The Many Lives of Medieval Manuscripts Symposium
- Project Conservator Angelica Anchisi, Senior Digital Photographer Caroline Harding, and Postdoctoral Research Fellow Dr Claire McNulty preparing a showcase of manuscripts ahead of the Symposium
- A photo of the attendees in the Long Room Hub for the Many Lives of Medieval Manuscripts Symposium
- Professor Dame Louise Richardson President of Carnegie Corporation New York speaking at the Symposium
- A group photo of Symposium speakers on the steps of the Long Room Hub
- Digital screen exhibition in the Long Room of the Old Library November 2023
- Choral performance by Schola Hyberniae and directed by Dr Ann Buckley at the Long Room event to celebrate the Symposium
- A group photo of the Symposium Long Room event including Helen Shenton Librarian and College Archivist, Professor Dame Louise Richardson President of Carnegie Corporation New York, Estelle Gittins Curatorial Lead, Mary McAleese Chancellor of the University of Dublin and former President of Ireland, Caroline Harding Digital Photographer, Angelica Anchisi Conservator, Claire McNulty Post Doctoral Research fellow, Laura Shanahan Head of Research Collections, November 2023
Check out our Wrap-Up video!
...or follow the first day of the Symposium featuring introductions to the project by the Curatorial Lead Estelle Gittins, Conservator Angelica Anchisi, Senior Digital Photographer Caroline Harding, and Postdoctoral Research Fellow Dr Claire McNulty, as well as talks by the Librarian and College Archivist Helen Shenton, Head of Research Collections Laura Shanahan, and Professor Dame Louise Richardson President of Carnegie Corporation New York.
We celebrated the Many Lives of Medieval Manuscripts on 30 November and 1 December 2023 at the Library of Trinity College Dublin. Across two days we shared our work in curating, conserving, and digitising material as part of the Manuscripts for Medieval Studies project, supported by Carnegie Corporation of New York. The project had culminated in the digitisation of 60 medieval manuscripts in the Library's collection.
From early career researchers to senior academics, across a variety of disciplines, we learned about the ways in which the manuscripts have contributed to research, technology, and musical performance. The backflipping David in TCD MS 53, the musical notation in medieval Irish manuscripts, and the use of Handwritten Text Recognition were just some of the innovative ways in which the digitised manuscripts were being actively researched. Professor James Clark (University of Exeter) delivered a keynote on 'The Miracles of Matthew Paris in TCD MS 177 Book of St Albans'. Listen back to the podcasts and watch the keynote in full below to learn more!
At the end of the first day, we moved from the Trinity Long Room Hub to the Long Room of the Old Library where we heard from Dame Louise Richardson (President of Carnegie Corporation of New York), Mary McAleese (University Chancellor), and Helen Shenton (Librarian and College Archivist). Digitised manuscripts were displayed on digi-screens. In the Long Room, guests were treated to a performance by Schola Hyberniae who sang from chants found in a fifteenth century music manuscript TCD MS 78, translated to modern musical notation by Dr Ann Buckley (Trinity College Dublin) and digitised as part of the project.
The final day of the Symposium was filled with presentations on the multifaceted ways in which the digitised manuscripts are contributing to the field, culminating in a demonstration by Dr Mark Faulkner and Elisabetta Magnanti in Handwritten Text Recognition.
Although the Symposium marked the culmination of manuscripts digitised to date, the project is ongoing with more manuscripts coming online. Check out the link of digitised manuscripts on the project page. Thank you to all of our wonderful speakers and performers, and to our supporters, Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Listen Back!
Keynote: 'The Miracles of Matthew Paris in TCD MS 177 Book of St Albans' by Professor James Clark, Professor of History at University of Exeter
Papers
Dr Niamh Pattwell: Associate Professor, School of English, Drama, and Film, University College Dublin. Paper: 'Sixteenth Century Heralds: Guardians of the Manuscripts' (TCD MS 505). https://on.soundcloud.com/ZcdcOZXk3tzNG0I77o
Dr Ann Buckley: Trinity Medieval History Research Centre, Trinity College Dublin. Paper: 'The Many Lives of the Medieval Liturgy: The Relevance of the Carnegie Digitisation Project for Irish and Insular Studies'. https://on.soundcloud.com/Hkq76L5nH0MDem3gtF
Dr Laura Cleaver: Senior Lecturer in Manuscript Studies, School of Advanced Studies, University of London. Paper: 'TCD MS 93: Digitisation and the Potential of Linked Open Data'. https://on.soundcloud.com/IE1uxYTofbp6fQsaAo
Dr Claire McNulty: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Manuscripts for Medieval Studies Project, Library of Trinity College Dublin. Paper: 'Mirrors, Morality, and the Virgin Mary: TCD MS 103'. https://on.soundcloud.com/9r7NSUsf6dM1OWT3k2
Professor Ruth Karras: Lecky Professor of History, Trinity College Dublin. Paper: 'Gender, Bodily Performance, and the Beatus in TCD MS 53 Winchcombe Psalter'. https://on.soundcloud.com/wUVuBCGM5M0Zo3nCRK
Conor McDonough: OP, St Saviour's Priory, Dublin 1. Paper: 'TCD MS 667: A Manuscript to Change Lives'. https://on.soundcloud.com/etyr1XWuIknrzclKlq
Dr David Woodman: Associate Professor of History, Robinson College, Cambridge. Paper: 'John of Worcester's Chronicula: An Overview and Poetry' (TCD MS 503). https://on.soundcloud.com/jY5x3Djq4JXpCjTBXS
Dr Peter Crooks: Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer in Medieval History, Department of History, Trinity College Dublin; Academic Director, Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland (virtualtreasury.ie). Paper: 'No Good Deed Goes Unpunished? Trinity's Dublin Deeds and The Case for a Meta-Collection'. https://on.soundcloud.com/Ba3hlXVjX2xji2Em2l
Dr Mark Faulkner: Ussher Assistant Professor in Medieval Literature, Trinity College Dublin and Elisabetta Magnanti: PhD Candidate, University of Vienna. Paper: 'Using AI to Transcribe Trinity's Manuscripts'. https://on.soundcloud.com/Um4b7hOICu6pgYbxiL
Dr Colleen Curran: Marie Curie Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Galway and Dr Lucy McKenna: Postdoctoral Researcher, TCD. Paper: 'The Searobend Project: Digitising the Resources'. https://on.soundcloud.com/YW4U7t1jeYF3ipzZhJ