A workshop, “Hidden Treasure: The Use of Medieval Manuscript Fragments in Early-Modern Bindings,” was held on Wednesday, October 10, 2012, following a lecture by Erik Kwakkel (University of Leiden). The workshop was conducted by Kwakkel and Eric J. Johnson, OSU Libraries’ Curator of Early Books and Manuscripts.
WORKSHOP
Fragments of medieval manuscripts form an unusual and exciting research object for the historian of the book. They are the heavily damaged remains of objects – books – that themselves do not survive because they were cut up by book binders in the medieval and early-modern periods to be used as binding support. Hidden in book bindings, these snippets became travelers in time, stowaways with great and important stories to tell. Using specimens from the Rare Books and Manuscripts Library this hands-on workshop introduces the most common types of fragments and shows how the unpretentious objects add to our understanding of medieval written culture.
Kwakkel’s visit was co-sponsored by History of the Book, the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, the Center for Epigraphical and Palaeographical Studies, and the Rare Books and Manuscripts Library.
Source: Website of the Working Group Literary Studies @ OSU, Institute of Humanities
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