Reception Archives -

2020 Spring Symposium: Save the Date

February 15, 2020 in Announcements, Conference, Conference Announcement, Events, Index of Medieval Art, Princeton University, Reception, Uncategorized

$New York, Grolier Club, \*434.14\Aug\1470\Folio. Flavius Josephus, De antiquitate Judiaca and De bello Judaico, translated by Rufinus Aquileinensis, printed in Augsburg on paper by Johannn Schüsseler in 2 Parts, dated respectively 28 June 1470 and 23 August 1470, and bound together with a manuscript copy dated 1462 of Eusebius Caesariensis, Historia ecclesiastica.$

New York, Grolier Club, *434.14Aug1470Folio.

“From Cover to Cover”

Activities Devoted to Manuscripts, Early Printed Books & Beyond
From Collecting & Cataloguing to Deciphering & Beholding

2020 Spring Symposium
of the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence

Princeton University
Friday & Saturday 13–14 March 2020

Update 5 April 2020

The Symposium Booklet is now published and available for download. See Keeping Up: Updates for Spring 2020.

Update 9 March 2020

This event is now cancelled, as Princeton University and other institutions respond to current health concerns, and take precautions regarding travel and meetings of various kinds in person.
The Symposium might be rescheduled, conditions permitting.

Meanwhile, the Research Group aims to complete the Symposium Booklet and distribute it to contributors, registrants, and others, as a souvenir of our speakers’ good intentions. Already, as a sign of appreciation, we have adopted the custom of posting on our website the abstracts of contributors who become unable to attend to present in person (as with the 2018 Congress, among others).

This time, under wider — even global — circumstances affecting the ensemble as a whole, we wish to show appreciation for the remarkable enthusiasm and dedication for the collaborative event demonstrated by our hosts, sponsors, speakers, moderators, and others. This knowledge is something to remember with satisfaction, gratitude, and praise.

The publication could, perhaps, give a token to show for our shared efforts, and to demonstrate something of the spirit of dedication and focus which prepared to assemble for the event itself.

This aim might help to ease some of the disappointment over cancellation, while the cancellation itself might ease some uncertainties about travel at present.

P. S. Only once before, in more than 30 years of activities in many centers in the United States and elsewhere (see our Events and Congress Activities}, has the Research Group had to cancel an event. It, however, was only 1 Session among 7 sponsored and co-sponsored Sessions at the 48th International Congress on Medieval Studies in May 2013, when the Session organizer and 2 presenters were unable to travel to the Congress. We honored their intentions to contribute by continuing to record their abstracts and the statement of purpose of the Session on this website.

Similar solidarity pertains to our record of this intended 2020 Spring Symposium. A summary of this Update appears in its own post.

Here we preserve the description of the event in the updated version just before the decision to cancel this Symposium, among many gatherings at Princeton University and elsewhere at the beginning of the week in which the Symposium was planned to take place.

*****

What We Planned

Saint Andrew. Oil on Canvas. Artus Wollfort (1581–1641). Private Collection, Public Domain. Via Wikipedia Commons.

We announce the next Symposium of the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence, to be held at Princeton University on Friday afternoon and Saturday, 13–14 March 2020. This event follows from, and builds upon, our earlier events, including our 2019 Anniversary Symposium, also held at Princeton University.

Our subject this time: “From Cover to Cover”. Some say, “That Covers It”. (We might well agree.)

Such activities include Collecting, Curating, Conserving, Cataloguing, Deciphering, Editing, Reading, Teaching, Translating, Displaying, Accessing, Beholding, Reconsidering, and More. Cover to Cover.

Naturally, these activities need not necessarily occur in that order, and often they appear in combination.

In addition we consider activities dedicated to manuscripts, early printed books, and beyond, in terms (as is our custom) of both media and chronology. As often, we consider medieval manuscripts and early printed books from Western Europe, but also— as usual — we examine materials from other cultures, languages, and time-frames.

This recognition of the processes (necessarily integrated) infuses the collection of presentations and conversations which our Symposium aims to gather. In a nutshell: Food for Thought, Refreshments included.

For which ability, we have Sponsors, Hosts, Trustees, Associates, Contributors, and Volunteers heartily to thank.

On the Road

Poster 1 for 2019 Anniversary Symposium, with symposium information with images of manuscript and early printed pages..

Poster 1 for 2019 Symposium

Poster 2 for 219 Anniversary Symposium, with symposium information and 2 images of cropped initials, from 12th-century Latin manuscripts, from the Princeton University Art Museum.

