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IMC 2012: Sessions

Session 1602: The Secret Lives of Books: Adaptation and Alteration in Medieval Manuscripts, II - Tracing the History of a Book

Thursday 12 July 2012, 11.15-12.45

Sponsor:St Andrews Institute of Mediaeval Studies, University of St Andrews
Organisers:Kathryn Gerry, Department of Art History, University of Kansas
Kathryn M. Rudy, School of Art History, University of St Andrews
Moderator/Chair:Sabrina Corbellini, Oudere Nederlandse Letterkunde Rijksuniversiteit Groningen Oude Kijk in 't Jatstraat 26 9712 EK GRONINGEN
Paper 1602-aEdits and Textual Interventions in a Late-Romanesque Vita Christi
(Language: English)
Kristen Collins, J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
Index terms: Art History - General, Manuscripts and Palaeography
Paper 1602-bMeddling Owners: The Afterlife of the Book of the White Earl
(Language: English)
Karen Ralph, Irish Art Research Centre, Trinity College Dublin
Index terms: Local History, Manuscripts and Palaeography
Paper 1602-cFaux Pas or Forgery?: Post-Medieval Modifications to an Unknown French Book of Hours
(Language: English)
Sarah Rothmann, Department of Art History, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Index terms: Art History - General, Manuscripts and Palaeography, Medievalism and Antiquarianism
Abstract

Medieval books were often intended to last for years, if not centuries. Although usually made for a single primary purpose and often constructed to suit the needs of a single moment in time, manuscripts could be put to new and varied uses over the course of their long lives, thereby departing from the uses intended by their first owners. Such changes in use could entail significant physical alterations to the books themselves, either in the form of adaptations that would better suit the book to its new role, or as the result of a new pattern of usage. The papers in these sessions will examine some of the ways in which books could continue to be functional in new contexts, with particular attention to physical manifestations of such changes in use.