RGME Activities in 2023
and
Activities Planned for 2024
Summary and Prospects
Companion
for the 2024 Anniversary Appeal Letter
2023 Activities
Theme for the Year: “Materials and Access”
In 2023, we undertook a variety of activities in support of our mission, including the following:
• Hosting Episodes 10-14 of our online presentation series, “The Research Group Speaks”,
on a wide variety of subjects and materials, medieval and other (February–November)
Episode 10 (February)
Barbara Heritage on Stages of Composition in Charlotte Brontë’s Fair Copy of “Shirley”
Episode 11 (July)
Episode 11 with Michael Allman Conraad on “Gamified Numbers”
Episode 12 (August)
Vajra Regan on Engraved Magic and Astrological Imagery.
Episode 13 (September)
Bridget Whearty on “Making Digital Codicology: Research and Writing in Community”
Episode 14 (November)
Translating “The Latin Hermetica” by Committee
• Holding our online Spring and Autumn Symposia on “Materials and Access” (March and October):
Part I “From the Ground Up” (25 March)
Part II “Between Earth and Sky” (21 October),
— with Illustrated Booklets (including the Spring Pre-Symposium (see below)
2023 Spring and Autumn Symposia
2023 Spring Symposium “From the Ground Up”
2023 Autumn Symposium “Between Earth and Sky”
• Holding an Inaugural Pre-Symposium to accompany the Spring Symposium with a series of Lightning Talks selected from responses to a circulated Call for Papers
Co-organized by Katharine C. Chandler, Jennifer Larson, and Jessica L. Savage
“Intrepid Borders: Marginalia in Medieval and Early Modern Books” (24 March)
2023 Pre-Symposium on “Intrepid Borders”
• Sponsoring and co-sponsoring five Conference Sessions at the 58th International Congress on Medieval Studies, with these Co-sponsors (May)
Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies, POMONA, and Societas Magica
Organizers: William Campbell, Phillip Bernhardt-House, Mildred Budny, David Porreca
- 2023 International Congress on Medieval Studies: Program
- 2023 International Congress on Medieval Studies: Report
• Holding our annual Open Business Meetings, both Pre-Congress and Congress (April–May), with a published annual Report and Agendas
• Hosting a celebratory Reception at the Congress, with these co-sponsors:
Index of Medieval Art and Societas Magica
• Continuing with our program of Publications
Updates and blogposts for our website, email circulars, Symposium Booklets, Report Booklets, Posters for our Sessions at the 2023 ICMS, and other texts
Publications
Manuscript Studies (blog): Contents List
• Advancing with the next version of our own multi-lingual digital font, to add, for example, fonts for Tibetan (High Uchen-Style) and Hindi (Devenāgarī) to the languages supported
- Bembino (Version 1.5 so far)
- Multi-Lingual Bembino
• Launching Phase 1 (2023), funded by The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, through its Research Libraries Program, for work on the RGME Library & Archives as a collection, now and for the future:
“Building the Plan for Recording, Structuring, and Accessing the RGME Library & Archives”
(January–December)
Grant from The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation for the RGME Lbrary & Archives in 2023
• Beginning RGME Recordings Phase 1 (2023), supported by the same grant from The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, for the post-production work to process and edit the RGME Recordings accumulating from our online events (April–December)
• Making a secure transition for our official Website, as our long-term Webmaster (2004–2023), Jesse Hurlbut, retired as RGME WebMaster on 30 June, and we welcomed our new Acting Webmaster, Augustine Dickinson
• Forming new RGME Committees (unpaid) to guide our expanding activities, projects, and organizational responsibilities:
RGME Website Advisory Committee
RGME Fund-Raising Committee
RGME Recordings Editorial Team
RGME Task Force for the RGME Library & Archives
RGME Advisory Board
They work in tandem with our Editorial Committee (2022–)
• Drafting, revising, and adopting documents for Policies & Procedures and guiding our multiple activities and responsibilities as a nonprofit educational corporation. For example:
RGME Privacy Policy Statement
RGME Intellectual Property (IP) Statement and Agreements
• Welcoming our new Honorary Invited Associates:
Linda Civitello, Barbara Heritage, Jessica L. Savage, Bridget Whearty, and N. Kivilcim Yavuz
Officers, Associates, and Volunteers
• Founding by request the “Friends of the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence”, as a gathering point for donors, contributors, volunteers, visitors, and others
• Preparing for 2024 Events, including more Episodes, Symposia, Conference Sessions, and Anniversary Celebrations
“Bridges” for our 2024 Anniversary Year
“The Research Group Speaks”: The Series
2024 Anniversary Symposium in Thanks to Jesse Hurlbut: Program
2024 Anniversary Symposium in Thanks to Jesse Hurlbut: Plan
2024 Spring Symposium at Vassar College
2024 International Congress on Medieval Studies: Call for Papers
2024 International Medieval Congress at Leeds: Call for Papers
• Launching our 2024 Anniversary Appeal
*****
“Study on a Medieval Bridge” at Amares, Braga District, Portugal. Image by Pedro Nuno Caetano (2019) via Wikimedia Commons via Creative Commons 2.0 Generic.