Poster 2 for 2019 Symposium

Following upon, and building upon, the success of our Anniversary Symposium last year, we prepare the 2020 Spring Symposium. Its date is now set, as is the Schedule. (See below.)

For our 2019 Anniversary Symposium, see its Report and its freely downloadable 2019 Anniversary Symposium Booklet. Like the Booklet, the 2 Posters (seen here) illustrate examples of manuscripts (Western and non-Western) showcased in the Symposium, its papers, and its workshops.

All these publications, as customary, are set in our very own copyright multilingual font Bembino , and designed and laid out according with our Style Manifesto. This font is freely available through our website, for your use – whether individual, nonprofit, or commercial.

Both the font, and its descriptive Booklet, are downloadable here . We have also prepared a booklet showing its abilities in setting multiple languages, both Western and non-Western. See Multi-Lingual Bembino . Plus our Style Manifesto .

Cover Story

Now we turn to our 2020 Spring Symposium. Please register (details below).

Gladly we list the Sponsors, Speakers, and Moderators.

Speakers and Moderators (in alphabetical order)

Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Lawrence J. Schoenberg Collection, MS LJS 101, folio 1v. Opening of Boethius's translation of Aristotle's "Peri erimenias" within a collection of secular and classical texts, France, possibly at the Abbey of Fleury (Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire), 9th–11th centuries. Photograph courtesy OPenn.

Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Lawrence J. Schoenberg Collection, MS LJS 101, folio 1v. Photograph courtesy OPenn.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS latin 190, folio 1r. Opening page of the Commentarii notarum tironiarum, with an enlarged initial decorated with interlace and foliate ornament. Image via gallica.bnf.fr.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS latin 190, folio 1r. Photograph via gallica.bnf.fr.

Christine E. Bachmann (Art History Department, University of Delaware and Graduate Student Fellow 2019–2020, Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies, University of Pennsylvania)

Mildred Budny (Director, Research Group on Manuscript Evidence, Princeton)

Raymond Clemens (Curator, Early Books and Manuscripts, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven)

Meghan Constantinou (Librarian, The Grolier Club, New York, New York)

Barbara Williams Ellertson (Books as Symbols in Renaissance Art and Research Group on Manuscript Evidence)

Lynley Anne Herbert (Curator of Manuscripts and Rare Books, The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland)

Carson Koepke (Program in Medieval Studies, Yale University)

Laura Light (Director and Senior Specialist, Text Manuscripts, Les Enluminures)

John T. McQuillen (Associate Curator, Printed Books & Bindings, The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, New York)

Bernard Maisner (Bernard Maisner and Bernard Maisner, Master Calligrapher)

New York, Morgan Library & Museum, PML 7, folio P2r. Blockbook of Apocalypsis Sancti Johannis, printed in Germany circa 1468. Revelation 15:1, with hand-colored illustration.

Sabrina Minuzzi (Researcher in Early Modern History, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice)

Ronald D. Patkus (Associate Director of the Libraries for Special Collections and Vassar Head of Special Collections, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York)

Pamela Patton (Director, Index of Medieval Art at Princeton University)

Lynn Ransom (Curator of Programs, The Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies, University of Pennsylvania Libraries)

Helmut Reimitz (Professor of History and Director, Program in Medieval Studies, Princeton University)

Jessica L. Savage (Art History Specialist, Index of Medieval Art)

Barbara A. Shailor (Department of Classics, Yale University, and President, Bibliographical Society of America)

David W. Sorenson (Independent, Quincy, Massachusetts)

Kelly Tuttle (Project Cataloger, Manuscripts of the Muslim World, University of Pennsylvania Libraries)

Eric White (Curator of Rare Books and Acting Curator of Manuscripts, Special Collections, Firestone Library, Princeton University)

Princeton University Library, Rare Books and Special Collections, William H. Scheide Library, 53.8. Latin Bible in double columns of 49 lines, printed in Strasbourg by Johann Mentelin, not after 1460 CE.

Princeton University Library, Rare Books and Special Collections, William H. Scheide Library, 53.8. Latin Bible (printed in Strasbourg by Johann Mentelin, not after 1460 CE.) Photograph courtesy Princeton University Library, Rare Books and Special Collections.

The Aim

In a nutshell.

The Plan

Day 1

Friday 13 March: Classes, Workshops, Discussion, and a Reception

1) 12:00–1:00, 12:00–1:30, or 12:00–2:00pm (By Invitation)
Seminar Room of the Index of Medieval Art

“Comparing Notes about Databases: Past, Present & Futures”

An Informal Discussion

2–3) 1:00–2:45 pm or 3:00–4:45 pm
Classes on Site at Firestone Library (Registration Required and Space Limited)

For registration for these classes and the symposium, see below.

