1) How useful were the pre-course readings?

1: The two Wieck books and de Hamel were excellent and a pleasure to read. Some of the large amount of religion reading was interesting, but much -- most -- was not, and I believe it was unnecessary for the student. 2: The readings were important to better understand the material discussed during class. 3: I felt that the pre-course reading was essential to a full enjoyment of the course. RW picked his books thoughtfully and carefully -- they clarified the themes he was teaching and resonated for me during the class. 4: The pre-course readings were great introductions to the subject matter. 5: Very, even essential. 6: Readings were central and helpful -- I continue to refer to them for various reasons (e.g. miniatures; reference on liturgy). 7: Pre-course readings extremely helpful. Give yourself plenty of time to read. 8: Excellent and voluminous. 9: INDISPENSABLE. 10: The readings were extremely helpful and quite useful during the course. 11: The readings were extremely useful. 12: Extremely relevant and very informative.

2) Were the course syllabus and other materials distributed in class useful (or will they be so in the future, after you return home)?

1: Yes. 2: Yes. RW distributed a handbook that outlined his discussions in class and that will be useful as a reviewing tool when I go back to work. 3: Extremely! I feel I have been handed a Rosetta Stone. 4: The class materials were and will be very helpful as I work with manuscripts in the library. 5: Absolutely. 6: Excellent, clear and well-organized materials; again, I will continue to refer to them (handbook, illustrations) at home. I thought the large pictures illustrating the RC Mass were very helpful. 7: Yes. 8: Very relevant to class, and will be referred to for many years to come. 9: YES. 10: All materials were extremely useful and will most definitely be of even greater use in the future. 11-12: Yes.

3) Was the intellectual level of the course content appropriate?

1-2: Yes. 3: Well, I don't know what "appropriate" means: the course was lively, fun, intellectual, and completely engaging. 4: It challenged me in an exciting way. 5: Perfect level which varied according to the needs of the class. RW is a born teacher, in addition to his wide breadth of knowledge and experience in this field. 6: RW is both scholarly in his wide knowledge of his field and an excellent teacher whose timing and explanations served to explain the various service books and place them completely in context. 7: Yes, and sometimes challenging. 8: Yes, very high. 9: VERY. 10: Entirely appropriate. 11-12: Yes.

4) If your course had field trips, were they effective?

1: I found the three hour trip to Baltimore in a van extremely onerous, though the experience at the Walters museum was very interesting. 2: Yes. The class went to the Walters Art Gallery, and we had the opportunity to look at some exhibition rooms, manuscripts as well as a very interesting video. 3: Absolutely. Our visit to the Walters was wonderful, in large part because our class time had been devoted to slides -- at a remove from these books as objects. So it was wonderful -- especially given the excellence of the collection -- to see a variety of manuscripts in their integrity. 4: The trip to the Walters was excellent, and the presentation of William Noel was classic. The afternoon in UVa's Special Collections was perfect. 5: Time exceptionally well spent at both the UVa Special Collections and at the Walters gallery in Baltimore. 6: The trip to the Walters Museum in Baltimore was first rate, excellent. The illuminated books we saw are beautiful beyond description -- it was the high point of the course -- medieval manuscripts I would never in my life otherwise have seen. 7: Yes. Walters Museum was highly relevant and reinforced material covered in class. 8: Special Collections was very good. The Walters gallery in Baltimore was the creme de la creme, the manuscripts shown well worth the six hours of travel time. WN at the Walters really put himself out on our behalf. 9: VERY. 10: One of the best parts of the week was the field trip to the Walters gallery. It was a long day -- but worth every minute! 11: The full-day at the Walters made for a very long day, but was well worth it. 12: Enormously.

5) What did you like best about the course?

1: RW's erudition and generous spirit and engaging manner. 2: I loved the variety of media such as slides, manuscripts, facsimiles, and the teacher. 3: Boy, there was so much -- I felt like I had a grin on my face all week. I think, though, if there was one thing that set this course apart as a learning experience -- for me -- it was RW's generosity as a teacher, going beyond the book knowledge and sharing with us the fruits of his experience as an art historian. 4: RW brought a wonderful energy to the course! His approach was exactly what I enjoy the most: he told me everything that he wished someone had told him. In other words, RW combined his extensive experience with manuscripts with the information he learned from books. He shared what he knew, which was a lot. 5: The entire experience has been superlative. The field trips to see the medieval manuscripts make the course material real. 6: The combination of RW's knowledge and teaching skills -- I learned a great deal about medieval book history, liturgy, and iconography quickly and clearly because of his intellectual generosity and skillful presentations. 7: Everything. 8: Lecture on the Office of the Dead. 9: RW -- magnificently prepared. 10: RW and the wonderful mix of students. The learning process was interesting, challenging, and great fun! WN at the Walters gallery was also a great instructor and added immensely to the Baltimore experience. 11: The combination of slides and exposure to actual manuscripts made it easier to understand these works and provided an excellent supplement to lectures, as did our projects involving illustration and calendars. 12: The workshop-like exercises with facsimiles, and (in the case of calendars) real manuscript leaves.

