Gutenberg's first major printing project was a lectern bible produced in two volumes. The first printed books continued to copy the design of illuminated manuscripts, and printed texts still needed scribes and illuminators to add initials, miniatures and decoration. Printing with movable type was invented by a goldsmith named Johannes Gutenberg, in the Rhineland city of Mainz in about 1450. The illuminated manuscripts that can be seen in this resource showing a good selection of style, quality and subject matter although not all manuscripts were illuminated. The pages of medieval manuscripts are generally made of vellum or parchment (animal skin) which is very strong and long lasting.
Abbeys and monasteries that could not produce their own skilled craftsmen would use illustrators and bookbinders from outside. The preparation of the manuscript involved several stages and was not confined to one person or scribe. The production of manuscripts was a slow and expensive process. The work was done in scriptoria or writing rooms with monks and nuns participating in the work. Until the 11th and 12th centuries most manuscripts were made by hand in monasteries. The resource will be useful for teachers of KS2 children, and for teachers of History at KS3 and above. The contents of this resource has been put together to illustrate book production from the hand-made manuscript to the printed page. To make it easier for teachers and lecturers to access the most popular material with groups, we have developed themed study room resources which contain original prints and drawings.
Prints and drawings, including fashion illustrations, architectural drawings, design drawings, watercolours, posters and much more, not on display in the galleries, can be seen in the Prints & Drawings Study Room. Petrach at 700, an exhibition of books and manuscripts from the collections of Cornell University Library and the University of Pennsylvania Library.Study Room resource: Medieval writing and printing.The Reference Division of Cornell’s Olin Library has produced Medieval Studies: A guide to library research at Cornell.Descriptions of many of Cornell’s Medieval books are included in the Web exhibition, From Manuscript to Print: The Evolution of the Medieval Book.Bond, New York: Bibliographical Society of America, 1962. Census of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the United States and Canada. Although the Library has continued to add Medieval books to the collections since the publication of De Ricci’s census, the majority of Cornell’s manuscripts are represented here:.(PDF – 4.3mb)įull descriptive information for 54 of Cornell’s illuminated manuscripts is available in the online version of Medieval and Renaissance Illuminated Manuscripts in the Cornell Library. A descriptive catalog compiled by Professor Robert G.To find Cornell’s Medieval book records, search by author, title, or keyword, and set limits to the “bound manuscript” format. The Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections has added many records for its Medieval manuscripts to the online catalog. The following sources provide information on Cornell’s Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts. These manuscript books continue to provide students with a working laboratory of original sources, both at Cornell and beyond.Ĭornell’s Medieval manuscripts are housed in the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections and may be consulted in the Reading Room on the 2B Level of the Carl A. Today, Cornell Library holds more than 150 Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, ranging from a 9th century coptic fragment, to 16th and 17th century heraldic texts and royal charters. By 1900, White had amassed a collection of more than one hundred medieval manuscripts, many of them illuminated. He bought manuscripts for their instructional value, and his collection contains illustrative examples of most periods and styles. White’s interest in Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts was shaped by his teaching experience, and a belief that instruction in history depended heavily on the use of original sources. The University’s first president, Andrew Dickson White, and his librarian, George Lincoln Burr, personally selected many of the manuscripts now at Cornell on frequent buying trips to Europe during the latter half of the 19th century. Medieval books were among the Cornell Library’s earliest acquisitions.