“Material Evidence: A Workshop with 15th-Century Manuscripts and Incunabules”

Classes given (twice) by Eric White, Curator of Rare Books, Princeton University Library, in the Large Classroom of Floor C (Rare Books and Special Collections) at Firestone Library

Please gather in the Lobby at the entrance to Firestone Library, for special escorted access to Floor C, where there are lockable lockers (free) for your coats and cases, before entry to Special Collections.

2) Class 1: Meet at 1:00 for 1:15–2:45 pm

3) Class 2 (repeated): Meet at 3:00 for 3:15–4:45 pm

4) Session 3:00–5:00 pm
106 McCormick Hall

“Materials, Processes & Products: A Workshop”

This workshop offers presentations by Bernard Maisner on “The Materials and Methods of Medieval & Renaissance Manuscript Gold-Illumination Techniques” and by David W. Sorenson on “An Introduction to Indian Manuscripts for the Non-Specialist”, along with curated displays of original materials in private collections and demonstrations of results from their close study.

5) Reception

5:00–7:00 pm
Lobby outside 106 McCormick Hall

Florence, Galleria degli Uffizi, Anonymous, Still Life, German school of the XVI century, circa 1510, oil on wood, 70.2 × 65 cm. Opened book with fanned leaves showing pages of text and music set out in double columns and adorned with decorated initials and illustrations. Image via Wikimedia, public domain.

Florence, Galleria degli Uffizi, Anonymous, Still Life of an Illuminated Book, German school of the XVI century, circa 1510. Opened book with fanned leaves. Image via Wikimedia, public domain.

Day 2

Saturday 14 March: Sessions, Refreshments, and Reception

106 McCormick Hall and its Lobby

6) 10:00 am – 5:30 pm

Sessions, Coffee Breaks, Lunch, and Discussion

7) Reception (5:30–7:00 pm)

2020 Symposium "From Cover to Cover" Poster 2

2020 Symposium Poster 2

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The Schedule

The Schedule is available here.

*****

Registration

Please register for the Symposium. We offer the Registration form as a downloadable pdf .

*****

Maps and Directions

Here.

*****

Please Contact us with questions and suggestions.

Watch this space and visit our FaceBook Page for updates.

We invite you to donate to our nonprofit educational mission. Donations may be tax-deductible. We welcome donations in funds and in kind: Contributions and Donations .

Please join us at the symposium, open to all. You can register here .

*****

Tags: Early Printing, manuscript fragments, Manuscript Illumination, Manuscript studies, Medieval Manuscript Fragments, Medieval Studies, Medieval Writing Materials, Spring Symposium
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2020 International Congress on Medieval Studies Program

September 18, 2019 in Abstracts of Conference Papers, Announcements, Business Meeting, Conference, Conference Announcement, International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, Manuscript Studies, Reception, Societas Magica

Research Group on Manuscript Evidence
at the 55th International Congress on Medieval Studies
7–10 May 2020

[Published on 18 September 2019, with updates.]

Baltimore, The Walters Art Museum, MS W.782, folio 15r. Van Alphen Hours. Dutch Book of Hours made for a female patron in the mid 15th century. Opening page of the Hours of the Virgin: "Here du salste opdoen mine lippen". Image via Creative Commons. At the bottom of the bordered page, an elegantly dressed woman sits before a shiny bowl- or mirror-like object, in order, perhaps, to perform skrying or to lure a unicorn.

Baltimore, The Walters Art Museum, MS W.782, folio 15r. Van Alphen Hours. Image via Creative Commons.

With the achievement of our Activities at the 2019 International Congress on Medieval Studies (ICMS), described in our 2019 Congress Report, we prepare for the 2020 Congress. With the conclusion of the Call for Papers on 15 September 2019 for our sponsored and co-sponsored Sessions, we assign the Programs for our 5 sponsored and co-sponsored Sessions. Meanwhile, we describe their aims.

Soon, when appropriate, we will announce the Programs for the Sessions and publish the Abstracts for their Papers and Responses.

*****

Our events at the Congress, as always, are designed to represent, to explore, to promote, to celebrate, and to advance aspects of our shared range of interests, fields of study, subject matter, and collaboration between younger and established scholars, teachers, and others, in multiple centers.

This year, the response to the Call for Papers for our Session on Seals received so strong a response that we have been granted 2 sessions in the place of the one as accepted. Again this year we co-sponsor Sessions with the Societas Magica (2 Sessions this year). It will be the 16th year of this co-sponsorship.

