at the Club and their relatives in other collections, especially in combination, to learn more about the rich range of the Grolier Club Library, and to give thanks for responsible access to it and for its curators. Open to the public online and to an invited audience in person (limited seating), this event was designed to be accessible widely by interactive Zoom Meeting.

Speakers (in order of presentation):
Jamie Elizabeth Cumby, Beppy Landrum Owen, John T. McQuillen, Mildred Budny, Reid Byers, Richard Kopley, and Mark Samuels Lasner

Setting the stage

Reid Byers prepares for the RGME Workshop in the Council Room. Photograph by Beppy Landrum Owen.

Preparing the Projection

Setting up the projection and internet connection for the Workshop and its audiences both onsite and online. Photograph by Hannah Goeselt.

Describing the genre, challenges, and accomplishments of BlockBooks

John T. McQuillen describes characteristics of BlockBooks. Photograph by Hannah Goeselt.

The Table Laid for Display of Original Materials

Original Materials from The Grolier Club Library, laid out for display and examination. Photograph by Hannah Goeselt.

Checking details

Mark Samuels Lasner examines a Favorite Book for the RGME Workshop in the Council Room. Photograph by Beppy Landrum Owen.

Closer Looks

Mark Samuels Lasner and Jamie Elizabeth Cumby examine materials for the RGME Workshop in the Council Room. Photograph by Beppy Landrum Owen.

The Long View as the Table is Set

Participation at the RGME Workshop in the Council Room. Photograph by Beppy Landrum Owen.

Comparing Notes

Conversations following the RGME Workshop in the Council Room. Photograph by Beppy Landrum Owen.

Hybrid Access

Conforming with our two organizations’ shared commitments to hybrid access for events which take place in person, the two parts of the Colloquium were granted hybrid functionality to reach our wider audiences.

Taking into account the policies, practices, and arrangements in place for hybrid access

1) to public events at The Grolier Club and
2) for the RGME’s visits to Special Collections (since 2024),

both sponsoring organizations agreed to share the responsibilities for such access by covering one each of the two different rooms to be used for the Colloquium. Accordingly,

The Grolier Club provided hybrid access for the Roundtable through its Eventbrite registration and YouTube live-streaming, for which recordings become available on its YouTube channel.
The RGME provided hybrid access for the Workshop through our RGME Eventbrite registration and RGME Zoom Meeting.

For the Workshop, we took care to bring exactly the same RGME Production Team, to operate in-person and online, that had worked so well together for the widely-admired pair of Workshops held (in two sittings) in Special Collections at Princeton last November for the 2025 RGME Autumn Colloquium on Fragments. For this new venue for a hybrid RGME visit to original materials, we arranged to bring additional, event-specific, equipment following the technical rehearsal in January for the Workshop.

Background and Foreground:
An Approach with Grounding

The plan for hybrid access by the RGME for the Workshop at The Grolier Club was grounded on our experiences, techniques, and teamwork (on-site and online) as has been developed and honed for our series of In-Person Visits to Special Collections. These visits have progressed from collection to collection, both private and institutional, by using equipment on site and in our mobile travelling kit, adapting from venue to venue, as the approach and implementation improves resourcefully. So far:

RGME Visit to the Collection of Steven Lomazow, M.D., in affiliation with the Student Friends of Princeton University Library, in November 2024 (with an updated, hybrid, visit to the Collection by our Director in January 2026)
RGME Meeting in association with the Princeton Bibliophiles & Collectors for a Guided Tour of selected highlights from the Collection of Ronald K. Smeltzer (brought to the Princeton Public Library for an illustrated talk by Ronald Smeltzer on Émilie du Châtelet, Woman of Science) in April 2025
2025 RGME Visit to Vassar College, to examine manuscript materials at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center and Special Collections of the Vassar College Library, in May 2025
RGME Visit to Special Collections at Princeton University Library, in association with the Friends of Princeton University Library, to examine a curated selection of “Fragments at Princeton” in Workshops in two sittings led by our Associate Eric White, as part of our 3-day hybrid 2025 RGME Autumn Colloquium on Fragments in November 2025
and now the guided Workshop, led by the Grolier Club librarian and accompanied by selections and comments by Grolier Members and RGME Associates, for the 2026 RGME Colloquium at The Grolier Club in February 2026

Poster 3 for 2025 Autumn Colloquium. Workshops on “Fragments at Princeton”

In pursuing this generous goal for hybrid events, the RGME has striven to improve its methods, techniques, and travelling ‘kit,’ albeit with limited resources, as it continues to hold visits and other events at selected locations. Likewise it takes care to listen to feedback, suggestions, and requests by both in-person and online attendees, and respond as resourcefully as possible, as it works to grow its abilities for the purpose. Thus we thank our hosts, participants, and audiences, to learn and improve together, so as to offer a worthwhile experience of engagement as best might be.

Sometimes the process encounters circumstances beyond our control, despite careful, informed, and resourceful preparations. Such was the case for some parts of the plan here. (See Hybridities and Curiosities).

We commend all those in the Grolier Club and those members of the RGME Production Team who helped consistently before, during, and after the event, to shape the collaborative hybrid process and foster its collective experience, with the aim of a good, shared outcome.

Event Publications

The Recordings for both the Workshop and the Roundtable count as publications (or publications in progress) hosted respectively by the Grolier Club (Roundtable) and RGME (Workshop).

The RGME publications for the event, both digital and printed, including our website’s announcement and report (you are here), are set in RGME Bembino. The Posters, Program Booklet, and Colloquium Booklet can be downloaded freely as pdfs.

Program

The 4-page Program Booklet for both the afternoon Workshop and early-evening Roundtable

2026 RGME-Grolier Colloquium Poster 1. Set in RGME Bembino.

2026 RGME Colloquium at the Grolier Club: Program

Posters

Both Posters for this bipartite event can be downloaded:

Colloquium Booklet

The 64-page illustrated Colloquium Booklet offers a guide and souvenir for the event. You may download it here, in two formats according with your printing and viewing preferences.

2026 RGME Colloquium Booklet: Pages (as a series of individual pages on 8 1/2″ × 11″ sheets)
2026 RGME Colloquium Booklet: Foldable Booklet (laid out for printing on 11″ × 17″ sheets, ready for folding)

The Grolier Club, View of Exhibition “Paper Jane” (to 14 February 2025). Image: Grolier Club.

