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Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies @sims-mss.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

On Monday we held our second History of Text Technologies workshop - writing with quills! We looked at manuscripts, mostly in Carolingian script, and talked about paleography, ink, and scribal practice. Then we tried it on our own! Find out more about the HTT series here: bit.ly/4rglCcE

Photo of two students writing with quills!

Photo of a sheet of paper with fancy writing on it. The first few lines have a few random words and letters written on them. Next is written "The Quick Brown Fox Jumped Over The Lazy Dog" and the next four lines read "Andrew Duncan Donuts" "Jeff Joehnk" "Rosie Kins" and "Bonnie Kins"

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The Price Lab @pricelab.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Next Monday at our Digital Humanities Seminar series: @leoba.bsky.social will speak about how #DHMakes has inspired the work she's doing with @sims-mss.bsky.social in the Vitale II Lab for Book History and Digital Humanities. Lunch will be served!

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Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies @sims-mss.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Last week we held our annual New Acquisitions Showcase, featuring books acquired by the Kislak Center for Special Collections over the previous year. This year, we have a nice handful of manuscripts, including a very rare Middle English folding almanac. Full list here: bit.ly/47bJF37

43. Folding medical and astrological almanac. England, after 1415. Ms. Codex 2368. A newly discovered “bat book”, not listed in the existing corpus of sixty-three such manuscripts and one of only two known examples in Middle English (the other is in the British Library); it combines a calendar, astronomical tables, medical information, and a Zodiac Man.
https://find.library.upenn.edu/catalog/9979897615803681

51. Cicero, De officiis. Italy, between 1425 and 1475. Ms. Codex 2379. A manuscript copy of Cicero's De officiis, one of the foundational texts of Western moral philosophy, preserves a work that for centuries served simultaneously as a schoolbook, ethical manual, and introduction to classical Latin.
https://find.library.upenn.edu/catalog/9979828269303681

65. Vincent of Beauvais, Speculum Doctrinale. Cologne, 1400–25. Ms. Codex 2398. A manuscript of the theological volume of Vincent of Beauvais's “Great Mirror” (the others are devoted to Nature and History, respectively), particularly interesting due to the fact that it was owned by Penn English professor Albert C. Baugh (1891–1981) and included in a 1928 campus exhibition.
https://find.library.upenn.edu/catalog/9979748714703681

Franciscan breviary and ritual. Bologna?, 1452–54. Ms. Codex 2400. A small, dense manuscript used for the Divine Office and other liturgical ceremonies, which includes calendars, Easter tables, offices for Franciscan saints, and texts for blessings, exorcisms, and last rites.
https://find.library.upenn.edu/catalog/9979897342603681

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Lisa Fagin Davis @lisafdavis.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Are you #TeamScroll or #TeamCodex when it comes to texts with genealogical diagrams? Join me and @leoba.bsky.social on Thursday as we resolve this burning question once and for all! (hint: read my recent article if you want to know which team I'm on! muse.jhu.edu/pub/56/artic...)

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Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies @sims-mss.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, September 19, 1984, Former U. S. President Gerald Ford was stuck in an elevator in the Van Pelt Library at UPenn. Was there a medieval manuscript stuck in the elevator with him? Probably not, but we can dream. #medievalsky

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Ennius @enniusredloeb.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Yom Kippur in 2026 begins at sunset on 20th September. Here is Jonah being swallowed by the fish, at the text of Jonah, the haftarah for the afternoon service of Yom Kippur. Bodleian Library, MS Kennicott 1; 'The Kennicott Bible'; 1476 CE; La Coruña, Spain; f.305r @bodleian.ox.ac.uk

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bookswain.bsky.social @bookswain.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Here’s a sample B if someone needs it. It’s from my copy of John O. Westwood’s Facsimiles of Anglo-Saxon and Irish Manuscripts published in 1868 after the tenth century Ramsey Psalter. Westwood also painted his facsimiles from sight before turning them into hand-colored lithographs.

A page from a mid 19th century book by English entomologist, archaeologist, illuminated manuscript lover, and artist
John O. Westwood. It is focused on a giant letter B hand-colored in a multitude of bright colors with insular art embellishments including Celtic knots and a green fox like head.