Also, like the 2015–2019 Congresses, we plan for

an Open Business Meeting and
a co-sponsored Reception.

Again, like the 2016–2018 Congresses, we co-sponsor a Reception with the Index of Medieval Art at Princeton University (formerly the Index of Christian Art).

As usual, we publish the Program for the accepted Papers, once the Call For Papers has completed its specified span. We will publish the Abstracts for these Papers as the preparations for the Congress advance and as their Authors permit. Abstracts for previous Congresses appear in our Congress Abstracts, Indexed both by Year and by Author.

Read the rest of this entry →

Tags: Bibliomancy, Divination, History of Documents, History of Magic, Manuscript studies, Medieval Seals, Prologues in Medieval Texts, Scrying, Seals & Signatures, Sortilège
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2019 International Congress on Medieval Studies Report

September 14, 2019 in Abstracts of Conference Papers, Anniversary, Announcements, Bembino, Business Meeting, Conference, Events, International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, POMONA, Reception, Reports, Societas Magica, Uncategorized

Report: Events Sponsored and Co-Sponsored
by the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence
at the 54th International Congress on Medieval Studies
9–12 May 2019

[Published on 2 June 2019. With the achievement of our Activities at the 2019 Congress, we offer this Report (Abstracts of Papers Included), while we advance with preparations for the 2020 Congress. For updates, as they evolve, please watch this space and our Facebook Page.]

Central Rock Garden at WMU International Congress on Medieval Studies at Kalamazoo May 2019. Photograph Mildred Budny.

Central Rock Garden. Photograph Mildred Budny.

In 2019, the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence celebrates its 20th year as a nonprofit educational corporation and its 30th year as an international scholarly organization. Accordingly, we hold both customary and extra-special events, both at the Congress and elsewhere. For example, shortly before the 2019 Congress, we

We have a tradition of celebrating landmark Anniversaries, both for our organization, with organizations which which we share anniversaries, and for other events. As described, for example, in our 2014 Anniversary Reflections. For 2019, our events aim to represent, to explore, to promote, to celebrate, and to advance aspects of our shared range of interests, fields of study, subject matter, and collaboration between younger and established scholars, teachers, and others, in multiple centers.

Now we Report the successful accomplishment of our Activities at the 2019 Congress.

Who, What, Why Not

As in recent years, we co-sponsored Sessions with the Societas Magica (2 Sessions). It is the 14th year of this co-sponsorship, and the first year of co-sponsorship with the newly-founded organization Polytheism-Oriented Medievalists of North America (P.-O.M.O.N.A).

Also, like the 2015–2018 Congresses, we held

an Open Business Meeting, with a convenient downloadable 2019 Agenda, and
a co-sponsored Reception.

As usual, we publish the Program for the accepted Papers, as their Authors permit. Abstracts for previous Congresses appear in our Congress Abstracts, conveniently Indexed both by Year and by Author.

Read the rest of this entry →

Tags: Animals in Celtic Magical Texts, Beinecke Takamiya MS 23, Business Meeting, Celtic Magical Texts, Classical Deities, Classical Deities in Medieval Northern European Contexts, Dionysus, Ecstasy Defense, Grettisfærsla, Hêliand, History of Magic, Lapidaries, Mary Moody Emerson, Medieval manuscripts, Medieval Studies, P.-O.M.o.N.A., Reception, Societas Magica
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2019 Anniversary Symposium Report: The Roads Taken

July 28, 2019 in Abstracts of Conference Papers, Anniversary, Announcements, Bembino, Conference, Index of Medieval Art, Manuscript Studies, Princeton University, Reception, Reports

The Roads Taken, Or, The Obstacle Course

Challenges & Opportunities for
Assessing the Origins, Travels & Arrivals
of Manuscripts & Early Printed Materials

2019 Anniversary Symposium
of the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence

Princeton University
Friday 26 & Saturday 27 April 2019

Co-Sponsored by The Bibliographical Society of America

Rejoined Pieces of a Leaf from a Book of Hours. Private Collection.

The Plan

In 2019 the Research Group on Manuscript [and Other] Evidence celebrates 20 years as a nonprofit educational corporation based in Princeton, and 30 years as an international scholarly society founded at the Parker Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. Across the years, we have engaged in multiple events in many places, over multiple manuscripts and other original sources, and on a broad range of subjects. We celebrate our friends, colleagues, hosts, donors, volunteers, and subjects of study.

