Members of Illuminating a Manuscript in the Age of Print, a Collaboratory 5×5 Incubator Grant project, welcomed Marc Smith to the Special Collections Research Center at UM on Friday, July 23, to examine Michigan Manuscript 301—a new acquisition in the library. Smith, who is teaching this summer at the Newberry Library in Chicago, is a professor of medieval and modern paleography at the École nationale des chartes, Paris, France.
According to team lead Helmut Puff, “Our 5×5 team consulted this world-renowned expert on handwriting in France in order to ascertain when certain passages likely were composed.” Puff explains, “Unlike printed books, manuscripts usually have no publication date; nor does this manuscript say anything about who conceived the volume. The book’s history and purpose must be deduced from the evidence contained within.”
At the gathering were team members Puff (Professor of History and Germanic Languages and Literatures), George Hoffman (Professor of French), Megan Holmes (Professor of Italian Renaissance Art History), and Pablo Alvarez (Curator, Special Collections Research Center). They were joined by Taylor Sims, a graduate student in the department of history who had met Smith in a summer workshop on the History of the Book at the Newberry Library.
Smith’s visit enabled the team to learn more about the manuscript’s date. Says Puff, “Professor Smith determined [that] the writing style of Michigan Manuscript 301 fits exactly the last date mentioned in the book itself, 1630.”
Pictured L to R: George Hoffmann, Marc Smith, Taylor Sims, Megan Holmes, and Pablo Alvarez (Photo: Helmut Puff)
Michigan Manuscript 301 has been an intriguing topic of study for the team. According to Puff, “What makes this manuscript so compelling, among other things, is that its pages unite peacefully magnificent paintings of members of the Catholic hierarchy with those of Protestant reformers during a period of intense confessional conflict in Europe.”
Based on the discussions the team had during Smith’s visit, they hope to continue their research collaboration on this volume in the future.
Featured photo: Marc Smith inspects Michigan Manuscript 301 (Photo: Helmut Puff)