We are happy to announce that our innovative and successful (no false modesty here) program, Manuscripts in the Curriculum, is continuing, in a slightly different form as MITC II.
Historical and Cosmological Anthology, England, probably London, c. 1325, f. 120v. A School Scene, with three students seated on the floor, each with an open book, flanked by a seated figure in academic(?) garb holding a scroll.
In January of 2017 we launched “Manuscripts in the Curriculum I,” which allowed colleges and universities to borrow a group of medieval manuscripts for a semester to use for teaching and exhibitions. You can read about it here and here. Our manuscripts have travelled from British Columbia, Canada (the University of Victoria), to Malibu, California (Pepperdine University), to Rochester, New York (the University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology), to Albany, New York (SUNY at Albany). They are currently at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.
At each stop, they have been greeted enthusiastically, enlivening reading rooms and class rooms. Nothing brings the past to life as vividly as the experience of holding a medieval manuscript in your hand, turning its pages, reading and looking, and breathing it all in. Medieval manuscripts are direct, physical links to the past
This pilot program has been such a success that we have decided to continue it in a slightly revised form as “Manuscripts in the Curriculum II,” which will begin in September 2019. A smaller group of nine manuscripts will be available for loan, including representative examples of types of medieval books (curious? keep reading, and see below).
There is a nominal cost ($5,000) for North American institutions to contribute towards the out-of-pocket expenses of the program (with an additional fee for participating Canadian institutions for international shipping and customs). The fee covers administration, insurance, shipping, condition reports, and study guides.
We are asking that institutions send us an application this time. Nothing formidable; just a way for us to get to know you, and to encourage participants to think about practicalities at the outset. So if you are interested, please submit a brief application (no more than three pages in length) outlining the course(s) planned, and other internal and public events (lectures, receptions, colloquia), as well as any special requests for “wild card” manuscripts; a plan for integrating the use of manuscripts in the curriculum after the conclusion of the program; the names of faculty and library staff responsible for overseeing and funding the program; and the preferred semester with a second choice listed (from September 2019 through September 2021).
We are currently reading the first group of applications, but if you haven’t applied, please know that we will welcome additional applications at any time until the program is fully subscribed.
What manuscripts will we send you? We will send a group of nine manuscripts; two of the nine will be “wildcards,” allowing each institution to choose manuscripts particularly suited to their own program. The group of manuscripts sent will change each semester of the program, but will include:
1. A thirteenth-century Bible;
TM 892, Vulgate Bible, England, c. 1260-1275
2. a Psalter;
TM 789, Psalter, Southern Germany (diocese of Constance or Augsburg), c. 1240-60
3. a Book of Hours;
BOH 159, Book of Hours (Use of Rome?), Southern Netherlands, Ghent or Bruges, c. 1480
4. a music manuscript;
TM 953, Ritual with Services for Funerals and the Anniversary of Death, Western Germany or Eastern Low Countries, c. 1450-1475 with 18th-century additions
5. a manuscript for the Mass or Office;
TM 517, Breviary (Use of Rome), Northern Italy (Verona?), dated 1456
6. a humanist manuscript from fifteenth-century Italy;
TM 928, Gaspare Veronese, Rules of Construction; Guarino Veronese, On Diphthongs, Central Italy (Florence?), c. 1460-1470
7. a sermon manuscript;
TM 857, Hendrik Herp, Sermons on the Three Parts of Penitence and Sermons for Advent, The Low Countries (Antwerp, Mechelen), c. 1470-1490
And two WILDCARDS!
This is just to give you an idea of the possibilities. The actual manuscripts chosen will depend on our current inventory when the program begins. Just imagine what fun you will have … Studying medieval manuscripts in the classroom is an amazing experience for both students and teachers. At Les Enluminures, we are all committed to making this happen far and wide!
For information: lauralight@lesenluminures.com
To read news and reviews of the program to date: http://www.textmanuscripts.com/curatorial-services/manuscripts
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