As part of these celebrations, our Anniversary Symposium took place at Princeton University, host of many of our events over the years, as remembered here. Sponsorship for this Symposium included Sponsors from earlier years, as well as new sponsorship by The Bibliographical Society of America and by Vassar College .

2019 Anniversary Symposium Booklet Cover Page

Read the rest of this entry →

Tags: Anniversary Symposium, Early Printing, manuscript fragments
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2018 International Congress on Medieval Studies Report

May 22, 2018 in Abstracts of Conference Papers, Announcements, Business Meeting, Conference, Conference Announcement, ICMS, Index of Christian Art, Index of Medieval Art, International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, Manuscript Studies, Princeton University, Reception, Societas Magica

Report: Sessions & Events
Sponsored and Co-Sponsored
by the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence
at the 53rd International Congress on Medieval Studies
10–13 May 2018

[Published on 23 May 2018, with updates]

20180514_131049 The Scene of the Time the Morning After cropped more

“The Scene of the Time” Photography by Mildred Budny.

With the completion of our Call for Papers for the 2018 Congress, we prepared the Programs for our Sessions and other Events — Reception and Open Business Meeting included. With the turn of the New Year, as customary, we began to add the Abstracts of Papers and Response, as their Authors permit, to our webpost announcing our activities for the 2018 Congress Program. Next, with the publication of the full Congress Program in a “sneak preview” at the beginning of February, the allocated times and locations become known. Also, as time progressed, more Abstracts joined our gathering Report.

Now we report the Congress activities as they occurred. You Are Here.

A Behind The Scenes Report gathers momentum as well. Coming Soon to a Screen Near You. Watch This Place.

Background and Foreground

The course of announcements and reports about the 2018 Congress may follow the sequence of previous years. For example, for the 2018 Congress, we announced the Plans and the Call for Papers (which has a deadline of 15 September), the Program (once the Sessions are designed from the responses to the Call for Papers), then an updated version or versions of the Program with the addition of the Abstracts and other news (same URL), and, once the Congress is accomplished, a Report as well as, it may be, a Report Behind the Scenes.

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As in recent years, we co-sponsored Sessions with the Societas Magica (3 Sessions), and we co-sponsor a Reception.

Also, like the 2017 Congress, we held

an Open Business Meeting and
a Reception, co-sponsored with The Index of Medieval Art at Princeton University.

It is the 13th year of our co-sponsorship with the Societas Magica, and our 3rd year of co-sponsorship with the Index of Christian Art at Princeton University, now (since 2017) known as the Index of Medieval Art at Princeton University.

As usual, we publish the Abstracts for the accepted Papers. Both they and the Abstracts for previous Congresses appear in our Congress Abstracts, listed by Year and by Author.

Read the rest of this entry →

Tags: Business Meeting, Index of Christian Art at Princeton University, Index of Medieval Art at Princeton University, International Congress on Medieval Studies, Reception, Societas Magica
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Research Group Archives

September 24, 2016 in Events, International Congress on Medieval Studies, Manuscript Studies, Parker Library, Photographic Exhibition, Reception, Seminars on Manuscript Evidence, Uncategorized

Our Archives

[First published on 24 September, 2016, with updates]

As our website (You are Here) records more and more of our activities, which continue to advance and to expand, we also present more elements from our organization’s archives. These elements take various forms, on paper, in photographs, in print, and in scanned materials.

Our Websites (2007‒)

Our official website is a generous, long-term donation by our Webmaster, our Associate Jesse D. Hurlbut. Designed and maintained by Jesse, it is updated by our WebEditor, Mildred Budny, with contributions by Guest Bloggers and Administrators. It is one of our principal Publications, whose number continues to grow.

Our First Website (2007‒2014)

From the first, once we received a website (2007‒), it began to report our activities variously in progress and in preparation. In a series of Pages, it published our Profile (formerly circulated only in print — as with the Profile dated October 1992 — but now online, with updates, starting with our Front Page). With our Mission statement on the Front Page, this first website presented a series of Pages outlined in its sidebar. It named our Officers, Associates, and Volunteers, described our various events, listed our Publications, and more.

That first website is archived in some “snapshots” by the Wayback Machine.

Thenceforth, the Wayback Machine has captured snapshots of our new website (You are Here), starting in June 2015.

June 24, 2015

In the transition between websites (2014), the first site (Drupal) remained active, as a site archived online and still accessible directly, while the second site (WordPress) was launched, albeit with some “teething problems”.

