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2020 International Congress on Medieval Studies Program Announced

January 18, 2020 in Abstracts of Conference Papers, Announcements, Bembino, Business Meeting, Conference, Conference Announcement, Index of Christian Art, Index of Medieval Art, International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, Societas Magica

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

Program Announced

[Published on 18 January 2020.]

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 have assigned their Programs and reported them to the Congress Committee.

Now, as the new year begins, we announce the programs as well as our other activities at the 2020 Congress. Soon we will, as is our custom, 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).

Abstracts for previous Congresses appear in our Congress Abstracts, Indexed both by Year and by Author. The Abstracts for this year’s Congress will join their company.

Read the rest of this entry →

Tags: 'Toulouse deformity', Bibliomancy, Divination, History of Documents, History of Magic, Manuscript studies, Medieval Seals, Scrying, Seals and Signatures, Sortilège
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A Leaf from Prime in a Large-Format Latin Breviary

January 1, 2020 in Manuscript Studies, Uncategorized

Leaf “4” from Prime in a Large-Format Latin Breviary

Spain, 16th or 17th century

Single columns in 14 lines
circa 395 x 515 mm
with Foliate and Floral Decorated Initials

J. S. Wagner Collection

J. S. Wagner Collection. King David as Penitent from a Book of Hours.

[Published on 1 January 2020, with updates]

We continue our series of reports revealing unknown witnesses to the creativity of written materials, manuscript and in print, across the centuries. See the Contents List for this blog for discoveries so far and unfolding.

Now, with thanks to the collector, who brought this and other manuscript and early-printed materials to our attention, we offer images of a detached leaf from a large-format manuscript for liturgical use.

Already we showcased another leaf in that collection. It has an illustrated opening for one or another of the Penitential Psalms — we can’t know which one, given that its few visible opening lines pertain to 2 Psalms — depicting the Old Testament King David in his penitence, with crown and lyre set to one side. The publication of that illustration, and the gathering advice of experts whom we could ask, led to improved knowledge about the probable orgin of the leaf and its original manuscript. A similar process commences with this next leaf, also from a religious manuscript.

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Tags: Antiphonary, Antiphons, Dispersed Manuscript Leaves, Dotted Letter I, Floral Decoration, Gloria Patri, Hour of Prime, Latin Breviary, Manuscripts from Spain, Missal, Psalm 117 (118), Psalm 53, Roman Breviary, Sarum Breviary
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“Gutenberg and After” at Princeton University Library

December 11, 2019 in Book & Exhibition Reviews, Princeton University, Uncategorized

Guided Tours 2019

Gutenberg & Friends

Among the events for our 2019 Anniversary Year (see below), the Research Group enjoys a set of Guided Tours by our Associate Eric White, Curator of Rare Books in Special Collections of Princeton University Libraries. He guides us through his co-curated Exhibition at Princeton University Library on Gutenberg and After: Europe’s First Printers 1450-1470 (12 September 2019 – 15 December 2019).

These tours, which include members of the Princeton Bibliophiles and Book Collectors (a subgroup of the Friends of the Princeton University Libraries), occured on Monday, 18 November, and Friday 13 December. In appreciation, we took Eric for refreshments afterward nearby.

Thus, it was possible not only to ask questions during the tour itself, but also to reflect further in conversations emerging from those direct, expertly guided encounters with the materials themselves.

Armchair Exhibition

More information about the exhibition, its background, and its selected exhibits, is presented online. Enjoy!

Close Up & Personal

Accompanying the exhibition is an online series of 7 short, thematic essays focusing upon selected aspects of the materials and their evidence.

1. Authenticity

Princeton University Library. “La Grant Danse Macabre” (Lyons, 1499), one of two surviving copies. It contains the earliest depiction of a printing shop, albeit accompanied by animated cadavers.

2. Indulgences

Princeton University Library, Special Collections. Printed Cyprus Indulgence, 31 Lines. (Mainz: Johann Gutenberg, 1454).

3. Illumination

Princeton University Library, Scheide Library. Gutenberg Bible of 1455. Opening Page of I Kings.

4. Uniqueness

Princeton University Library, Scheide Library. CALIXTUS III, BULLA THURCORUM (Mainz: Gutenberg, late 1456), opening page.

5. Johann Neumeister

Princeton University Library, Scheide Library. Turrecremata, “Meditations” (Albi: Johann Neumeister, 1481).

6. Fragments

Princeton University Library, Scheide Library. Donatus, “Ars minor” on vellum (Mainz: almost certainly Johann Gutenberg and Johann Fust, perhaps ca. 1453-54), fragment.

