RBS Manuscripts Course Offerings
Students with a limited background in this field may wish to begin with Barbara Shailor's The Book in the Manuscript Era (H-20) before taking Roger Wieck's Introduction to Illuminated Manuscripts (M-50) . Albert Derolez's Introduction to Codicology (M-20) requires at least some knowledge of Latin, and his Latin Paleography, 1100-1500 (M-40) is aimed at specialists who have already had previous formal exposure to paleography. Christopher Clarkson's Medieval and Early Renaissance Bookbinding Structures (B-40) attracts both conservators and those with a more general interest in early manuscripts. In 2004, Nicolas Barker will teach an Introduction to European Handwriting (M-80).
M-10. Introduction to Paleography, 800-1500
Consuelo Detschke
This course provides an introduction to the basic scripts and the text typologies of the western European Middle Ages and the Renaissance from 800 to 1500, with focus on reading and transcription. In admitting students to the class, the instructor will prefer those with at least a beginning knowledge of Latin. In this course, recognition of the main types of script in their letter forms, abbreviations and decorative hierarchies entertwines with manifestations of text types to build a foundation for eventual advanced study in paleography. Awareness of terminologies of the field (for description of letter forms) and of conventions of the field (for transcription of medieval manuscripts) will aid in work on primary sources, as well as in interpretation of secondary sources. While a certain amount of time will be given over to lectures, the main concentration will be practical work sessions. Examples of actual manuscripts will be drawn from the collections of the Walters Art Museum; they will be combined with electronic images from the online Digital Scriptorium.
In their personal statement, applicants should describe the degree of their present knowledge of Latin and their reasons for wishing to take this course.
M-20. Introduction to Codicology
Albert Derolez
The principles, bibliography, and methodology of the analysis and description of Western medieval and Renaissance manuscripts. The course includes a survey of the development of the physical features of manuscript books and practical work by the students on particular points. This is a course for non- specialists, but applicants must have considerable background in the historical humanities; in admitting students to the class, the instructor will prefer those with at least an introductory knowledge of Latin.
Traditional research on manuscripts of the Middle Ages and Renaissance is based principally on the study of script and illumination. Without neglecting these important aspects, this course will show that there are other -- and sometimes more conclusive -- means to approach the codex and to uncover the information it conveys. The course will deal with MS materials, structure, layout, script and decoration, showing how to investigate and describe these features.
It will consist of both lecture and work sessions. The first will cover the principles, bibliography, and methodology of codicology, i.e. the broad analysis and description of Western medieval and Renaissance MSS, as well as general information on materials, structures, script, and decoration. They will also comprise a broad chronological survey of the physical features of manuscript books from Late Antiquity up to the Renaissance. This part of the course will be based on a discussion of slides and the specialized literature.
In the work sessions, students will perform tasks based on printed catalogs of MSS as well as on MSS fragments and complete MSS in the possession of RBS and the Walters Art Museum.
In their personal statement, applicants should describe the degree of their present knowledge of Latin.
M-40. Latin Paleography, 1100-1500
Albert Derolez
An introduction to this neglected field, including reading, transcribing (and expanding abbreviations), identification, classification, dating and localization of the principal kinds of Gothic and humanistic book script. Examples of Latin texts (and, exceptionally, French and English ones) will be studied from photocopies, slides, and manuscript fragments. The course is designed for all those who have to deal with late medieval MSS. Applicants should have a good basic knowledge of Latin and at least some previous formal exposure to paleography.
For many years, there has been a striking contrast in the scholarly attitude toward Latin scripts of the early and of the later Middle Ages. While the paleography of the early medieval and Caroline periods has been the object of serious academic study, late medieval scripts have hitherto mostly been examined (1) for reading literary and documentary texts and (2) for dating manuscripts. As manuscripts of the later Middle Ages are incomparably more numerous than early medieval codices, this is a paradoxical situation, one that needs to be redressed. Accordingly, this course will try to systematize our knowledge about the gothic and humanistic scripts in all their diversity of forms and styles. It will include: the examination and reading of examples of Latin texts (exceptionally French or English ones); the study of abbreviations; the typology and nomenclature of scripts, according to the Lieftinck-Gumbert system and other systems; the dating and localization of scripts; the techniques and principles of historical and diplomatic transcription and editing. Students will be required to make a series of transcriptions.
The course will have a practical character, concentrating on a broad range of scripts. Starting from the tangled image presented by late medieval manuscripts, a much-needed systematization will be developed, and gothic and humanistic scripts will be given a place in the history of handwriting in the West.
The course is intended for scholars and researchers, librarians and antiquarian booksellers with a basic knowledge of Latin who, sooner or later, are likely to deal with late medieval manuscripts. All students in this course must have had some previous formal introduction to paleography; in their personal statement, applicants should indicate the extent of their previous paleographic training and their knowledge of Latin, and briefly describe any relevant research projects on which they are now (or shortly expect to be) working.
M-50. Introduction to Illuminated Manuscripts
Roger S. Wieck
This course is aimed at those who, whether by professional or personal interests, seek some basics on what can be a difficult field. Because of their light-sensitive nature, manuscripts are almost never on permanent exhibition anywhere; furthermore, their consultation is often restricted to the learned few. The course will emphasize illumination, and will thus discuss chronological and stylistic development, iconography, nomenclature (how all those "Masters of ?" get their names) and other pertinent terminology, and text/picture relationships. The course will concentrate on liturgical service books, and thus lectures will treat such relevant topics as Medieval Catholic dogma, liturgical practices, calendars and concepts of time, and rubrics.
The course will be taught through slides, facsimiles, and the Morgan Library's manuscripts. Because this genre is the instructor's specialization, Books of Hours will receive special scrutiny.
M-85. Introduction to Islamic Manuscripts
Marianna Shreve Simpson
Though the arts of the manuscript book constitute one of the most vital forms of artistic creativity and practice within the Islamic world, they have received relatively little attention within the general field of manuscript studies in Europe and America. This course provides an introduction to the history of Islamic manuscripts and the constituent arts of calligraphy, illumination, illustration and binding from the origins of Islam in the c7 through the early modern period (c16-c17), encompassing the full range of historical cultures (Arab, Persian, Turkish and Indian). Within a chronological framework, course topics include: the codicology of Islamic manuscripts (materials and techniques); issues of text, style, iconography, meaning and aesthetics; and the human dimension of manuscript production (collaboration between artists of diverse crafts in a workshop setting, the role of patrons in supporting the bookmaking enterprise over the centuries). The course will be taught primarily through the rich (though little known) collection of Islamic manuscripts at the Walters Art Museum.
In their application statements, students should describe the extent of their general background in manuscript studies and give their reasons for wishing to take this course. Some familiarity with Islamic history and culture is desirable, though it is not a course prerequisite.