#medieval #middleages

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Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies @sims-mss.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

This week we held our first History of Text Technologies workshop of the season! We made our own illuminated initials, after looking at several illuminated medieval manuscripts from our collections for inspiration. One of our favorite ongoing workshops!

A group of students sits around a large table, which is covered by arts and crafts supplies.

A photo of an illuminated initial N, it has a gold background and small amounts of color in the letter

Photo of a student painting a red A inside a gold background

A Photo of two students coloring in their illuminated initials

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Mary F. Wheaton @miniaturewheats.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Tomorrow morning I finally get to share a short overview of some (very early) progress in my research on Virginia manuscript collections AND talk about using the Schoenberg database @sims-mss.bsky.social and Fragmentarium @fragmentarium.bsky.social to improve discoverability for research!

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Meg Phillips @megphillips.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Join me at @kzooicms.bsky.social next year to talk about the archives of medievalists!

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Dr Alison Ray @liber-ray.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Thank you so much to the amazing @sims-mss.bsky.social for having me present for their online series today and the 144(!!!) lovely friends and colleagues for tuning in! 🤗📜🎉

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Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies @sims-mss.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Something to say about "Archiving and Researching the Papers of Medievalists"? Join SIMS and the Elizabeth A. R. Brown Medieval Historians Archive @kzooicms.bsky.social ! Submit your abstract by 9/15. icms.confex.com/icms/2027/prelim.cg… #medievalsky @megphillips.bsky.social

Black and white photo of medievalist Elizabeth A. R. Brown pulling a book from a library shelf with a background of a medieval book page tinted red.

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Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies @sims-mss.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

We had a great time hosting students during @upenn.edu New Student Orientation party last week! The theme was "Treats and Treasures" so we brought out our great illuminated 13th c. Bible, and @leoba.bsky.social got to show it to The Quaker!

Photo of a table featuring a plastic flying donkey (based on a marginal illustration in Ms. Codex 724, a 13th c. bible from France), a book-shaped automaton decorated with other marginal illustrations from the same bible, and some papers.

Photo of the Vitale II Book History and Digital Humanities lab, with a large 13th c. Bible (Ms. Codex 724) and a leaf from a large choir book in the foreground, and a MISHA (Multispectral Imaging System for Historical Artifacts) and Lindstrand Comparator in the background. Also in the background is a large screen with an example of a processed multispectral imaging image.

Photo of the Vitale II Book History and Digital Humanities lab with a closer view of the MISHA (Multispectral Imaging System for Historical Artifacts) and the processed image in the background.

Dot Porter standing next to The Quaker (the University of Pennsylvania mascot) looking at a 13th century Bible (Ms. Codex 724)

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Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC) @csmc-hamburg.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

📢 Job alert: We are currently offering a permanent position as a research associate with exclusively teaching duties in Assyriology. Apply by 3 September! More info on the job and how to apply:

uni-hamburg.de

Ausschreibung

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Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC) @csmc-hamburg.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

What happens to written artefacts after their initial production? Steffen Döll, head of our new ‘Phased Transmission’ unit, on material and invisible transformations, provenance, archives, and the challenge of developing concepts that work across cultural contexts: uhh.de/csmc-cmu-3

uhh.de

Moving Through the Life Phases of Written Artefacts

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Dr Alison Ray @liber-ray.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

I’m thrilled to be taking part in this year’s amazing @sims-mss.bsky.social mss online lecture series to share my work on the pecia system and university book production! 🤗📜🎉 www.library.upenn.edu/sims/event-s...

library.upenn.edu

The Pecia System and the Medieval University Book Trade, ca. 1200-1340

Alison Ray (Royal Irish Academy Library) explores how medieval manuscripts were mass-produced at universities in the thirteenth century at low cost for members of the academic milieu.