*******************

2026 RGME-Grolier Colloquium Poster 2. Set in RGME Bembino.

Questions? Suggestions?

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Donations and Contributions

Please make a Donation in Funds or in Kind for our nonprofit educational corporation powered principally by volunteers. Your donations and contributions are welcome, and can go a long way. They may be tax-deductible to the fullest extent provided by the law.

We look forward to welcoming you to the special visit to the Grolier Club, whether you can attend in person or online!

Front of The Grolier Club. Photograph (4 April 2008) [cropped] by participant/team W. C. Minor as part of the Commons:Wikipedia Takes Manhattan project, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license, via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grolier_Club.jpg.

Tags: Access to Collections, Blockbooks, Curated Workshops, Giving Thanks, Grolier Club Library, Grolier Club Members, history of printing, manuscript fragments, Manuscript studies, RGME Visits to Collections, The Grolier Club
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The Weber Leaf from Ege MS 61

February 21, 2026 in Announcements, Manuscript Studies

The Weber Leaf
from
Otto Ege MS 61

Small-Format Latin Vulgate Bible
Laid out in 2 columns of 32 lines
in Gothic Bookhand
with embellishments in red, blue, and purple pigments

Formerly part of Otto Ege Manuscript 61 (Gwara, Handlist 61)
Southern France, circa 1325

Mark 5:42 ([illi mandu-/]care) –
6:1 (Et egressus . . . ) – 6:38 (Quot panes ha[/-betis ite])

[Posted on 21 February 2026]

Collection of Richard Weber, Leaf from Otto Ege MS 61: Recto, top. Photograph by Richard Weber.

A leaf in the Collection of Richard Weber from Otto Ege MS 61 presents part of the Gospel of Mark, by laying out the text in brown ink in two columns and employing embellishments in red, blue, and purple pigments. The polychrome elements comprise the running title in both upper margins of recto and verso, the inset 1-line chapter numeral (VI for Mark 6:1) on the recto, the corresponding 2-line inset chapter initial E for Et, and its extended vertical bar of J-shaped segments rising above and below its rounded letter to edge the full length of the column finished by pen-flourishing in upper, lower, and inner margins.

Continuing our series of blogposts on leaves from that manuscript, found in a variety of locations, we present images and a description of this leaf, set into context. We thank our Associate, Richard, for the images and permission to study and reproduce them.

For our earlier posts on this fragmented manuscript, see especially:

A New Leaf from Otto Ege Manuscript 61 (Budny Handlist 7)
More Discoveries for Otto Ege Manuscript 61

Familiar features of this manuscript include the J-bar segments and delicate pen-work. For example:

Second Page of the Book of Zachariah. Courtesy of Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA. Reproduced by permission.

The Weber Leaf from Ege MS 61

First we present the two sides of the leaf, in their full expanse, with color guide, in the collector’s photographs. The images show the leaf in full, within its mat, as the recto appears at the front, below the windowed front of Ege’s mat, and the verso may turn on the hinges of its pair of gauze tapes, characteristic of Ege’s positioning mechanism.

The Recto

Note that the chapter numeral VI and the enlarged chapter initial E for Et opening the phrase Et facto sabbato designate Mark 6:2 as the opening of the chapter. In the standard Vulgate, Chapter 6:1 opens with Et egressus inde abiit, continuing to discipili eius to close the verse. That verse occupies the first three lines on the page — ending with the inset chapter numeral and following the last part of the last word of the previous chapter (5:41, [mandu-/]care).

Collection of Richard Weber, Leaf from Otto Ege MS 61: Recto. Photograph by Richard Weber.

The Verso

The verso continues the text of the chapter through most of its course, in a chapter comprising 56 verses. It closes mid-word within chapter 38. Apart from the washes of red pigment in the verse initials, the embellishment on this page constitutes the polychrome running title: MAR– naming the evangelist author or his book.

Collection of Richard Weber, Leaf from Otto Ege MS 61: Verso. Photograph by Richard Weber.

Next, we will describe features of the leaf, its former manuscript, and characteristics of the settings in which its fragments appear.

Watch this space.

Other Fragments from this Book?

Do you know of other leaves from this manuscript? Please let us know.

********

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Announcing the Launch of RGME Bembino WP

February 16, 2026 in Announcements, Bembino, Design, Events, Manuscript Studies, Research Group Speaks (The Series)

“Announcing the Launch
of RGME Bembino WP:

A High-Quality Font
for Word-Processing”

Launch Date: 25 March 2026

[Posted on 14 February 2026 with updates]

The full, 16-file, professional, level of our digital font RGME Bembino has been available for a while, with several updates in response to requests for more languages or features. We are thrilled to announce the launch of BembinoWP, a 4-file subset bringing our font to the Mac and Windows Word-processing Communities at large (by request).

BembinoWP has been circulating in a provisional version over recent months, for review, feedback. and corrections. Now we launch it more widely, for all to try out and use.

Find it here:

Bembino WP for Word-Processing

This release enables the font to reach desk-top publishers and report-writers using widely-available text-processing tools including Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. The BembinoWP variant offers a migration path to the full version of the font for higher-quality typesetting through professional tools such as Adobe InDesign or Quark.

Watch for its official Launch on 25 March 2026. This date marks the anniversary of the very first printed text set in Bembino: a “Happy Birthday” greeting for our Director.

For the launch, the RGME offers some occasions where you could meet the font, hear from its maker and users, and join the Q&A.

1. Online Episode 23 of “The Research Group Speaks”

“Meet RGME Bembino: Facets of a Font”
Saturday 21 February 2026

Online by Zoom Meeting
1:00-2:30 pm EST (GMT-5)

Speakers

the Font-Designer (Leslie French),
the Director of the RGME (Mildred Budny),
the Author of the first full-length book set in Bembino (Reid Byers), and
the Graphic Designer of that book (Matthew Young).