As preserved in a final snapshot via the Wayback Machine (December 17, 2014), the first site proclaimed its obsolescent state prominently at the top of the Front Page:

PLEASE NOTE: OUR WEBSITE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION. We are upgrading and redesigning our website. While we transfer materials from this site (our first website), to the new one, it is now available for viewing: http://manuscriptevidence.org/wpme/). The new site allows for images and other media, so that we can illustrate our activities and publish more of our materials.

At that time in our history, when we could launch our first website in 2007, our principal activities in the form of scholarly gatherings focused upon the Congress Activities (1993‒1995, 1997, and 2004‒), occurring at the annual International Congress of Medieval Studies, held at Kalamazoo each May. Soon, we resumed the tradition of other events as well.

For convenience, we come to distinguish between these many “Congress Activities” (1993‒1995, 1997, and 2004‒) and our other “Events”, which occur elsewhere. Those Events take the forms notably of Seminars, Workshops, Colloquia, and Symposia (1989–).

Another group of Events comprises our Photographic Exhibitions and Masterclasses. They overlap in significant ways with our growing list of Publications, which appear in print and electronic forms.

Our Second Website (2014–)

Snapshots of our second, redesigned website (You are Here) appear in the Wayback Machine.

And so on. The archive presents 11 snapshots for 2016 and 6 for 2017. See manuscriptevidence.org there. Thus the Internet Archive contributes (arbitrarily) to the records of our history outside our own sphere.

With the upgrade and redesign of our website (launched in 2014), we could display more materials, in both images and downloadable pdfs. This opened the path to set up Galleries of Images, for example to show you the Posters for our Events and our Congress Activities, to exhibit examples of our Layout Designs, to display Photographs from our Events, Activities, and Research Discoveries, and to give you more of our Publications, including the Program Booklets for Events and Activities and the Booklets publishing some of our Research Discoveries.

Other Social Media

Research Group on Manuscript Evidence Page on Facebook (2011–). Set up and maintained principally by Mildred Budny.

Seminars, Workshops, Colloquia & Symposia (1989‒)

One of the first phases of the process of opening the Research Group Archives for our website focused upon the Early Years of our Seminars, Workshops, and Symposia, which occurred regularly as part of the collaborative Research Project at the Parker Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, from which the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence emerged. This “First Series” was principally dedicated to Seminars on “The Evidence of Manuscripts” (1989‒1995). Organized or co-organized by Mildred Budny, these events took place mainly at the Parker Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and occasionally at other centers in England, Japan, and the United States.

View Toward the Entrance to the Parker Library in mid-1989 photograph © Mildred Budny

Following the move of our principal base to the Princeton in 1994, we developed a wide-ranging further series of Seminars, Workshops, Colloquia, and Symposia. First among them was the annual series of Symposia on “The Transmission of the Bible” (1995‒2000), held in turn at Princeton, Rutgers, and Fordham Universities. There followed the The New Series of Symposia, Colloquia, Workshops & Seminars (2001–), held at a variety of centers, including Princeton University.

While the Research Group continued its Congress Activities at the International Congress on Medieval Studies, with the addition annually (since 2014) of a Reception and an Open Business Meeting (and its handy 1-page Agenda, available on our website), we have also begun the tradition of Sponsored Panels at the Annual Convention of the Midwest Modern Language Association (2016‒).

As the redesigned website took fuller shape, and the work of presenting more of our archival evidence, the site could include a blog on Manuscript Studies (2014–), which, among other things, showcases some discoveries from our long-term, as well as recent, research. See the Contents List for the blog, arranged mainly by subjects and materials.

Detail of an initial M on the verso of the leaf. Photography by Mildred Budny

M for ‘Manus’ (‘Hand’), Bouquets Included

Interviews

A new series of Interviews, in various forms, reflects upon our origins and history as an organization, as well as our publications and activities.

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More is on the way. Watch this Space.

*****

Tags: Archives, International Congress on Medieval Studies, Parker Library, Seminars on Manuscript Evidence
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Doctor Who-Done-It

June 24, 2016 in Conference, Events, International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, Reception, Reports

Behind the Scenes
at the 2016 International Congress on Medieval Studies

Who Done It? We Did Good!

(With the Useful Discovery that Our Director Apparently Drives a Tardis)

Our Director continues the Reports for our Activities at the 51st International Congress on Medieval Studies, starting with the 2016 Congress Report.

Now, as a second installment for the Report, for the first time in our history, we tell about some experiences Behind the Scenes. With Thanks, Naming Names.