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Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies @sims-mss.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

We thought it might be fun to go through our manuscripts in order, so here is number one! Ms. Codex 1 is a collection of poems and songs in French, arranged chronologically and dated 1600-1718. 🔗: bit.ly/4w73ouW

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Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC) @csmc-hamburg.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

🧬📜A team of CSMC researchers has published the first study of microbiota on damaged parchments from Kairouan’s historic library, the oldest near-intact Islamicate manuscript collection. Some objects show a distinctive deterioration even experienced conservators find hard to explain Open access!

csmc.uni-hamburg.de

Microbial Clues to the Deterioration of Kairouan’s Parchment Manuscripts

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Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies @sims-mss.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Today's video facsimile - a cover-to-cover page-turning video without commentary - of a 15th c. compendium of extracts, designed as a reference work for use in writing sermons. (UPenn Ms. Codex 1640) #medievalsky Record: bit.ly/4wA4K2n Complete Video Facsimile: bit.ly/3J523jw

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Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies @sims-mss.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Today's video facsimile - a cover-to-cover page-turning video without commentary - of a Book of hours with a velvet binding and miniatures. Probably written in Metz in the late 14th c (UPenn Ms. Codex 1566) #medievalsky Record: bit.ly/4kJdOex Complete Video Facsimile: bit.ly/3wOFqZI

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Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies @sims-mss.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Here is a bit of a video facsimile - a cover-to-cover page-turning video without commentary - of a Flemish hours of the Virgin Mary, written in the northeast Netherlands in the 15th c. (UPenn Ms. Codex 738) #medievalsky Record: bit.ly/40y3nn2 Complete Video Facsimile: bit.ly/3Qa40Le

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Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies @sims-mss.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Here is a bit of a video facsimile - a cover-to-cover page-turning video without commentary - of an illuminated Book of hours, use of Rome, printed ca. 1507 in Paris (UPenn Ms. Codex 1531) #medievalsky Record: bit.ly/4lCfgjn Complete Video Facsimile: bit.ly/4pVntCU

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Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies @sims-mss.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Today's video facsimile - a cover-to-cover page-turning video without commentary - of a treatise in 4 books on astronomy, geography, meteorology, and medicine. Written in Germany, ca. 1150 (UPenn LJS 384) #medievalsky Record: bit.ly/4bsMwaE Complete Video Facsimile: bit.ly/4yNQLHM

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Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies @sims-mss.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Here is a bit of a video facsimile - a cover-to-cover page-turning video without commentary - of our 15th century Book of Hours, Use of Rouen, which has some lovely illumination. (UPenn Ms. Codex 1056) #medievalsky Record: bit.ly/4m0SpP7 Complete Video Facsimile: bit.ly/3S5xOKI

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Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies @sims-mss.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Did you miss our #CoffeeWithACodex featuring fragments of books of hours and introducing the Frankenbook? You can watch it now on YouTube! youtu.be/nZRlS4HzeG0

youtu.be

Coffee with a Codex: Fragments and Franken-Books of Hours

YouTube video by SchoenbergInstitute

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Dot Porter @leoba.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Do you use digitized medieval manuscripts in any capacity? Do you have opinions about the metadata that describes them? We want to hear from you! Please take a moment to fill out our very short survey. Please repost and share with anyone you know who might be interested! forms.gle/sBPXAnoRhwe1...

forms.gle

Digitized Medieval Manuscripts: Metadata Preferences

A brief survey about what metadata formats people prefer to go along with their digitized medieval manuscripts. The results of this survey will be used to consider what metadata we make available thro...

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Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies @sims-mss.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Today's manuscript is a copy of the Calendarium and Ephemerides as published by Regiomontanus in 1474. The Calendarium, for 1475-1530, gives information on lunar and solar eclipses, the length of days, and the signs of the zodiac and planets. #medievalsky 🔗 bit.ly/44BxXxN

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Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies @sims-mss.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

If you missed last week's #CoffeeWithACodex featuring a 13th century astronomical text + diagrams, you can watch it now on YouTube! youtu.be/OSVK6_PEl6g

youtu.be

Coffee With A Codex: Astronomy in Latin (Ms. Codex 826)

YouTube video by SchoenbergInstitute

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Mohamed Qassiti @mqassiti.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Older special episode of #CoffeeWithACodex featuring @leoba.bsky.social, Mary Yearl, and Faith Wallis, that I'm posting 'cause I couldn't find it here yet. #medievalsky #histmed www.youtube.com/watch?v=stil...