Information and Registration

https://manuscriptevidence.org/wpme/episode-23-meet-rgme-bembino-facets-of-a-font/

*******

2. Online Conversation in the Grolier Club Common Room
(for Grolier Club Members and Guests)
Tuesday 10 March 2026
4:00–5:00 pm

“Introducing RGME Bembino:
A High-Quality, Freely-Available, Multi-Lingual Digital Font”

**Speakers (* = Grolier Members)**

* Milly Budny, Director of the RGME
Leslie French, Font-Designer of RGME Bembino
— his text, with PowerPoint, will be read by Phillip Bernhardt–House or
by * Jennifer Larson
* Reid Byers, Author of the first full-length book set in Bembino, and
Matthew Young, Graphic Designer

We will speak about the font and the launch. Questions and feedback are welcome.

*******

3. Hybrid Conversation for The Baxter Society

Wednesday 8 April 2026
6:00-7:00 pm EST (GMT-5)

Dr. Mildred Budny (Executive Director of the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence)
will speak on “Bembino, a New Multi-Lingual Font”

“The beautiful new font, supporting fifty-seven languages,
is to be made freely available to the literary community this spring by the RGME.”

Meeting: At the offices of Bernstein–Shur and on Zoom.

http://www.baxtersociety.org/

Bernstein–Shur
100 Middle St.
West Tower
Portland, ME 0410

*******

About the Font Bembino

Permission for Use

Note that RGME Bembino is FREE.
The copyright for the Bembino font programs belongs to the RGME, which grants an automatic free license for use in typeset publications, including both scholarly and commercial material.

Questions?

Contact

Donations and Contributions

We invite Donations and Contributions to enable us to maintain our mission and make our facilities available.

We look forward to welcoming you at our several events promoting the 25 March 2026 Launch of RGME Bembino WP, whether you can attend in person or online!

Bembino Booklet Cover

*******

Tags: Bembino Digital Font, history of printing, Launch Announcement, RGME Publications, The Research Group Speaks
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2026 RGME Visit to The Grolier Club

February 6, 2026 in Uncategorized

This Link Redirects you to:

2026 RGME Colloquium at The Grolier Club

Thank you for your understanding.

No Comments »

2026 International Congress on Medieval Studies: Program

February 1, 2026 in Announcements, Bāḥra ḥassāb: Knowledge Transmission in Ethiopia and Eritrea From Antiquity to Modern Times, Business Meeting, Conference, Conference Announcement, Event Registration, Events, ICMS, International Congress on Medieval Studies, Manuscript Studies, POMONA, Postal History at Kalamazoo, Rossell Hope Robbins Library at the University of Waterloo, Societas Magica

Program

Activities Sponsored and Co-Sponsored by the RGME
at the
61st International Congress on Medieval Studies
May 14–16, 2026

(Sessions variously online, in-person, and hybrid)

Sequence of RGME Activities at the 2026 Congress

[Posted on 15 January 2026, with updates]

View from Fetzer Lounge at the 2017 Congress. Photography © Mildred Budny.

Here we list the Program of Activities of the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence (RGME) at the 2026 International Congress on Medieval Studies (ICMS).

First we collaboratively designed a suite of Sessions (Panels of Papers) to sponsor or co-sponsor at this year’s Congress and, when they were accepted for the Congress, issued the Call for Papers:

With the completion of the Call for Papers, the next stages followed: selecting among the proposals received, designing each session (assigning the presider, sequence of papers, etc.), and submitting the session programs to the ICMS. Upon the formation of the full Congress Program (see link below), we announce the RGME Program of activities at the 2026 Congress—including the Sessions and our annual Open Business Meeting. We describe the activities one by one in the assigned sequence in which they will occur.

Congress Program

The Program and information for the 2026 Congress appears on the Congress website.

There, to find the RGME Business Meeting and Sessions, search under Sponsoring (or Co-Sponsoring) Organization

The participation by the RGME at the Annual ICMS over the years is chronicled in our blog

RGME Blog for International Congress on Medieval Studies

Now we turn to the 2026 Congress and invite you to join our activities.

Read the rest of this entry →

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2026 International Congress on Medieval Studies: Program

February 1, 2026 in Announcements, Bāḥra ḥassāb: Knowledge Transmission in Ethiopia and Eritrea From Antiquity to Modern Times, Business Meeting, Conference, Conference Announcement, Event Registration, ICMS, International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, Koller-Collins Center for English Studies, Manuscript Studies, POMONA, Postal History at Kalamazoo, RGME Annual Appeal, RGME Library & Archives, Rossell Hope Robbins Library at the University of Rochester, Societas Magica

Program

Activities Sponsored and Co-Sponsored by the RGME
at the
61st International Congress on Medieval Studies
May 14–16, 2026

(Sessions variously online, in-person, and hybrid)

Sequence of RGME Activities at the 2026 Congress

[Posted on 15 January 2026, with updates]

View from Fetzer Lounge at the 2017 Congress. Photography © Mildred Budny.

Here we list the Program of activities of the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence (RGME) at the 2026 International Congress on Medieval Studies (ICMS).

The Program for the 2026 Congress appears on the Congress website.

Call for Papers

With the completion of the Call for Papers, the selection of their proposals, the design of each session (with presider, sequence of papers, etc.), and the ICMS’s formation of the full Congress Program, we announce our Program of activities at the 2026 Congress (including sessions and our annual Open Business Meeting). We describe the activities one by one, now in the sequence in which they will occur.

The Program and information for the 2026 Congress appears on the Congress website.

To find our Sessions and Business Meeting there, search under Sponsoring Organization

Sponsor List

Search for the RGME (or our Co-Sponsor for the given session). In the Sponsors’ list, you will find our sessions as a group:

Sponsor: Research Group on Manuscript Evidence

The participation by the RGME at the Annual ICMS over the years is chronicled in our blog

RGME Blog for International Congress on Medieval Studies

Now we turn to the 2026 Congress and invite you to join our activities.

Read the rest of this entry →

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2026 RGME Colloquium on “Transformations & Renewals” at The Grolier Club

January 27, 2026 in Announcements, Event Registration, Events, Friends of the Research Group on Manuscript Evience, Manuscript Studies, Visits to Collections

2026 RGME Colloquium
at The Grolier Club

“Transformations and Renewals”
Examining and Celebrating
Treasures of the Grolier Club Library

Wednesday 11 February 2026 (Hybrid, in Two Events)
Workshop + Roundtable

[Posted on 15 January 2026, with updates
Now see also the 2026 RGME Colloquium at The Grolier Club: Report]

Front Entrance of The Grolier Club. Photograph (4 April 2008) [cropped] by participant/team W. C. Minor as part of the Commons:Wikipedia Takes Manhattan project, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license., via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grolier_Club.jpg.