7. Survivals

Princeton University Library, Scheide Library. Mainz Psalter on vellum (Mainz: Johann Fust and Peter Schoeffer, 14 August 1457), folio 98.

Round-Up

These articles are stored here:

Inside Milberg Gallery “Gutenberg and After” .

An online exhibition displays detailed views: here . There, exploration is possible among the options of “Printer”, “Publisher”, “Subject”, “Language”. For example, seaching by “Printer” and selecting Gutenberg, Johann yields closer views and detailed descriptions of 7 exhibited items, with their digital facsimiles. Thus it is possible virtually to turn their pages, from

1. The 2-volume Gutenberg Bible of circa 1455 from Mainz in the Scheide Collection, with its original Erfurt binding and illuminations

7. A reused leaf from a Gutenberg Bible in the Princeton University Library, in its converted state as a vellum binding cover for a 1666 lawbook — seen here at the left in the exhibtion.

Princeton University Library. Gutenberg Bible Leaves Recycled as Binding Materials. Photograph by Mildred Budny.

Previews

2019 Symposium Booklet, Cover Page

2016 Symposium Program Booklet, Cover Page.

Eric White presented some of the discoveries which appear in the exhibition earlier for 2 of our Research Group Symposia at Princeton University, including our Symposium in this Anniversary Year.

Words and Deeds (2016)
The Roads Taken (2019)

The booklets for these Symposia (downloadable through those links) include the abstracts of Eric’s papers and some accompanying images — which present materials included in the current exhibition. His presentations and workshops for those events gave helpful preparation for viewing the exhibition and for learning more from Eric’s guided tours.

We thank him for teaching us more about these challenging, intriguing, and ground-breaking materials in the history of books. We look forward to learning more.

*****

Preparations are on course for a printed catalogue of the exhibition. More to discover!

*****

Anniversary Celebrations

These events in Princeton form part of our activities during 2019, a landmark Anniversary Year for the Research Group on Manuscript [and Other] Evidence. They include:

Specially Guided Tours for the RGME at the the Princeton University Exhibition on Gutenberg and After (November and December)
Permanent Panel at the Midwest Duality and Manuscript Evidence at the Midwest Modern Language Association 2019 Convention (November)
2019 International Congress on Medieval Studies (May)
2019 Anniversary Symposium on “The Roads Taken” (April)

Watch This Space

Building upon the momentum of events for our Anniversary Year, we plan more events for 2020. Among them are the activities for the 2020 International Congress on Medieval Studies in May.

Also a Symposium at Princeton University in the Spring. Perhaps with more news about the background and foreground of the Gutenberg and Beyond Exhibition? Hopeful.

Join Us

Please Contact Us with your questions and suggestions.

For updates, please visit this site, our News & Views, and our Facebook Page .

For our nonprofit educational mission, with tax-exempt status, youd donations in funds and in kind (expertise, materials, time) are welcome.

Join us!

Tags: Early Printed Fragments reused in Bindings, Early Printing, Eric White, Fragments, Gutenberg Bible, Gutenberg Press, Indulgences, Johannes Gutenberg, Milberg Gallery
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The Penitent King David from a Book of Hours

November 27, 2019 in Manuscript Studies

Detached Manuscript Leaf on Vellum
with Framed Illustration and Text

King David with Crown and Lyre
at the Opening of Psalm 6 or 37 (38) in Latin from a Book of Hours

At least circa 125 × 160 mm (as framed and matted)

Rouen, circa 1480–90
or Western France circa 1470

J. S. Wagner Collection

[Posted on 27 November 2019, with updates, for which we thank our Honorary Trustee, James H. Marrow, and our Honorary Invited Associate, Gregory T. Clark.]

J. S. Wagner Collection, Detached Leaf. Opening of Psalm 6 or 37 (38) in 4 lines.

Continuing our exploration of manuscript fragments in our Blog on Manuscript Studies, we welcome a new addition to the quest. See the Contents List for this blog, mostly written by Mildred Budny, for the series of revelations.

From the collection of J. S. Wagner, we offer images from a detached leaf on Vellum in Latin apparently from a Book of Hours. Some of our earlier posts have addressed Books of Hours. See our Contents List.

At present, the Wagner leaf is contained within a frame, so that only one side is visible. It might be the recto or verso of the leaf. If the former, the reader and beholder would have to turn the page in order to advance to the sequential text. If the latter, the facing page would have manifested it at a glance.

As it stands, the page presents the illustrated opening of one of the Penitential Psalms in Latin in the Vulgate Version from a luxurious Book of Hours. The ambition of its production is manifested by the script, illustration, and decoration, as well as the use of gold and other pigments. The quality of the execution, however, exhibits some haste in places.