youtube.com

Coffee with a Codex: Medical Manuscripts and Marginalia

YouTube video by McGill Libraries

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Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies @sims-mss.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Today's manuscript is a 15th c. copy of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, translated by Leonardo Bruni Aretino with introduction and dedication. The original first two leaves are missing and the text was later replaced on an added bifolium. (UPenn Ms. Codex 760) #medievalsky 🔗 bit.ly/3TeMiO2

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Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies @sims-mss.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Today's manuscript is a carta executoria issued in Valladolid, Spain, August 1564 in the name of Philip II in favor of Juan Ximenez de Angulo of Sancto Domingo in response to his pleito de hidalguia (litigation to establish noble status). (UPenn Ms. Codex 74) #medievalsky 🔗 bit.ly/4wddhYV

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Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies @sims-mss.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Here we have a leaf from a Persian manuscript of uncertain date and origin, with an illumination overpainted in the 20th century to mimic Mughal style, likely in India for the tourist trade. (UPenn LJS 196) Link to record: bit.ly/44Nzb9j Video Orientation: bit.ly/44NzVLD

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Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies @sims-mss.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

A delightful copy of the Seven Penitential Psalms (Les sept pseaumes penitentiaux) written in France in 1681. We looked at it in #CoffeeWithACodex, and here's a snippet, focusing on the embroidered binding (UPenn Ms. Codex 1564) Catalog record: bit.ly/4c0KGg5 Full CWAC video: bit.ly/4vYoUCZ

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Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies @sims-mss.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

For #CoffeeWithACodex (12pm ET, on Zoom) on July 16, we'll look at a copy of the Hebrew printed edition of "Economy of human life", adapted from the work attributed to Robert Dodsley (1703-1764), who claimed to have derived it from Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. Register here: bit.ly/4xJFJ5P

bit.ly

Coffee with a Codex: Purported Buddhist Text in Hebrew

An informal lunch or coffee time to meet virtually with Kislak curators and talk about one of the manuscripts from Penn's collections. Each week we'll feature a different...

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Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies @sims-mss.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Don't miss today's #CoffeeWithACodex, at 12pm ET on Zoom (that's 5pm BST, where I am now). You can register and receive the link up until it starts. Hope to see you there!

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Dot Porter @leoba.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Attended a workshop at @imc-leeds.bsky.social , made a fun thing! (inspired by the woad guy in UPenn LJS 419 and an historiated initial in Ms. Codex 724) #imc2026

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Dot Porter @leoba.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

It is always a treat to see the manuscripts from one's institution featured in the opening keynote for @imc-leeds.bsky.social 😋 (h/t to Matthew Champion, University of Melbourne, and his lecture "Sounding Time: Senses, Spaces, Silences") 🔗: find.library.upenn.edu/catalog/9924...

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Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies @sims-mss.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

A gray birb gazes up from the bottom margin of Ms. Codex 724 f. 327r, a 13th century illuminated Bible. #medievalsky 🔗: bit.ly/4deNkzU

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Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies @sims-mss.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

The Spring 2026 issue of Manuscript Studies (vol. 11.1) is now available in Open Access! We are pleased to announce the latest issue of Manuscript Studies: A Journal of the Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies. The journal is published semi-annually by SIMS and the U. of Pennsylvania Press.

Cover of Manuscript Studies, Volume 11.1 (Spring 2026), featuring a hand-colored medieval manuscript illustration. At the top, a bearded scholar sits at a writing desk, drawing with a quill pen beside scales, ink, and writing tools, with a chest of jars stored beneath the table. Below, two assistants tend conical glass vessels in small furnaces, while labels in Latin identify pigments and processes.

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Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies @sims-mss.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

If you missed last week's #CoffeeWithACodex featuring this 17th century book with a truly fantastic embroidered binding, you can watch it now on YouTube! youtu.be/Koe3apNrSic?...

youtu.be

Coffee with a Codex: Prayers in German (Ms. Codex 1564)

YouTube video by SchoenbergInstitute

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Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies @sims-mss.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Here we have the first part of a four-part poem in octaves on the monarchy of Portugal, with allusions to astrology, alchemy, and cabala. It contains handwritten copies of two different printed versions of the text, and several other texts too. (UPenn Ms. Codex 1646) 🔗: bit.ly/4eVQWJc

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