For the Year 2026, the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence chooses the Theme of “Transformations and Renewals” for exploration across its activities and projects.

Our first hybrid event of the year brings the RGME to The Grolier Club of the City of New York, in central Manhattan, for a curated set of hybrid events on Wednesday 11 February 2026. In keeping with the RGME’s dedication to accessibility for events reaching a wider audience, these events will be available both in person and online. For registration for the different events and functionalities (in person or online), see below.

With registration beforehand (see below), the day’s events comprise:

a “Show-Off-and-Tell” Workshop in the afternoon
2:30–4:30 pm EST (GMT-4)
1) online open to the public
2) in person privately with limited seating, open for Grolier Club Members and RGME invited guests
a “Transformations and Renewals” Roundtable in the early evening
6:00–7:30 pm EST
open to the public
1) online and
2) in person

We gather a team of specialists, collectors, and curators of books — all Grolier Club Members and mostly RGME Associates— to examine, reflect on, and celebrate selected treasures of the Grolier Club Library. On offer: reports and conversations about research discoveries, work-in-progress, and the joys of experiencing the materials directly and also sharing their stories. Join us!

2024 Beletsky logo of the Grolier Club of the City of New York.

Program

For information about the scope of the event, its Participants, its two parts as Workshop and Roundtable, and Registration for each part, see below. Both parts are hybrid, through the RGME for the Workshop and through the Grolier Club for the Roundtable.

The Program for both the afternoon Workshop and early-evening Roundtable can now be downloaded as a 4-page

2026 RGME-Grolier Colloquium Poster 1. Set in RGME Bembino.

Program Booklet, set in RGME Bembino.

2026 RGME Colloquium at the Grolier Club: Program

Posters

Both Posters for this bipartite event can be downloaded:

Colloquium Booklet

We offer the 64-page illustrated Colloquium Booklet as a guide and souvenir for the event. You may download it here, in two formats according with your printing and viewing preferences.

2026 RGME Colloquium Booklet: Pages (as a series of individual pages on 8 1/2″ × 11″ sheets)
2026 RGME Colloquium Booklet: Foldable Booklet (laid out for printing on 11″ × 17″ sheets, ready for folding)

Speakers and Panelists

Speakers with comments at the afternoon workshop over original materials and/or with lightning talks at the early-evening roundtable:

Jamie Elizabeth Cumby (Grolier Club Librarian)
“ ‘Show-Off-and Tell’: A Curated Selection from the Grolier Club Library”
Beppy Landrum Owen (also Oral History Project: Beppy Landrum Owen)
“ ‘That skull had a tongue in it, and could sing once. . .’
Lost Stories of the Making of the Bremer Presse’s 1934 (but 1935) Vesalian Icones anatomicae”
John T. McQuillen (Morgan Library & Museum, Associate Curator of Printed Books & Bindings)
“Blockbooks Dismembered”
Note:
Watch for the coming exhibition at the Morgan later this year:

“Late Medieval European Blockbooks: The First Printed Picture Books” (6 November 2026 to 16 May 2027)
Mildred Budny (Director of the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence)
“A Medieval Missal Fragment from the Otto F. Ege Collection and its Provenance”
Note:
“Break-Up Books and Make-Up Books: Encountering and Reconstituting the Legacy of Otto F. Ege and Other Bibliocasts” (See 2025 RGME Autumn Colloquium on Fragments)
Reid Byers (Reid Byers, Author)
“Secrets in Secrets in Secrets”
Note:
Reid Byers, Imaginary Books: Lost, Unfinished, and Fictive Works Found Only in Other Books (Oak Knoll Press and Le Club Fortsas, 2024)
Richard Kopley (Distinguished Professor of English, Emeritus, Penn State DuBois, and Author)
“William Gowans, New York Bookman and Poe Family Boarder”
Note:
Richard Kopley, Edgar Allan Poe: A Life (2024)
Mark Samuels Lasner (Mark Samuels Lasner)
“A Gift from William Morris to the Grolier Club”
Note:
Wilhelm Meinhold, Sidona the Sorceress (Kelmscott Press, 1893), translated by “Francesca Speranza” / Jane Francesca Agnes Wilde, Lady Wilde—a novel drawn from the life of the Pomeranian noblewoman Sidonia von Borcke (1548–1620), accused of witchcraft and executed.
Mary Crawford (Co-Curator, current exhibition at the Grolier Club; Bio)
“From ‘By a Lady’ to Global Superstar: Curating 250 Years of Jane Austen”
Note:
Grolier Club Exhibition. “Paper Jane” (to 14 February 2026)
Online exhibition. Exhibition Gallery
Online curators’ tour. Tour of Paper Jane
Catalogue. Catalogue

Presider/Moderator for Roundtable

Anna Siebach–Larson

Book-Signings at Roundtable for Grolier Authors’ Publications

Reid Byers, Mary Crawford, Richard Kopley, and Mark Samuels Lasner

We look forward to welcoming you!

The Grolier Club, View of Exhibition “Paper Jane” (to 14 February 2025). Image: Grolier Club.

Registration for the 2 Hybrid Events

We give information for
I. the evening Roundtable first,
II. then the afternoon Workshop.

I. Hybrid Roundtable in the Grolier Club Exhibition Hall
6:00 to 7:30 pm EST (GMT-4)

Open to the public both in-person and online
Book-signings available

Registration through the Grolier Club

Grolier Club: Eventbrite

Overview

With Mildred Budny, Beppy Landrum Owen, John T. McQuillen, Reid Byers, Richard Kopley, Mark Samuels Lasner, and Mary Crawford

Friends of the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence, a Princeton-based 501(c)(3) educational organization, will visit the Grolier Club for an in-person/hybrid ‘Roundtable’. In lightning talks, several Club members will discuss a curated selection of books, manuscripts, and prints on the RGME’s 2026 organizational theme of “Transformations and Renewals. Open to the public, this event will be live-streamed and will offer book-signings for Club member guides who have recently published works discussed.

Registration for the Roundtable
Virtual or In-Person Attendance

Public roundtable on “Transformations and Renewals” at 6:00-7:30 pm EST (GMT-4)
[although the registration portal lists the time as “6:00-7:00”]
All are welcome to attend in both functionalities.