Read the rest of this entry →

Tags: Archaeology of Manuscripts, Bembino Digital Font, Center for Medieval and Early Modern Studies at the University of Florida, History of Magic, History of Paper, Index of Christian Art, Manuscript studies, Manuscripts & Early Printed Books, Medieval Writing Materials, Pont Neuf, Societas Magica
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2016 Symposium on ‘Words & Deeds’ Report

June 9, 2016 in Abstracts of Conference Papers, Bembino, Conference, Reception, Reports

Detail of initial from Beinecke leaf from 'Otto Ege Manuscript 35'. Otto Ege Collection, The Beinecke Manuscript and Rare Book Library, Yale University. Photography by Lisa Fagin Davis. Reproduced by permission.

Otto Ege Collection, The Beinecke Manuscript and Rare Book Library, Yale University. Photograph by Lisa Fagin Davis.

‘Words & Deeds’ Symposium Report

With the smooth accomplishment of the Symposium on ‘Words & Deeds’ at Princeton University on 25–26 March 2016, it is time for the Report.

As is our custom, the Save-the-Date Announcement and the Poster(s) for the event, as well as the Program, circulated ahead of time (both in paper and online), in stages as they called for updates. They did so, for example, as the Sponsors gathered in number, and as the event initially intended for a day’s span extended into one and one-half days, to accommodate the increasing number of Speakers, Panelists, and Sessions.

[Note: We have now corrected the next link, for the Program Booklet. It should work correctly. If not, please let us know.]

The Program Booklet, containing both the Program and the Abstracts of Papers, made its debut, as is customary, on the day itself in print. In this case, the generous donation of so many images — some of which featured in our post announcing the event — encouraged us to include a greater number and to extend across a larger number of pages than ever before for one of our Symposia. Extraordinary.

Now we publish those materials online. In addition, the happy completion of the Symposium calls for a description of its character, account of certain changes in plan, and a celebration of its enthusiastic dedication of expertise and collegial discourse.

Read the rest of this entry →

Tags: Amulets, Book of Hours, Christian Liturgy, Department of Art & Archaeology, Early Modern Studies, Early Printing, Fragmentology, Gutenberg Press, Hortus Deliciarum, Index of Christian Art, Indulgences, Late-Antique Theater, manuscript fragments, Manuscript studies, Mazarine MS 2013, Medieval Documents, Medieval manuscripts, Otto Ege, Otto Ege MS 14, Otto Ege MS 15, Otto Ege MS 35, Otto Ege MS 44, Saint-Denis, Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies, Wax Seals, Yale University
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2016 Congress Report

May 19, 2016 in Abstracts of Conference Papers, Bembino, Business Meeting, Conference, ICMS, Kalamazoo, Reception, Reports

Jesse Meyer demonstrates the squirrel parchment prepared for the Research Group's Session, at the 51st International Congress on Medieval Studies. 13 May 2016. Photography © Mildred Budny

Show & Tell. Photography by Mildred Budny

51st International Congress on Medieval Studies

12–15 May 2016

Report

[Published on 18 May 2016, with updates]

The Research Group on Manuscript Evidence reports its activities accomplished at the 2016 International Congress on Medieval Studies, held at Kalamazoo, Michigan.

After the completion of

our Congress Planning, which reported the Sessions selected by the Congress Committee,
our 2016 Congress Call for Papers, which described the aims of the Sessions, and
our Congress Program, which set forth the schedule for our Sessions and other Activities
(together with the Abstracts of some Papers),

we now Report its achievements. They include the notice of a couple of late changes to the Program of individual Sessions, the unveiling — with the publication here — of both the Posters for our multiple activities at the Congress and an illustrated Program Booklet for a pair of co-sponsored Sessions, and other developments. These publications, as is our practice, are set in our copyright multilingual font Bembino and laid out in accordance with our Style Manifesto. You may view them below.

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Tags: Balkan Studies, Bembino, Business Meeting, Center for Medieval and Early Modern Studies at the University of Florida, History of Paper, Index of Christian Art at Princeton University, magic in manuscript, Medieval Writing Materials, Parchment making, Reception, Societas Magica
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2016 Congress Program

January 11, 2016 in Business Meeting, Conference Announcement, International Congress on Medieval Studies, Reception

51st International Congress on Medieval Studies

12–15 May 2016

Program

[Published on 11 January 2016, with updates]

After the completion of the 2016 Congress Call for Papers, which described the aims of the sessions, and the Congress Planning, which reported the Sessions selected by the Congress Committee, the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence advances with the planning for its 4 sponsored and co-sponsored sessions for the next International Congress on Medieval Studies.

Now we announce the programs. The Congress Schedule reveals the time- and room-assignments. Also, we begin to publish Abstracts of the papers, as their authors might wish.

