Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies

@sims-mss.bsky.social

We post about manuscripts, mostly from UPenn. SIMS brings manuscript culture, modern technology and people together.
https://schoenberginstitute.org/

@sims-mss.bsky.social

On Monday we held our second History of Text Technologies workshop - writing with quills! We looked at manuscripts, mostly in Carolingian script, and talked about paleography, ink, and scribal practice. Then we tried it on our own! Find out more about the HTT series here: https://bit.ly/4rglCcE

Photo of two students writing with quills!Photo of two students writing with quillsPhoto of a sheet of paper with fancy writing on it. The first few lines have a few random words and letters written on them. Next is written "The Quick Brown Fox Jumped Over The Lazy Dog" and the next four lines read "Andrew Duncan Donuts" "Jeff Joehnk" "Rosie Kins" and "Bonnie Kins"
@sims-mss.bsky.social

Last week we held our annual New Acquisitions Showcase, featuring books acquired by the Kislak Center for Special Collections over the previous year. This year, we have a nice handful of manuscripts, including a very rare Middle English folding almanac. Full list here: https://bit.ly/47bJF37

43. Folding medical and astrological almanac. England, after 1415. Ms. Codex 2368. A newly discovered “bat book”, not listed in the existing corpus of sixty-three such manuscripts and one of only two known examples in Middle English (the other is in the British Library); it combines a calendar, astronomical tables, medical information, and a Zodiac Man. https://find.library.upenn.edu/catalog/9979897615803681 51. Cicero, De officiis. Italy, between 1425 and 1475. Ms. Codex 2379. A manuscript copy of Cicero's De officiis, one of the foundational texts of Western moral philosophy, preserves a work that for centuries served simultaneously as a schoolbook, ethical manual, and introduction to classical Latin. https://find.library.upenn.edu/catalog/9979828269303681 65. Vincent of Beauvais, Speculum Doctrinale. Cologne, 1400–25. Ms. Codex 2398. A manuscript of the theological volume of Vincent of Beauvais's “Great Mirror” (the others are devoted to Nature and History, respectively), particularly interesting due to the fact that it was owned by Penn English professor Albert C. Baugh (1891–1981) and included in a 1928 campus exhibition. https://find.library.upenn.edu/catalog/9979748714703681 Franciscan breviary and ritual. Bologna?, 1452–54. Ms. Codex 2400. A small, dense manuscript used for the Divine Office and other liturgical ceremonies, which includes calendars, Easter tables, offices for Franciscan saints, and texts for blessings, exorcisms, and last rites. https://find.library.upenn.edu/catalog/9979897342603681
@enniusredloeb.bsky.socialReposted by @sims-mss.bsky.social

Yom Kippur in 2026 begins at sunset on 20th September. Here is Jonah being swallowed by the fish, at the text of Jonah, the haftarah for the afternoon service of Yom Kippur.

Bodleian Library, MS Kennicott 1; 'The Kennicott Bible'; 1476 CE; La Coruña, Spain; f.305r @bodleian.ox.ac.uk

@bookswain.bsky.socialReposted by @sims-mss.bsky.social

Here’s a sample B if someone needs it. It’s from my copy of John O. Westwood’s Facsimiles of Anglo-Saxon and Irish Manuscripts published in 1868 after the tenth century Ramsey Psalter. Westwood also painted his facsimiles from sight before turning them into hand-colored lithographs.

A page from a mid 19th century book by English entomologist, archaeologist, illuminated manuscript lover, and artist John O. Westwood. It is focused on a giant letter B hand-colored in a multitude of bright colors with insular art embellishments including Celtic knots and a green fox like head. #medieval #middleages
@sims-mss.bsky.social

This week we held our first History of Text Technologies workshop of the season! We made our own illuminated initials, after looking at several illuminated medieval manuscripts from our collections for inspiration. One of our favorite ongoing workshops!

A group of students sits around a large table, which is covered by arts and crafts supplies.A photo of an illuminated initial N, it has a gold background and small amounts of color in the letter Photo of a student painting a red A inside a gold backgroundA Photo of two students coloring in their illuminated initials
@miniaturewheats.bsky.socialReposted by @sims-mss.bsky.social

Tomorrow morning I finally get to share a short overview of some (very early) progress in my research on Virginia manuscript collections AND talk about using the Schoenberg database @sims-mss.bsky.social and Fragmentarium @fragmentarium.bsky.social to improve discoverability for research!

Older posts