1) Virtual
“Transformations and Renewals” Roundtable (Virtual)

2) In-Person
“Transformations and Renewals” Roundtable (In-Person)

2026 RGME-Grolier Colloquium Poster 2. Set in RGME Bembino.

II. Hybrid “Show-Off-and-Tell” Workshop upstairs
preceding the Roundtable
2:30 to 4:30 pm EST (GMT-4)
with Break at 3:15–3:30 pm

Open to the public online;
In-person seats limited, for Grolier Members and invited RGME Guests

Registration through the RGME

RGME Eventbrite Collection

Overview

As a prelude to the Roundtable on “Transformations and Renewals”, Friends of the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence and Grolier Club Members will have a hybrid “Show-Off-and-Tell’ Workshop to examine, up close, the original materials (as book, manuscript, print) to be discussed further at the evening Roundtable in lightning talks. The curated selections comprise favorites from the Grolier Club Library which have given rise to detailed study and discoveries for them and their contexts.

Like our pair of hybrid workshops recently over original manuscript and printed materials in Special Collections at the Princeton University Library, held by our Associate Eric White at the 2025 RGME Colloquium on Fragments, this hybrid workshop will take place over original materials at the Grolier Club, guided by the Librarian Jamie Cumby (see also Jamie Cumby).

We gather to share experiences of delight and wonder, to celebrate the joys of learning from original materials at the Club and their relatives in other collections, especially in combination, to learn more about the rich range of the Grolier Club Library, and to give thanks for responsible access to it and for its curators. Open to the public online and to an invited audience in person (limited seating), this event will be accessible widely by interactive Zoom Meeting.

Speakers (in order of presentation):
Jamie Elizabeth Cumby, Beppy Landrum Owen, John T. McQuillen, Mildred Budny, Reid Byers, Richard Kopley, and Mark Samuels Lasner

Registration for the “Show-Off-and-Tell” Workshop
Virtual or In-Person Attendance

Hybrid Workshop at 2:30-4:30 pm EST (GMT-4)
All are welcome to attend online; space is limited in person.

1) ONLINE (Open to the public)

- Workshop Online: Registration
  Note that, after you register, the RGME will send you the Zoom Link a day or so before the event. For security, the Zoom Link will be sent to you by the RGME, and NOT Eventbrite or Zoom.

2) IN-PERSON (Space is limited, by invitation)

- “Show-Off-and-Tell” Workshop IN PERSON for Speakers, Grolier Members, and Invited Guests: Registration
  In case of demand, we offer a Waiting List.

Willhelm Meinhold, Sidona the Sourceress (Kelmscott Press, 1893), Opening of Book I, Chapter 1, “Of the Education of Sidonia”. Photograph courtesy of Mark Samuels Lasner.

*******************

Questions? Suggestions?

Leave your comments or questions below
Contact Us

Join Us!

Learn about the RGME, its mission, and its activities

Who Are We?

Visit our Social Media:

our FaceBook Page (or Facebook Page)
our Facebook Group
our X/Twitter Feed (@rgme_mss)
our Bluesky nest @rgmesocial.bluesky.social)
our Instagram Page
our LinkedIn Group

Join the Friends of the RGME. (There is no charge.) All are welcome. The Friends hold special meetings, competitions with prizes, and other activities, recognizing the wide range of interests among our audience, scholarly and more.

Donations and Contributions

We look forward to welcoming you to the special visit to the Grolier Club, whether you can attend in person or online!

Tags: Edgar Allan Poe, Exhibitions, Grolier Club Library, History of Blockbooks, history of printing, History of Provenance, Jane Austen, Kelmscott Press, Manuscript studies, Otto Ege Fragments, Responsible Access to Collections, RGME Visits to Special Collections, Transformations & Renewals, William Morris
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A Leaf with Patchwork from the Saint Albans Bible

December 29, 2025 in Fragments, Manuscript Studies

A Leaf with Patchwork
from the Saint Albans Bible
in the Collection of William Voelkle

Double columns of 46 lines in Gothic Script
with 2-line Decorated Initials, Bar-Extensions,
Foliate Ornament,
and Marginal Inhabitants (Monkey, Dragon, Bird)

Northern France, circa 1330

Psalms 107:14 ([facerimus uir-]/tutem et ipse)
– 108:31 (a persequentibus [animam meam] )
and 109:2 ([tuorum te-]cum principium . . . )
– 110:6 (. . . operum suorum / [adnuntiabit populo suo])

Plus Cut-Out with Patch apparently from the Same Bible
Cut out (in 14 lines of one column):
Psalms 109:1–2 (Dixit Dominus domino meo . . . tuorum te-/]cum principium)
Replacement Patch (in 14 lines pasted to opposite side):
Epistle of James 1:11–15 (peccatum uero cum / [consummatum fuerit]

[Posted on 27 December 2025]

Collection of William Voelkle, Framed Leaf from the Saint Albans Bible: Recto under glass. Photograph by William Voelkle.

Our series of RGME Workshops on “The Evidence of Manuscripts, Etc.”, continues to uncover more leaves from the fragmentary manuscripts which the workshops consider, by request. Now we report another leaf from the Saint Albans Bible, with which our workshops began.

We set the stage by reviewing two leaves which generated our interest in this manuscript and its fragments. They belong to the Farrell and Weber Collections respectively, with portions from the Old Testament and the New Testament respectively.

The ‘new’ leaf belongs to the Collection of William Voelkle. Its pieced-together pieces represent parts of one Book from the Old Testament and another from the New Testament.

The patchwork, replacing a cut-out portion with a cutting from elsewhere in the volume, resembles a phenomenon which we explored previously in another fragmentary Vulgate Bible, the larger Lectern Bible dispersed by Otto F. Ege as his Number 14.

Patch Work in Otto Ege MS 14

Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Otto Ege Collection, MS 14, Genesis Opening Leaf: Recto, Detail of Patch.

Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Otto Ege Collection, MS 14, Genesis Opening Leaf: Verso, Detail of Patch.

1. The Farrell Leaf
(from the Book of Numbers)

Our workshops first examined a leaf on loan to the RGME with part of the text of the Book of Numbers in a Latin Vulgate Bible in double columns of 46 lines in Gothic script, with decorative elements. Reports of our discoveries about that leaf have been reported in our blog on Manuscript Studies.