The set of Penitential Psalms comprise Psalms 6, 31, 37, 50, 101, 129, and 142 (that is, 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143 in the Hebrew numbering).
The opening of text upon the page corresponds to Verse 1 of both Psalm 6 and Psalm 37 (38). See below for those options. That is, at present, given the state of the leaf, we don’t know which.

Now contained within a frame behind glass, this page might represent the recto or the verso of the leaf. For example, if the other side (if the verso) continues the text, it would establish which Psalm is represented. If the other side (if the recto) is the formerly previous text, then it might designate some Psalm or otherwise in the liturgical sequence.

Needless to say, problems aplenty can arise when a leaf is excised and dispersed without accompanying information. (Examples and their challenges appear in many of our blogposts. See our Contents List.)

Call it detective work, and you would be right on track. The good thing is that sharing of images and information might yield increased knowledge. We thank the owner for sharing his images with us, and we thank our friends, colleagues, Associates, and Trustees for helping to discover more information about the center from which this leaf came.

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Tags: "Beyond Use" website, Book of Hours, Books of Hours, Crown, Flemish Psalter Illustration, J.S. Wagner Collection, King David, Lyre, Museu Gulbenkian LA 135, Penitent Psalms, Playfair Hours, Poitiers, Psalm 37 (38), Psalm 6, Rouen
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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. 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.

*****

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.]

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 →

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2019 M-MLA Panel Program

August 18, 2019 in Announcements, M-MLA, Manuscript Studies, Midwest Modern Language Association, Uncategorized

Bust of the God Janus. Vatican City, Vatican Museums. Photo by Fubar Obfusco via Wikimedia Commons.

“Duality and Manuscript Evidence”

2019 Panel Sponsored by the
Research Group on Manuscript Evidence
at the
Midwest Modern Language Association (M-MLA)

2019 Convention
Chicago, Illinois
November 14–17, 2019

[Posted on 17 August 2019, with updates]

Poster announcing the Call for Papers for the Permanent Panels sponsored by the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence, to be held at the 2019 MMLA Convention in Chicago in November. Poster set in RGME Bembino and designed by Justin Hastings.

Poster designed by Justin Hastings

The Research Group on Manuscript Evidence, in keeping with the MMLA conference’s theme of “Duality, Doubles, and Doppelgängers” for the 2019 Convention in Chicago, sponsors a panel on duality in manuscripts, broadly conceived.

Following the conclusion of our Call for Papers for the Panel, we announce its Program.

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

And now, on 14 November, we announce its successful accomplishment. Hurray!

This event in Chicago formed part of our activities during 2019, a landmark Anniversary Year for the Research Group on Manuscript [and Other] Evidence. Others include:

Specially Guided Tours for the RGME at the the Princeton University Exhibition on Gutenberg and After (November and December)
2010 International Medieval Studies (May)
2019 Anniversary Symposium on “The Roads Taken” (April)

“Duality and Manuscript Evidence” at the M-MLA

Thursday, 14 November 2019, 4:00–5:15 pm

Chair: Justin Hastings (Loyola University Chicago)

1. Morgan Aronson (US Naval Observatory Library)
“A Text Twice Born: Exploring the Origin of a Scientific Manuscript”

Namely the treatise on hydrodynamics by Abbé Edme Mariotte (1620–1684), posthumously published in French in 1686, with a second edition in French in 1700, and with an English translation in 1718 by John Theophilus Desaguliers. Morgan’s paper introduces a manuscript of another English translation, dated apparently to 1690, also with illustrations.

Abstract of Paper

By Edme Mariotte - [1], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2565164

Title Page of Oeuvres de Mr. Mariotte (Leiden, 3 volumes: 1717). Via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain.

Title-page for the First Printed English Translation

Title-page of first printed English translation of Mariotte’s treatise (1718). Collection of Ronald K. Smeltzer.

Some of the Illustrations

Plate I in the first printed English translation of Mariotte's treatise. Collection of Ronald K. Smeltzer.

Plate I in the first printed English translation of Mariotte’s treatise (1718). Collection of Ronald K. Smeltzer.

Plate IIII [IV] in the first printed English translation of Mariotte’s treatise (1718). Collection of Ronald K. Smeltzer.

2. Emily Sharrett (Loyola University Chicago)

[Former Title]

“Generating London out of Roman Remains:
(1598, 1603)”

Namely the Survey of London (1598) by John Stow (1524/25 – 5 April 1605).

Church of St Andrew Undershaft, City of London,. Monument with effigy of John Stow, with arms of the Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors, and with Latin inscription: “Either act by writing or write by reading”. Image via Wikipedia Commons.