2024 Planned Activities
Theme for the Year: “Bridges”
For 2024, an RGME Anniversary Year, we plan activities and projects which continue our practices and series, and add some new ones or make adaptations and developments from previous or continuing ones. Some are subject to funding, as with the three-day Spring Symposium and work of RGME Library & Archives project Phase 2: “Building upon The Plan” set out in Phase 1 in 2023.
• Hosting Episodes 15+ of our online presentation series, “The Research Group Speaks” (from January), starting with:
• Holding a special Anniversary Symposium (online) to thank our retired WebMaster (February):
“MANUSCRIPT (HE)ART: A Symposium for Jesse Hurlbut” (RGME WebMaster Emeritus)
Organized by Jessica L. Savage and Katharine C. Chandler
2024 Anniversary Symposium in Thanks to Jesse Hurlbut: Program
2024 Anniversary Symposium in Thanks to Jesse Hurlbut: Plan
• Holding our Spring Symposium (hybrid) at Vassar College (April)
“Between Past and Future:
Building Bridges between Special Collections and Teaching for the Liberal Arts”
2024 Spring Symposium at Vassar College
• Convening our annual Pre-Congress Business Meeting and Congress Business Meeting (May), with the annual Report for the Business Meetings
• Co-sponsoring three Conference Sessions at the 59th International Congress on Medieval Studies at Kalamazoo
Co-sponsors: Societas Magica, POMONA, and Postal History at Kalamazoo (May)
2024 International Congress on Medieval Studies: Call for Papers
2024 International Congress on Medieval Studies: Program
• Sponsoring our Inaugural Session at the 11th International Medieval Congress at Leeds, U.K. (with its theme “Crisis”):
“Building Bridges ‘Over Troubled Waters’ for 25 Years (and Counting)” (July)
2024 International Medieval Congress at Leeds: Call for Papers
2024 International Medieval Congress at Leeds: Program
• Hosting RGME Anniversary Celebrations: Receptions, Parties, and “Anniversary Highlights”
• Fostering the community of “Friends of the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence” with its Donors & Contributors
• Continuing the work of the RGME Committees (unpaid) to guide our activities, projects, and organizational responsibilities
• Continuing our RGME Library & Archives project in Phase 2, subject to funding:
“Building Upon The Plan” (January–December), to work on the survey, catalogue, access, etc.
• Moving to Phase 2 for RGME Recordings (Post-Production) of the backlog for our online events, subject to funding, with the preparation of more recordings for access and publication
• Continuing our series of Publications with:
Blogposts, Symposium Booklets, Posters, Report Booklets, Recordings, and an Anthology
• Seeking Funding for:
We have four main goals, besides our ongoing programs and projects such as “The Research Group Speaks”, sessions at the Congresses, research on manuscript and related studies, and our Symposia:
• Expanding our tiny endowment to provide stability in funding by the ability to cover ongoing costs
• Growing “The Constable Fund” in honor of the late Giles Constable († 2021), medieval historian, Honorary Trustee, and mentor, for purposes he wished to promote within and with the RGME
• Editing, transcribing, and presenting the Recordings of our online events
• Supporting our overworked volunteer Director with essential administrative assistance and its funding
*****
Questions or suggestions?
Contact [email protected].
Donations
Would you like to make a Donation? Please visit either:
Or download our Donation Form.
Thanks
We thank you for your interest, advice, and support.
Louvre Abu Dabhi, Department of Paintings, “The Moneylender and his Wife” by Quentin Massys (1456/1466–1530), 1514. Image Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons, from The Yorck Project compilation, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
*****