*****

The next Congress will be the eleventh year of our co-sponsorship with the Societas Magica, the third year of co-sponsorship with the Center for Medieval and Early Modern Studies at the University of Florida, and the second year of co-sponsorship with the Index of Christian Art at Princeton University.

Our 2014 and 2015 sessions and receptions with these organizations are illustrated in the 2014 Congress Report and 2015 Congress Report. The history of our sponsorships and co-sponsorships at the Congress is recorded for our Sponsored Sessions and Co-Sponsored Congress Sessions, and in our blog.

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Tags: Balkan Studies, Byzantine Studies, Center for Medieval and Early Modern Studies at the University of Florida, History of Magic, History of Paper, History of the Crusades, Index of Christian Art at Princeton University, Medieval Studies, Medieval Writing Materials, Mirror as Image, Mirror as Other, Ottoman Studies, Parchment making, Societas Magica
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Archives

“From Cover to Cover”

Activities Devoted to Manuscripts, Early Printed Books & Beyond From Collecting & Cataloguing to Deciphering & Beholding

2020 Spring Symposium of the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence

Princeton University Friday & Saturday 13–14 March 2020

What We Planned

Sponsors

On the Road

Cover Story

Speakers and Moderators (in alphabetical order)

The Aim

The Plan

Day 1

Friday 13 March: Classes, Workshops, Discussion, and a Reception

1) 12:00–1:00, 12:00–1:30, or 12:00–2:00pm (By Invitation) Seminar Room of the Index of Medieval Art

2–3) 1:00–2:45 pm or 3:00–4:45 pm Classes on Site at Firestone Library (Registration Required and Space Limited)

4) Session 3:00–5:00 pm 106 McCormick Hall

5) Reception

Day 2

Saturday 14 March: Sessions, Refreshments, and Reception

106 McCormick Hall and its Lobby

6) 10:00 am – 5:30 pm

7) Reception (5:30–7:00 pm)

The Schedule

Registration

Maps and Directions

Research Group on Manuscript Evidence at the 55th International Congress on Medieval Studies 7–10 May 2020

Report: Events Sponsored and Co-Sponsored by the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence at the 54th International Congress on Medieval Studies 9–12 May 2019

The Roads Taken, Or, The Obstacle Course

Challenges & Opportunities for Assessing the Origins, Travels & Arrivals of Manuscripts & Early Printed Materials

2019 Anniversary Symposium of the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence

Princeton University Friday 26 & Saturday 27 April 2019

Co-Sponsored by The Bibliographical Society of America

Sponsors

The Plan

Report: Sessions & Events Sponsored and Co-Sponsored by the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence at the 53rd International Congress on Medieval Studies 10–13 May 2018

Background and Foreground

Our Archives

Our Websites (2007‒)

Our First Website (2007‒2014)

Our Second Website (2014–)

Other Social Media

Seminars, Workshops, Colloquia & Symposia (1989‒)

Interviews

Behind the Scenes at the 2016 International Congress on Medieval Studies

Who Done It? We Did Good!

‘Words & Deeds’ Symposium Report

51st International Congress on Medieval Studies

12–15 May 2016

Report

51st International Congress on Medieval Studies

12–15 May 2016

Program

Activities Devoted to Manuscripts, Early Printed Books & Beyond
From Collecting & Cataloguing to Deciphering & Beholding

2020 Spring Symposium
of the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence

Princeton University
Friday & Saturday 13–14 March 2020

1) 12:00–1:00, 12:00–1:30, or 12:00–2:00pm (By Invitation)
Seminar Room of the Index of Medieval Art

2–3) 1:00–2:45 pm or 3:00–4:45 pm
Classes on Site at Firestone Library (Registration Required and Space Limited)

4) Session 3:00–5:00 pm
106 McCormick Hall

Research Group on Manuscript Evidence
at the 55th International Congress on Medieval Studies
7–10 May 2020

Report: Events Sponsored and Co-Sponsored
by the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence
at the 54th International Congress on Medieval Studies
9–12 May 2019

Challenges & Opportunities for
Assessing the Origins, Travels & Arrivals
of Manuscripts & Early Printed Materials

2019 Anniversary Symposium
of the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence

Princeton University
Friday 26 & Saturday 27 April 2019

Report: Sessions & Events
Sponsored and Co-Sponsored
by the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence
at the 53rd International Congress on Medieval Studies
10–13 May 2018

Behind the Scenes
at the 2016 International Congress on Medieval Studies