Collection of Jennah Farrell, Manuscript Leaf in Mat: top left. Photograph by Jennah Farrrell.

Recto

Collection of Jennah Farrell, Single Leaf from the Book of Numbers in a Medieval Latin Vulgate Bible manuscript. Full extent of the leaf, unframed: Recto. Photography by Mildred Budny.

Verso

Collection of Jennah Farrell, Latin Vulgate Bible Leaf: Verso with Ruler. Photograph by Mildred Budny.

2. The Weber Leaf
(from the Acts of the Apostles)

As the workshops progressed, our Associate Richard Weber revealed another leaf from this manuscript in his collection, to join our blogposts about various items in his collection. Unlike the first leaf considered in our workshops, from the Old Testament Book of Numbers, this leaf belongs to the New Testament portion of the bible, from within the text of the Acts of the Apostles. See

The Weber Leaf from the Saint Albans Bible

Collection of Richard Weber, Leaf from the Saint Albans Bible, Verso: Top Left. Photograph by Richard Weber.

Recto

Collection of Richard Weber, Leaf from the Saint Albans Bible, Recto. Photograph by Richard Weber.

Verso

Collection of Richard Weber, Leaf from the Saint Albans Bible, Recto. Photograph by Richard Weber.

Collection of William Voelkle, Framed Leaf from the Saint Albans Bible: Recto under glass. Photograph by William Voelkle.

3. The Voelkle Leaf
(from the Psalms
and the Epistle of James)
—A Patchwork Leaf

Next, our Associate William Voelkle sent a photograph of his leaf from the Saint Albans Bible.

About the leaf, William Voelkle reported that

I purchased the leaf from Philip Duschnes (NY dealer) August 10, 1983, as ‘repaired.’ The historiated miniature had been cut out and replaced with another section of the text.
— email of 29 December 2025

About Duschnes and his business, see, for example Philip C. Duschnes.

Contained within a glass-fronted frame, the leaf shows one side, but turns the other side to the back of the frame, where it remains hidden.

We examine the visible side, with glimpses also of the opposite side as revealed by show-through and other evidence.

Recto (the Visible Side)

Collection of William Voelkle, Framed Leaf from the Saint Albans Bible: Recto. Photograph by William Voelkle.

The page has no running title, unlike some other parts of the Saint Albans Bible (see above).

Mainly the text on the page presents part of the Book of Psalms, plus a replacement patch for fourteen lines cut out from one column, which removed the first lines of Psalm 109.

A modern pencil note at the left opposite line 3 of the left-hand column identifies the number of the Vulgate Psalm (“108”) which opens there (Deus laudem meam me tacueris). It seems likely that the note postdates the dismemberment of the manuscript, so that an identification of the contents of the leaf might be appropriate, starting with the first of the Psalms on the page.

Rubrication in red pigment announces the start of Psalms 108 and 110 — perhaps it did so also for the opening of Psalm 109, but that title would have been lost in the cut-out.

Show-through from the opposite side reveals (in mirrored view) the presence of polychrome bar ornament in verticals along the inner and outer margins as well as the intercolumn — that is, at the left-hand side of both columns of text on that page and, to a less marked extent, at the right-hand side of the outer column — and in branching formations at both upper and lower margins.

The Texts:
Parts of Two Different Books of the Bible

The visible side of the leaf carries text principally from the Book of Psalms. It begins midword within Psalms 107:14 ([facerimus uir-]/tutem et ipse) and ends within Psalms 110:31 (operum suorum / [adnuntiabit populo suo]). The text carries the full text of Psalm 108, but only the last part of Psalm 109, because its first lines have been cut out and removed, taking the opening initial and the adjacent section of its intercolumnar bar ornament at the left. Untouched was the bar ornament at the right-hand side, along with the full-length bird perched in profile upon its foliage.

The Psalms text in column a and the upper and lower parts of column b:

Psalms 107:14 ([facerimus uir-]/tutem et ipse) – 108:31 (a persequentibus /[animam meam])
and (after the gap produced by the cut-out)
Psalms 109:2 (tuorum te-/]cum principium) – 110:1–6 (operum suorum / [adnuntiabit populo suo])

Missing text cut out from column b:

Psalms 109:1–2 ([Dixit dominus Domino meo . . . tuorum te-]cum principium)

Replacement patch of fourteen lines in a single column:

Epistle of James 1:11–15 (Exortus est enim . . . peccatum uero cum / [consummatum fuerit]

Untouched in the cutting process was the bar ornament at the right-hand side, along with the full-length bird perched upon its foliage. Seen in profile facing left, the bird raises its offside leg and its head to look up to the left. Might the bird perhaps depict a thrush or strike?

Collection of William Voelkle, Framed Leaf from the Saint Albans Bible: Recto under glass, Midsection with patch. Photograph by William Voelkle.

A patch in the second column supplies a passage of fourteen lines of text where the original text had been cut out — presumably as a specimen of text and/or decoration. The supplied portion presents similar layout, script, structure, and intercolumnar border decoration as characteristic of the Saint Albans Bible, so perhaps or presumably another leaf from the same book supplied the gap. Certainty about the source of the replacement might become clearer if, say, the portion of the Epistle of James in the volume can be identified either intact or defective.

Collection of William Voelkle, Framed Leaf from the Saint Albans Bible: Recto under glass, Detail with patch. Photograph by William Voelkle.

The bar ornament at the left on the replacement patch is broader than the bar ornament which it supplants or interrupts in the intercolumn of the Psalms leaf, although its undulating ornamental pattern and coloring resembles that bar. The extensions to the left from the replacement bar imply that this patch came from a left-hand column on its former page, reaching into the inner margin.

The Decoration and Figural Ornament

Ornamented initials stand at the openings of the individual Psalms, as inset 2-line polychrome capitals within frames. From their left-hand side, extensions might rise or descend along the side of the column of text to curve into the upper or lower margins in elaborate branching foliate motifs. The individual verses of the Psalms open within the continuous lines of text as inset 1-line capitals, rendered alternately in blue pigment or gold, within beds of penline decoration.

Top

Collection of William Voelkle, Framed Leaf from the Saint Albans Bible: Recto under glass, Top. Photograph by William Voelkle.