6) How could the course have been improved?

1: Replace the religion reading with other, more interesting, ancillary reading (perhaps some very basic Latin instruction and/or basic paleography, with more brief overview of religious reading). 2: I think maybe it would be interesting and helpful to include something like a session where students can browse a Book of Hours CD-ROM. 3: Make it two weeks. 4: You can't improve perfection. 5: Two weeks. 6: No improvement needed! 7: More time. GULP! 8: Not a minute could have been better. 9: NOT AT ALL. 10: Perhaps have a "Part II" next summer? 11: Perhaps some additional handouts giving (preferably in color) typical examples of the various styles of illumination. 12: I don't see how it could have been improved, but twice the content over two weeks would have been twice as enjoyable.

7) We are always concerned about the physical well-being both of the RBS teaching collections and of materials owned by UVa's Special Collections. If relevant, what suggestions do you have for the improved classroom handling of such materials used in your course this week?

1: None. 2: The handling of the material was appropriate at all times. 3: Well, it might have helped us as a class to be trusted with holding and playing through one of the manuscripts in your collection. To have been accepted in this class, we as a group are unlikely to be careless -- maybe you'll trust next year's group. 4: The collections were helpful. 5: None. 7: No comment. 8: It would have been wonderful but probably unwise to let us handle the manuscripts. 9: NONE. 10: No suggestions. 11: None. 12: Irrelevant for this class.

8) If you attended the Sunday and/or Monday night lectures, were they worth attending?

1: Both were interesting and worth attending. 2: Yes, also the exhibition in the Rotunda was very interesting. 3: Sunday was a fun overview of the school. 4: The Monday night lecture made me aware of the commitment of TB to rare book collecting and special collections. 5: Yes, quite informative. 6: Sunday night lecture attended -- it was interesting to learn something of the context and history of RBS -- I'm a first-timer. 7: Yes and no. 8: Absolutely, I always hang on TB's every word. 9: ABSOLUTELY. 10: N/A. 11: I was confused about the title of the Monday lecture, thinking it was going to be about Margaret Armstrong, but found both worth attending nonetheless. 12: Yes.

9) If you attended Museum Night, was the time profitably spent?

1: Yes. 2: N/A. 4: No. Sleeping to get ready for Thursday's trip. 5: I could not attend. 7: Did not attend. 8-10: N/A. 11: Our group chose to watch videos that would not be available to us on Thursday due to our field trip. This was very worthwhile. 12: I didn't attend. We took the time to watch the Thursday films on manuscripts on Wednesday because of our Thursday field trip.

10) Did you get your money's worth? Any final thoughts?

1: Yes. Anyone with a basic, but real, interest in medieval manuscripts will find this course exciting. If the interest is academic, they will quickly O.D. 2: The class was very enjoyable and informative. I feel I learned a lot about both manuscripts and Books of Hours and I will recommend it to other people. I would also suggest to other people to read all the books on the reading list. 3: Boy, did I. It was wonderful to have full access to a curator like RW, to meet with William Noel, and, I have to say, share this week with a bunch of folks, from different walks, with an interest like my own in manuscripts. The course preparation RW did was exquisite -- thorough, thoughtful, and infused with a passion for the subject -- I am very happy. 4: Yes. 5: No question. This experience is worth every penny and more. 6: Absolutely -- and then some! Excellent course; excellent teacher -- I'm very glad I attended it. 7: Money's worth! And more! RW is an incredible, knowledgeable person with the ability to share his knowledge of illuminated manuscripts in a comfortable manner. The instructor and course are an excellent complement to each other. An experience I will professionally be able to use in my line of work. Highly recommend. An enormous amount of prep time was quite obvious and well appreciated. The trip to Walters was well worth the three-hour drive -- reinforced and enhanced materials covered. Simply fantastic! 8: Absolutely got my money's worth. Run don't walk to RW's manuscript course. 9: ABSOLUTELY. 10: Definitely obtained "my money's worth." Advice for future students -- be certain to do all of the pre-course readings, they are essential to getting the most out of a very intense week. There is a lot to learn but RW facilitates the learning process -- one of the better instructors that I have had the privilege of knowing! 11: I have always come away from these courses invigorated and excited about the subject addressed. This was no exception. 12: Absolutely.

Number of respondents: 12

There were four general librarians with some rare book duties (35%), three book-collectors (25%), two teachers or professors (16%), one archivist or manuscript librarian (8%), one antiquarian bookseller (8%), and one library assistant in a rare book library (8%).

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