The materiality of medieval manuscripts

The article presents the author’s Inaugural Lecture for the Chair in German Medieval Literature and Linguistics, delivered on Thursday 21 January 2016. The subject of the lecture is a new acquisition by the Bodleian Library in Oxford, a psalter written ca. 1500 by the nun Margaret Hopes in the Ciste...

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Main Author: Laehnemann, H
Format: Journal article
Published: Taylor and Francis 2016
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author Laehnemann, H
author_facet Laehnemann, H
author_sort Laehnemann, H
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description The article presents the author’s Inaugural Lecture for the Chair in German Medieval Literature and Linguistics, delivered on Thursday 21 January 2016. The subject of the lecture is a new acquisition by the Bodleian Library in Oxford, a psalter written ca. 1500 by the nun Margaret Hopes in the Cistercian convent of Medingen near Lüneburg, MS. Don. e. 248. The hypothesis advanced is that the nuns use the materiality of their prayer-book as the embodiment of their devotion. The psalter is analysed in terms of its physical realisation (material, layout, writing, corrections, music, illustrations, and additions) and its execution interpreted as a spiritual act. The journey of the manuscript beyond the Middle Ages is highlighted through the accommodation of the manuscript to the Lutheran Reformation and the addition of a bone plaque with a floral border in the nineteenth century, reflecting the contemporary concept of the medieval object. The purpose of the lecture is an enquiry into the changing history of manuscripts as objects of devotional, antiquarian and scholarly interest.
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spelling oxford-uuid:e2d01cdc-914c-4838-81ee-37401ac8e6232022-03-27T10:04:19ZThe materiality of medieval manuscriptsJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:e2d01cdc-914c-4838-81ee-37401ac8e623Symplectic Elements at OxfordTaylor and Francis2016Laehnemann, HThe article presents the author’s Inaugural Lecture for the Chair in German Medieval Literature and Linguistics, delivered on Thursday 21 January 2016. The subject of the lecture is a new acquisition by the Bodleian Library in Oxford, a psalter written ca. 1500 by the nun Margaret Hopes in the Cistercian convent of Medingen near Lüneburg, MS. Don. e. 248. The hypothesis advanced is that the nuns use the materiality of their prayer-book as the embodiment of their devotion. The psalter is analysed in terms of its physical realisation (material, layout, writing, corrections, music, illustrations, and additions) and its execution interpreted as a spiritual act. The journey of the manuscript beyond the Middle Ages is highlighted through the accommodation of the manuscript to the Lutheran Reformation and the addition of a bone plaque with a floral border in the nineteenth century, reflecting the contemporary concept of the medieval object. The purpose of the lecture is an enquiry into the changing history of manuscripts as objects of devotional, antiquarian and scholarly interest.
spellingShingle Laehnemann, H
The materiality of medieval manuscripts
title The materiality of medieval manuscripts
title_full The materiality of medieval manuscripts
title_fullStr The materiality of medieval manuscripts
title_full_unstemmed The materiality of medieval manuscripts
title_short The materiality of medieval manuscripts
title_sort materiality of medieval manuscripts
work_keys_str_mv AT laehnemannh thematerialityofmedievalmanuscripts
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