[Update: Final Title]

“Moral Guidebook from Medieval Bohemia: A Study of Newberry Library MS 31.1”

3. Justin Hastings
“Emily Dickinson’s Choosing:
Biblical Intertext and Fascicle 33”

Namely the poems assembled in Fascicle 33 (of 40 Fascicles assembled between 1858–1865) by the American poet Emily Dickinson (1830–1886).

Abstract of Paper

Handout for Paper

mons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21206329. Amherst, Massachusetts, Amherst College Archives, Special Collections, Daguerreotype taken at Mount Holyoke, December 1846 or early 1847; the only authenticated portrait of Emily Dickinson after childhood. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Amherst, Massachusetts, Amherst College Archives, Special Collections, Daguerreotype taken at Mount Holyoke, December 1846 or early 1847; the only authenticated portrait of Emily Dickinson after childhood. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

We thank Justin and Morgan for providing detailed handouts for the session and for the Research Group, as projection during the session proved unfeasible. Their resourcefulness and generosity are gratefully recognized.

Likewise, we thank our Associate, Ronald H. Smeltzer, dedicated collector of books on the history of science, for his generosity in providing photographs, displayed here with permission, of his copies of the first French edition and the first printed English translation of Mariotte’s treatise.

*****

Information about the 2020 M-MLA Convention appears on the MMLA website: MMLA Convention.

*****

We renew our thanks for the expert initiatives by our Associate Justin Hastings. This will be the 4th year that the Research Group sponsors Permanent Panels at the Annual Convention of the Midwest Modern Language Association.

2018 M-MLA Panel on “Consuming Cultures and Manuscript Evidence”
2017 M-MLA Panel on “Artists, Activists, and Manuscript Evidence”
2017 M-MLA Panel Report
“Marginalia in Manuscripts and Books” for the 2018 M-MLA
2016 M-MLA Report

As customary for our Sessions at the International Congress on Medieval Studies, we publish the Abstracts of the Papers for our Panels at the M-MLA Convention in our Panel Announcements and Reports.

It is a special pleasure that our panel at this year’s Convention form part of our current anniversary celebrations. 2019 marks the 20th anniversary of our nonprofit educational corporation based in Princeton, New Jersey, and the 30th anniversary of our international scholarly society founded at the Parker Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.

*****

The continuation of the tradition of Permanent Panels at the M-MLA Convention is most welcome, and we thank our organizer, Justin Hastings, and the Midwest Modern Language Association. We congratulate Justin for his expert organizational skills and outstanding collegiality, and we applaud his willingness to continue to organize the panels for the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence.

*****

Further information about the Convention and the Call for Papers for Permanent Panels can be found on the M-MLA website:

Please Contact Us with your questions and suggestions. We prepare for further activities.

*****

Tags: Anniversary, Edme Mariotte, Emily Dickinson, History of Hydraulics, John Stow, John Theophilus Desaguliers, Midwest Modern Language Association, Survey of London
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2020 ICMS Call for Papers: Seal the Real

August 11, 2019 in Announcements, Conference, Kalamazoo, Manuscript Studies, Uncategorized

Call for Papers

Session Sponsored
by the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence
at the 55th International Congress on Medieval Studies
(7–10 May 2020)

Deadline for Proposals: 15 September 2019

With the achievement of our Activities at the 2019 International Congress on Medieval Studies (ICMS), as announced in our 2019 Congress Program, we prepare the program for the 2020 Congress.

The Call for Papers for our 4 sponsored and co-sponsored Sessions describes their range and aims. Here we announce a specialized Call for Papers for 1 of our 4 sponsored and co-sponsored Sessions: “Seal the Real”.

Read the rest of this entry →

Tags: History of Documents, medieval seal-matrices, Medieval Seals
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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

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Tags: Anniversary Symposium, Early Printing, manuscript fragments
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Heidere Diplomas & Investiture

July 24, 2019 in Design, Events, Parties, Uncategorized

Celebration of Collegiality

Our tradition over the years in the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence, from our earliest days, is to thank people who have contributed to our mission and activities by inviting them to join our group of Honorary Invited Associates. Our Associates belong to different walks of life, both educational and beyond in the wider world, as their accomplishments and interests amply demonstrate.

The Associates in Early Years, Listed on Our Letterhead

At first, we listed our Associates on our Letterhead —once we had chosen our name, selected our official Font, designed our Logo, laid out our official Letterhead, and accomplished related tasks — as shown, for example, in some Invitation Letters to the Seminars and Workshops during our years as a group emerging from our innovative Research Project at The Parker Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge . (The process of our design choices, letterhead included, are considered in the Interview with Our Font and Layout Designer .)

