Medieval History
Chicago's Newberry Library and the University of Notre Dame recently jointly acquired an unusual early fourteenth-century codex originating in southern France that contains a collection of 38 scholastic texts, only two of which have been edited in modern critical editions and the rest of which have never been printed. All those that have been identified to date are Franciscan. The most noteworthy author included is Peter John Olivi, represented by two elements of his Principia in sacram scripturam, a text subsequently condemned by the Inquisition.
Olivi, born near Béziers and trained at the University of Paris, was a leader of the Spiritual Franciscans, whose absolute belief in apostolic poverty led Olivi?s writings to be condemned a year after his death in 1298. In 1299, a Chapter General of the Franciscan Order ordered his writings to be burned.
?More than 100 manuscripts containing his works are reported to have been destroyed, and consequently surviving manuscripts are exceedingly rare,? said Paul Saenger, the Newberry Library?s George A. Poole III Curator of Rare Books and Collection Development Librarian. ?This is the sole known codex originating from Languedoc, where Olivi taught at the University of Montpellier and at Nîmes. Ultimately, however, the value to scholarship of this manuscript may lie in its unidentified and unedited content.
The codex complements the Newberry Library?s rich collections of Hebrew, Greek and Latin bibles, which is the most comprehensive assemblage of manuscript and printed biblical texts in the Midwest. This copy appears to have been preserved in a Dominican library.
?Because the Dominicans often administered the Inquisition, it was necessary for them to have copies of condemned texts so that they could refute them,? Saenger explained.
Since 1995, the Newberry Library has partnered with Midwestern universities and colleges to purchase more than 25 rare medieval manuscripts and printed books that otherwise would not be available to local scholars and residents. The Newberry Library created the joint-ownership program in order to bring more original source material to the Midwest.
The materials typically spend eight months of the year at the Newberry and up to four months of the year with the participating institution. In addition to Notre Dame, seven other universities or colleges in the region participate in the program, including DePaul University; Loyola University Chicago; University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; University of Minnesota; Spertus College; Tulane University; and Western Michigan University.
Other examples of joint acquisitions include:
- A processional from Portugal, ca. 1300 (Newberry Library and Western Michigan University);
- A 15th century code of regulations for monks attributed to Saint Jerome (Newberry Library and DePaul University);
- A bilingual English-Hebrew psalter printed in Utrecht in the 17th century (Newberry Library and Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies); and
- A Burgundian roll dating from about 1467 containing a major genealogical diagram (Newberry Library and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign).
Source: Newberry Library
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Medieval History
The Newberry Library and the University of Notre Dame acquire rare fourteenth-century book
Chicago's Newberry Library and the University of Notre Dame recently jointly acquired an unusual early fourteenth-century codex originating in southern France that contains a collection of 38 scholastic texts, only two of which have been edited in modern critical editions and the rest of which have never been printed. All those that have been identified to date are Franciscan. The most noteworthy author included is Peter John Olivi, represented by two elements of his Principia in sacram scripturam, a text subsequently condemned by the Inquisition.
Olivi, born near Béziers and trained at the University of Paris, was a leader of the Spiritual Franciscans, whose absolute belief in apostolic poverty led Olivi?s writings to be condemned a year after his death in 1298. In 1299, a Chapter General of the Franciscan Order ordered his writings to be burned.
?More than 100 manuscripts containing his works are reported to have been destroyed, and consequently surviving manuscripts are exceedingly rare,? said Paul Saenger, the Newberry Library?s George A. Poole III Curator of Rare Books and Collection Development Librarian. ?This is the sole known codex originating from Languedoc, where Olivi taught at the University of Montpellier and at Nîmes. Ultimately, however, the value to scholarship of this manuscript may lie in its unidentified and unedited content.
The codex complements the Newberry Library?s rich collections of Hebrew, Greek and Latin bibles, which is the most comprehensive assemblage of manuscript and printed biblical texts in the Midwest. This copy appears to have been preserved in a Dominican library.
?Because the Dominicans often administered the Inquisition, it was necessary for them to have copies of condemned texts so that they could refute them,? Saenger explained.
Since 1995, the Newberry Library has partnered with Midwestern universities and colleges to purchase more than 25 rare medieval manuscripts and printed books that otherwise would not be available to local scholars and residents. The Newberry Library created the joint-ownership program in order to bring more original source material to the Midwest.
The materials typically spend eight months of the year at the Newberry and up to four months of the year with the participating institution. In addition to Notre Dame, seven other universities or colleges in the region participate in the program, including DePaul University; Loyola University Chicago; University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; University of Minnesota; Spertus College; Tulane University; and Western Michigan University.
Other examples of joint acquisitions include:
- A processional from Portugal, ca. 1300 (Newberry Library and Western Michigan University);
- A 15th century code of regulations for monks attributed to Saint Jerome (Newberry Library and DePaul University);
- A bilingual English-Hebrew psalter printed in Utrecht in the 17th century (Newberry Library and Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies); and
- A Burgundian roll dating from about 1467 containing a major genealogical diagram (Newberry Library and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign).
Source: Newberry Library
- Cfp: Illinois Medieval Association 2013 Meeting
Theme: Piety, Ritual, and Heresy: The Varieties of Medieval Religious Experience Call for Papers (deadline October 15, 2012) We are pleased to announce that the 2013 annual conference of the Illinois Medieval Association, co-sponsored by the Newberry...
- First Year Grad Research Skills Workshop Newberry Library
If you are a first year graduate student or a faculty member with a first year graduate student to recommend, then you may be interested in the One-Day Research Skills Workshop for First-Year Graduate Students taking place at the Newberry Library from...
- The Newberry Library Anglo-saxon Seminar
Having attended a few of these in my graduate student days, including one by Allen Frantzen, I can only highly recommend these to any grad student in the consortium. THE NEWBERRY LIBRARY Center for Renaissance Studies The Anglo-Saxon Seminar: Masculinity...
- Cfp: Multidisciplinary Graduate Student Conference
CFP: Multidisciplinary Graduate Student Conference The Newberry Library Center for Renaissance Studies is pleased to announce: Call for Papers for the 2011 Multidisciplinary Graduate Student Conference Deadline for submissions: October 15, 2010 Conference...
- Newberry Library Fellowships
FELLOWSHIPS IN THE HUMANITIES 2010-2011 The Newberry?s fellowships support humanities research in our collections. We promise wide-ranging and rich collections; a lively interdisciplinary community of researchers; individual consultations on your research...