University of Colorado Boulder - Deciphering Secrets: The Illuminated Manuscripts of Medieval Europe 

Course Overview

Meet Dr. Ana Belen Sanchez Prieto

Meet Dr. Roger L. Mart­nez-D¡vila

Optional video: How everything started

Week 1: Overview of Medieval Europe and the Mediterranean

1.0b. Introduction to Manuscript Studies

1.1. What is a Manuscript?

1.2. What is an Illuminated Manuscript?

1.3. Where do we Find Medieval Manuscripts?

1.4. How do we Find Medieval Manuscripts?

Project. 1. Introduction

Facsimile editions of medieval manuscripts

Handbooks and Lexicons

Working with Medieval Manuscripts

Wrap-Up to Unit 1

Course Description

Who Should Enroll?

Learning Outcomes and Goals

Teaching Methods and Approach

Assessment: Assignments and Grading

Nota para hispanohablantes (Notice for Spanish speakers)

Medieval Europe and Its Siblings

The Formation of Medieval Europe

The Islamic World and Formation of Its First Caliphates

Byzantium ? Eastern Roman Empire

1.0a. Introduction to Unit 1. Activities and Workflow

Searching for a definition of "manuscript"

Considering maps: What do they reveal?

History: Medieval Europe and the Mediterranean

Manuscript studies. Basic concepts

MEDIEVAL EUROPEAN KINGDOMS (PART 1) AND WRITING SUPPORTS AND BOOK FORMATS

Week 2: Overview of Medieval Kingdoms - Part 1

2.0b.Writing Materials and Book Formats. Introduction

2.1. Archaic Writing Materials

2.2. Papyrus

2.3. Parchment

2.4. Paper

2.5. Tablets

2.6. Roll and Scroll

2.7. Codex

2.8. Archaic and Exotic Book Formats

Project : Materials and Book Formats

Wrap-up to Unit 2

Creation of Medieval European Kingdoms

Early Germanic Peoples

The Vandals: A Brief Reference

The Ostrogoths

The Visigoths

France and the Franks

England and the Anglo-Saxons and Normans

2.0a. Introduction to Unit 2. Activities and Workflow

Ancient Scrolls Blackened by Vesuvius are Readable at Last

The Birth of the Codex

Thinking More About Historical Sources: France's Einhard and England's Bede

Medieval Kingdoms - Part 1

Writing Materials and Book Formats

MEDIEVAL EUROPEAN KINGDOMS (PART 2) AND THE WRITING CASE AND THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE CODEX

Week 3: Overview

3.0b. Introduction to Unit 3

3.1. The Writing Instruments

3.2. Black Inks

3.3. Colors (Part 1)

3.4. Colors (Part 2)

Bonus: Making a Lake Pigment

3.5. The Quires

3.6. Folding

3.7. Working with the Quires

Projects: The Writing Case and the Architecture of the Codex

Wrap-Up to Unit 3

Iberia: Christian and Islamic Kingdoms

Cities: The Rise of Urban Centers

Medieval Warfare

Scholasticism: The Revival of Learning

3.0a. Introduction to Unit 3. Activities and Workflow

Some readings about medieval colours

Some very interesting videos about paint and ink making

Medieval Kingdoms - Part 2

Manuscript Studies

A GLIMPSE OF SPAIN'S KING ALFONSO X "THE WISE" AND PREPARING THE PAGE FOR WRITING

Week 4: Overview

4.0b. The Preparation of the Page. Introduction

4.1. The "mise-en-page"

4.2. Proportional Rectangles and Harmonic Surfaces

4.3. Pricking

4.4.Ruling

Project

Wrap-up to Unit 4

King Alfonso X "The Wise" of Castile

Las Cantigas de Santa Maria - The Canticles of Holy Mary

Lecture: Las Siete Partidas: A Legal Code for Three Religions

King Alfonso X and the Development of Spanish Universities

4.0a. Introduction to Unit 4. Activities and Workflow

Richard H. Rouse & Laura Light, Manuscript Production

Some interesting readings about the mise-en-page

History Quiz: King Alfonso X "The Wise"

Quiz Manuscript Studies

PALEOGRAPHY AND A HISTORICAL CASE STUDY AND WRITING THE CODEX

Week 5: Overview

Digital Narration of the "La Mota" Case Study

5.0. Introduction to Unit 5

5.1.Copying and Copyists

5.2. Writing Analysis

5.3. The Cycles of Latin Writing (Part 1)

5.4. The Cycles of Latin Writing (Part 2)

Bonus: Meet Marius the Copyist

Project for unit 5

Ductus, Angle and Weight (Project bonus)

Wrap-Up to Unit 5

Exploring Paleography and Making Discoveries

Paleography: The study of ancient handwriting

Introduction to Paleography: Handwriting from the 13th Century

Case Study Overview: ?La Mota?: A Christian Assumes Ownership over Jewish Homes, circa 1416

Youtube.com high resolution version of the digital narration

5.0a. Introduction to Unit 5. Activities and Workflow

Michelle Brown, A Guide to Western Historical Scripts, from Antiquity to 1600

Mark H. Smith & Laura Light, Script

Interactive Album of Mediaeval Palaeography Collection of Transcription Exercises on Mediaeval Documents

Edward Maunde Thompson, Handbook of Greek and Latin Palaeography

Medieval History: Paleography and A Historical Case Study

Manuscript Studies

EXPLORING THE GLOBAL MIDDLE AGES AND ONLINE COLLECTIONS AND CODEX DECORATION

Week 6: Overview

6.0b. Introduction to Unit 6

6.1. Technical Procedures

6.2. Writing Turned in Ornament

6.3. The Illustrations and their Relation to the Text

6.4. Initial Decoration

6.5. Marginal Decoration

Project: Decoration

Wrap-Up to Unit 6

Exploring the "Global Middle Ages"

Exploring Spain's Online Manuscript and Museum Collections

Internet-Based Spanish Primary Sources

6.0a. Introduction to Unit 6. Activities and Workflow

Susan L'Engle and Ariane Bergeron-Foote, Law

Laura Light, Women and the Book in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance

Other readings about manuscripts decoration

Medieval History: The Global Middle Ages

Manuscript Studies

BOOKBINDING AND COURSE COMPLETION

7.0b. Introduction to Unit 7

7.1.The Parts of a Book Binding

The Evolution of Bookbinding (Part 1)

The Evolution of Bookbinding (Part 2)

Project: Book binding

Wrap-Up to Unit 7

Join Deborah, Roger and Ana in the discussion about future projects

Week 7: Overview

7.0a. Introduction to Unit 7. Activities and Workflow

Binding and the Archaeology of Medieval and Renaissance Book

More readings about bookbinding

Farewell

Manuscript Studies. Bookbinding