An example of our Letterhead in Action, Associates Included (12 November 1993):

Invitation Letter Page 1 for Workshop on 'Corpus Christi College MS 41' on 11 December 1993

Invitation Letter on RGME Letterhead for Workshop on 11 December 1993

Moving our principal base to the New World in October 1994, we continued to follow this practice. The Invitations to Symposia and other Events, however, took the forms of Posters, Save the Date Announcements, and Booklets, beyond the Letterhead practices.

Associates Now, Listed on our Website, Once We Had One (2007–)

With the arrival of our website — thanks to the generous donation of our Associate and WebMaster, Jesse Hurlbut — in its first, Drupal, version (2007–2014) and then in its revised, expanded, and updated WordPress version (2014–), it became possible to list online (if they permitted) our Officers, Associates, and Volunteers .

To start with, we listed names, with locations or affiliations, as before, tout court. Then, encouraged by our Associate Ioana Georgescu, given the extra facilities of the WordPress site (2014–), we added links and pictures (as our Associates agreed), so as to enliven the list of Names with ‘attributes’ and with ‘appearances’.

A Special Case, Diplomas Included

Between those stages, there arose a new and special case when we invited James Heidere to become an Associate of the Research Group. He accepted the invitation, and asked for a Diploma.

Responding to his convivial style, we made sure to provide a Diploma worthy of framing and displaying among his other Diplomas, while we also thought that a larger version might be worthy of the competition. Also, with one large-size version, why not make two? And so, and lo.

The Diplomas

Here, in response to his request, are the Versions of Jim’s RGME Diplomas.

Not only did we think that he deserved an enlarged Diploma, better to stand out on his wall of diplomas, we also believed that, given his and our spirit, he ought to have a comparable outlandish version, puns included. The choice of a dramatic border with interlace patterns for a frame seemed obvious.

And so:

The Official Version

Diploma 1

The Unofficial Version

Diploma Version 2

The ‘Investiture’ Ceremony, with Roger Reynolds as Officiant

The ceremony took place on 1 April 2002, in Roger Reynold’s apartment at the Institute for Advanced Study, with Roger officiating and with gathered witnesses.

The Diploma Display

The framed diplomas took there place on the Dentist Office Wall and on the Kitchen Wall, by turns, as I can attest, having seen the in both places. In fact, sometimes they changed places, with the Official and the Unoffocial Versions turning up otherwise. Occasionally, my own copy might appear in a Research Group celebration, as at a party at the home of our Associates David Immerman and Pamela Jones, where Jim posed beside one of his Diplomas. The Official one, as might be.

James Heidere with his RGME Associate’s ‘Diploma’

We thank Jim for his many generous contributions to our activities, and in good spirits. We wish him the very best in future projects!

*****

Tags: design layout, Interlace, Research Group designs
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Research Group on Manuscript Evidence at the 55th International Congress on Medieval Studies 7–10 May 2020

Leaf “4” from Prime in a Large-Format Latin Breviary

Spain, 16th or 17th century

Single columns in 14 lines circa 395 x 515 mm with Foliate and Floral Decorated Initials

J. S. Wagner Collection

Guided Tours 2019

Gutenberg & Friends

Armchair Exhibition

Close Up & Personal

Round-Up

Previews

Anniversary Celebrations

Watch This Space

Join Us

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

“Duality and Manuscript Evidence”

2019 Panel Sponsored by the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence at the Midwest Modern Language Association (M-MLA)

2019 Convention Chicago, Illinois November 14–17, 2019

“Duality and Manuscript Evidence” at the M-MLA

Call for Papers

Session Sponsored by the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence at the 55th International Congress on Medieval Studies (7–10 May 2020)

Deadline for Proposals: 15 September 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

Celebration of Collegiality

The Associates in Early Years, Listed on Our Letterhead

Associates Now, Listed on our Website, Once We Had One (2007–)

A Special Case, Diplomas Included

The Diplomas

The Official Version

The Unofficial Version

The ‘Investiture’ Ceremony, with Roger Reynolds as Officiant

The Diploma Display

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

Single columns in 14 lines
circa 395 x 515 mm
with Foliate and Floral Decorated Initials

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

2019 Panel Sponsored by the
Research Group on Manuscript Evidence
at the
Midwest Modern Language Association (M-MLA)

2019 Convention
Chicago, Illinois
November 14–17, 2019

Session Sponsored
by the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence
at the 55th International Congress on Medieval Studies
(7–10 May 2020)

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