Bottom

Collection of William Voelkle, Framed Leaf from the Saint Albans Bible: Recto under glass, Lower portion. Photograph by William Voelkle.

Seen in profile, the animated elements in the lower margin comprise

1) a charming undulating dragonesque creature with raised wings at the outer right, an elongated neck, and an open-mouthed head facing right with a dog-like head having pointed ears and a bearded lower jaw; and

2) an upright monkey striding toward the left. In its outstretched hands this creature holds an implement which might depict a spindle and whorl.

Below the monkey’s feet, two foliate terminals of the border ornament have descending streaks of ink and pigment which damaged the page at an unknown stage.

Collection of William Voelkle, Framed Leaf from the Saint Albans Bible: Recto under glass, detail: monkey. Photograph by William Voelkle.

Questions or Suggestions?

Do you know of other leaves from this Bible? Do you know of other works by the same scribe(s) or artist(s)? We welcome your feedback.

*************

Tags: Collection of Richard Wagner, Collection of William Voelkle, Fragmentology, Jennah Farrell Collection, manuscript fragments, Manuscript Illumination, Otto Ege MS 14, Patchwork in Manuscripts, RGME Workshops on the Evidence of MSS Etc., Saint Albans Bible, Vulgate Bible Manuscripts
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Theme of the Year for the RGME

December 22, 2025 in Manuscript Studies, Theme of the Year

Theme for the Year for the RGME:
Journey of a Tradition

Papilio Machaeol: Old World Swallowtail, female, Dorsal side. Photograph (9 May 2016, Normandy) by Entomolo, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

[Posted on 12 December 2025]

For the Year 2026, the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence chooses the Theme of “Transformations and Renewals” for exploration as part of its activities and projects. This choice stands within our tradition (since 2022) of a theme to guide and inspire the interconnected subjects and interwoven strands of activities and projects for the year.

On this choice and its aims, scope, and activities, see:

Transformations and Renewals: RGME Theme for the Year 2026.

Here, as we approach the Year 2026, we survey this tradition and its choices with successes and growth for individual years.

RGME Themes for the Year (since 2023)

Milan, Casa Campanini, Entry Gate, designed by Alfredo Campanini (1873–1926). Photograph by Giovanni Dall’Orto (26 February 2008), Share Alike 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Last year, the RGME chose the Theme of “Thresholds and Communities”, which our multiple activities developed in a variety of ways.

The choice emerged in conversations reflecting upon the strong benefits of the previous year’s choice, “Bridges” as an overarching theme for 2024 and its year’s funded Project “Between Past and Future”, designed for “Building Bridges between Special Collections and Teaching for the Liberal Arts”.

For 2023, our Theme of “Materials and Access” drew guidance and inspiration through the funded 2023 Project on the “RGME Library & Archives” and the Spring and Autumn Symposia on “Materials and Access”.

For our first Theme for the Year in 2022, “Structured Knowledge” (chosen by our new Editorial Committee), the year’s activities explored such subjects as “Catalogues, Metadata, and Databases” in RGME Episodes and our 2022 Spring and Autumn Symposia on Structures for and Supports of Knowledge.

2025
“Thresholds and Communities”

“Agents and Agencies”

2025 Spring Symposium Poster, Set in RGME Bembino.

2024
“Bridges”

Bridges for Our Anniversary Year 2024

For example:

2024 RGME Spring Symposium at Vassar College

2024 RGME Inaugural Session at the International Medieval Congress at Leeds

RGME @ 2024 IMC at Leeds: Poster 2 set in RGME Bembino, with border.

2023
“Materials and Access”

2023 Spring and Autumn Symposia

2023 Spring Symposium. “From the Ground Up”
2023 Autumn Symposium. “Between Earth and Sky”

2023 Spring Pre-Symposium/Symposium Booklet Front Cover.

2022
“Structured Knowledge”

See our 2022 Spring and Autumn Symposia:

“Structures of Knowledge” (Spring)
“Supports for Knowledge” (Autumn)

2022 Autumn Symposium Program Booklet, Front Cover (Page 1)

**********

Questions? Suggestions?

Leave your comments or questions below
Contact Us

Visit our Social Media:

our FaceBook Page (https://www.facebook.com/people/Research-Group-on-Manuscript-Evidence/100064718795029/)
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our Bluesky nest @rgmesocial.bluesky.social)
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Join the Friends of the RGME.

*****************

Tags: RGME Symposia, RGME Theme for the Year, Thematic Directions
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Archives

Featured Posts

A Medieval Missal Fragment in Latin on Vellum Reused as the Early-Modern Binding Cover for Erasmus Reinhold, Prutenicae Tabulae (1585)

I. The Printed Book

Title Page

II. The Reused Manuscript Fragment

Front Cover of the Printed Copy: Side 1 of the Reused Manuscript Fragment

Spine

Back Cover Side 2 of the Reused Manuscript Fragment

Details

Back (Middle): Column B, Inner Margins, Gutter, and Initial of Column A

Front (Middle)

The Medieval Fragment

Report!

2026 RGME Colloquium at The Grolier Club

“Transformations and Renewals” Examining and Celebrating Treasures of the Grolier Club Library

Wednesday 11 February 2026 Hybrid, in Two Events: Workshop + Roundtable

The Nature of the Event

Speakers and/or Panelists

Presider/Moderator for Roundtable

Book-Signings at Roundtable for Grolier Authors’ Publications

I. The “Transformations and Renewals” Roundtable in the Grolier Club Exhibition Hall (Hybrid, Live-Streamed) 6:00 to 7:30 pm EST (GMT-4)

Overview

The Panelists prepare

The RGME Executive Director introduces the Panel

The Roundtable Presider introduces the Panelists

II. The “Show-Off-and-Tell” Workshop in the Grolier Club Council Room (Hybrid, Zoom Meeting) 2:30 to 4:30 pm EST (GMT-4)

Overview

Setting the stage

Preparing the Projection

Describing the genre, challenges, and accomplishments of BlockBooks

The Table Laid for Display of Original Materials

Checking details

Closer Looks

The Long View as the Table is Set

Comparing Notes

Hybrid Access

Background and Foreground: An Approach with Grounding

Event Publications

Program

Posters

Colloquium Booklet

Questions? Suggestions?

Join Us!

