Organisers: Matthew Holford, Andrew Honey, Laure Miolo
Hilary Term 2026, Wednesdays 2-3.30pm (see sessions details below). Venue: Weston Library, Horton room. Anyone interested in manuscript studies is welcome. No registration required. For questions, please e-mail laure.miolo@history.ox.ac.uk
The series of seminars has been designed to introduce participants to the various material aspects of the book, thereby laying the foundations for the reconstruction of manuscripts’ production and history. The objective is to provide the indispensable elements for the analysis of the manuscript.
The seminars also provide a forum for specialists from different fields of manuscript studies to share their expertise. The sessions bring together curators, librarians, researchers and conservators to provide a comprehensive understanding of the various components of the codex from diverse perspectives. These components include the writing surface, ink, binding, decoration, manuscript production in its broadest sense, and its provenance. The seminars thus represent a valuable opportunity to demonstrate the necessity of close collaboration between researchers, curators/librarians, and conservators for a comprehensive consideration of the manuscript in its entirety. Such collaboration facilitates a more profound comprehension of the diverse contexts in which the manuscript was created, copied, and utilised.
Wednesday 28 January
Writing supports (parchment and paper) and manuscript structure
– Andrew Honey & Matthew Holford
Wednesday 4 February
Decoration
– Martin Kauffmann
Wednesday 11 February
Inks and Pigments
– Céline Delattre and Robert Minte
Wednesday 18 February
Bindings
– Andrew Honey
Wednesday 25 February
Calendars and time-reckoning
– Laure Miolo
Wednesday 4 March
Medieval Libraries and Provenance
– Matthew Holford and Laure MioloWednesday 11 March
Text identification
– Matthew Holford and Laure Miolo
