Category Archives: Project News

Turning Over the Last Leaf…

Posted on August 29, 2014 by medievalfragments

We’ve been blogging at MedievalFragments for nearly two-and-a-half years, but like all good things, it has to come to an end sometime! The project, Turning Over a New Leaf, is coming, in part, to a conclusion, with two of its … Continue reading →

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Size Matters (Part 2): Giant Medieval Manuscripts!

Posted on August 1, 2014 by medievalfragments

By Jenny Weston In last week’s blogpost, Irene O’Daly explored the world of portable books — manuscripts that are small enough (and light enough) to be carried around by the user. In today’s post we shift our attention to the … Continue reading →

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Size Matters: Portable Medieval Manuscripts

Posted on July 25, 2014 by medievalfragments

By Irene O’Daly Medieval books were often expensive to produce, and usually the property of institutions. But some manuscripts were copied specifically for individuals, and designed to be carried on the person. Portable manuscripts come in many different forms and … Continue reading →

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Medieval Family Trees

Posted on June 27, 2014 by medievalfragments

By Jenny Weston This post was originally inspired by a recent revelation that one of my ancestors may have lived in Leiden in the early 1600s. A particularly unexpected find — given the fact that my family is from the West … Continue reading →

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Historiated Initials: Letters with a Story to Tell!

Posted on March 21, 2014 by medievalfragments

By Jenny Weston Medieval initials come in all shapes and sizes. They also come with different kinds of decoration. While some feature twisty vines, flowers, and other abstract designs, others present more detailed and distinctive figures and scenes. Known as … Continue reading →

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Medieval Book Furniture!

Posted on February 7, 2014 by medievalfragments

By Jenny Weston Today’s post is dedicated to lecterns and bookshelves — the essential furniture of the medieval book! Both of these items were regular companions of the book and they played an important role in supporting and protecting manuscripts while in … Continue reading →

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Teeny Tiny Medieval Books!

Posted on December 6, 2013 by medievalfragments

By Jenny Weston While most of the manuscripts produced in the Middle Ages are roughly the same size as today’s books, some volumes feature outrageous dimensions—either super-large or teeny tiny! Today’s blogpost is devoted to the ‘small-end’ of this spectrum, … Continue reading →

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Manuscripts for the Rich & Famous (Super Bling)!

Posted on October 25, 2013 by medievalfragments

By Jenny Weston For the most part, medieval books do not look like this: But just as some people today add chrome to their cars or gems to their watches or phone cases, some medieval people chose to add ‘bling’ to their … Continue reading →

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Writing the Word: Images of the Medieval Scribe at Work

Posted on October 18, 2013 by medievalfragments

By Irene O’Daly Scribal portraits in medieval books were fairly common, and can be an important resource for scholars attempting to reconstruct the atmosphere of a medieval scriptorium, as they provide insights into the materials used in the production of … Continue reading →

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Capless a’s and a Fringe Ligature: The Courtship of Medieval Script

Posted on October 11, 2013 by medievalfragments

By Ramona Venema Ramona is a research master in ‘Classical, Medieval Renaissance Studies’ at the University of Groningen. She is currently working as an intern for the ‘Turning Over a New Leaf Project’.  After completing a course in the fundamentals … Continue reading →

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