Learn about the RGME, its mission, and its activities

Register for our Events

Visit our Social Media

Join the Friends of the RGME

Register for our Events

Donations and Contributions

The Weber Leaf from Otto Ege MS 61

Small-Format Latin Vulgate Bible Laid out in 2 columns of 32 lines in Gothic Bookhand with embellishments in red, blue, and purple pigments

Formerly part of Otto Ege Manuscript 61 (Gwara, Handlist 61) Southern France, circa 1325

Mark 5:42 ([illi mandu-/]care) – 6:1 (Et egressus . . . ) – 6:38 (Quot panes ha[/-betis ite])

The Weber Leaf from Ege MS 61

The Recto

The Verso

Other Fragments from this Book?

“Announcing the Launch of RGME Bembino WP:

A High-Quality Font for Word-Processing”

Launch Date: 25 March 2026

1. Online Episode 23 of “The Research Group Speaks”

“Meet RGME Bembino: Facets of a Font” Saturday 21 February 2026

Online by Zoom Meeting 1:00-2:30 pm EST (GMT-5)

Speakers

Information and Registration

2. Online Conversation in the Grolier Club Common Room (for Grolier Club Members and Guests) Tuesday 10 March 2026 4:00–5:00 pm

“Introducing RGME Bembino: A High-Quality, Freely-Available, Multi-Lingual Digital Font”

Speakers (* = Grolier Members)

3. Hybrid Conversation for The Baxter Society

Wednesday 8 April 2026 6:00-7:00 pm EST (GMT-5)

About the Font Bembino

Permission for Use

Questions?

Donations and Contributions

This Link Redirects you to:

Program

Activities Sponsored and Co-Sponsored by the RGME at the 61st International Congress on Medieval Studies May 14–16, 2026

(Sessions variously online, in-person, and hybrid)

Sequence of RGME Activities at the 2026 Congress

A Medieval Missal Fragment
in Latin on Vellum
Reused
as the Early-Modern Binding Cover
for Erasmus Reinhold,
Prutenicae Tabulae (1585)

Front Cover of the Printed Copy:
Side 1 of the Reused Manuscript Fragment

Back Cover
Side 2 of the Reused Manuscript Fragment

2026 RGME Colloquium
at The Grolier Club

“Transformations and Renewals”
Examining and Celebrating
Treasures of the Grolier Club Library

Wednesday 11 February 2026
Hybrid, in Two Events:
Workshop
+
Roundtable

I. The “Transformations and Renewals” Roundtable
in the Grolier Club Exhibition Hall
(Hybrid, Live-Streamed)
6:00 to 7:30 pm EST (GMT-4)

II. The “Show-Off-and-Tell” Workshop
in the Grolier Club Council Room
(Hybrid, Zoom Meeting)
2:30 to 4:30 pm EST (GMT-4)

Background and Foreground:
An Approach with Grounding

The Weber Leaf
from
Otto Ege MS 61

Small-Format Latin Vulgate Bible
Laid out in 2 columns of 32 lines
in Gothic Bookhand
with embellishments in red, blue, and purple pigments

Formerly part of Otto Ege Manuscript 61 (Gwara, Handlist 61)
Southern France, circa 1325

Mark 5:42 ([illi mandu-/]care) –
6:1 (Et egressus . . . ) – 6:38 (Quot panes ha[/-betis ite])

“Announcing the Launch
of RGME Bembino WP:

A High-Quality Font
for Word-Processing”

“Meet RGME Bembino: Facets of a Font”
Saturday 21 February 2026

Online by Zoom Meeting
1:00-2:30 pm EST (GMT-5)

2. Online Conversation in the Grolier Club Common Room
(for Grolier Club Members and Guests)
Tuesday 10 March 2026
4:00–5:00 pm

“Introducing RGME Bembino:
A High-Quality, Freely-Available, Multi-Lingual Digital Font”

**Speakers (* = Grolier Members)**

Wednesday 8 April 2026
6:00-7:00 pm EST (GMT-5)

Activities Sponsored and Co-Sponsored by the RGME
at the
61st International Congress on Medieval Studies
May 14–16, 2026

Activities Sponsored and Co-Sponsored by the RGME
at the
61st International Congress on Medieval Studies
May 14–16, 2026

2026 RGME Colloquium
at The Grolier Club

“Transformations and Renewals”
Examining and Celebrating
Treasures of the Grolier Club Library

Wednesday 11 February 2026 (Hybrid, in Two Events)
Workshop + Roundtable

I. Hybrid Roundtable in the Grolier Club Exhibition Hall
6:00 to 7:30 pm EST (GMT-4)

Registration for the Roundtable
Virtual or In-Person Attendance

II. Hybrid “Show-Off-and-Tell” Workshop upstairs
preceding the Roundtable
2:30 to 4:30 pm EST (GMT-4)
with Break at 3:15–3:30 pm

Registration for the “Show-Off-and-Tell” Workshop
Virtual or In-Person Attendance

A Leaf with Patchwork
from the Saint Albans Bible
in the Collection of William Voelkle

Double columns of 46 lines in Gothic Script
with 2-line Decorated Initials, Bar-Extensions,
Foliate Ornament,
and Marginal Inhabitants (Monkey, Dragon, Bird)

Psalms 107:14 ([facerimus uir-]/tutem et ipse)
– 108:31 (a persequentibus [animam meam] )
and 109:2 ([tuorum te-]cum principium . . . )
– 110:6 (. . . operum suorum / [adnuntiabit populo suo])

Plus Cut-Out with Patch apparently from the Same Bible
Cut out (in 14 lines of one column):
Psalms 109:1–2 (Dixit Dominus domino meo . . . tuorum te-/]cum principium)
Replacement Patch (in 14 lines pasted to opposite side):
Epistle of James 1:11–15 (peccatum uero cum / [consummatum fuerit]

1. The Farrell Leaf
(from the Book of Numbers)

2. The Weber Leaf
(from the Acts of the Apostles)

3. The Voelkle Leaf
(from the Psalms
and the Epistle of James)
—A Patchwork Leaf

The Texts:
Parts of Two Different Books of the Bible

Theme for the Year for the RGME:
Journey of a Tradition

2025
“Thresholds and Communities”

2024
“Bridges”

2023
“Materials and Access”

2022
“Structured Knowledge”