iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Half an hour in with my freshly prepared parchment sample and already there's water damage Ladies and gents, this is why there's strictly no drink in the library #myOwnExperiment with #Skin2Script

030

Day 2 done, and parchment completed, cut and a memento received Tomorrow follows the script part at @theul.bsky.social #Skin2Script

051

Back inside and last hour of finishing, sanding with modern tools to speed up the process. Historically e.g. cuttlefish bone would have been used #Skin2Script #parchmentMaking #medievalMSS

030

I started with very much feeling and seeing the 'dead animal' aspect, but once the ears and tail were cut off and the skin spread on the frame, it became something else. A disassociation type of thing happened, now it feels more like parchment in making #Skin2Script

010

Post lunch, weather cooperates and we move outside to improve drying. More scudding with lunarium, now in sunshine and light breeze Wettest skin can still take tightening #Skin2Script

110

The parchment is singing! B prevalent, A and Fsharpe too! Metal tool scuffing layers off the flesh side #Skin2Script

150

Focusing on flesh side and clearing residues with the curved scraper and eventually smoothing with pumice Realising that weather has huge impact on drying time (duh) and end oif Sept is challenging

130

2nd day of #Skin2Script workshop with @crasshlive.bsky.social about to start Checking how drying has progressed - various results. Next pushing on with sanding, scraping & finishing touches

1235

This workshop uses only calf skins but there's been lots of talk how it would be informative to have the teams work different type of skins, apparently sheep skin handles differently

110

I do feel very lucky to have this amazing opportunity So many people to thank for making this happen ❤️

000

It's been a giddying and informative day. I wish every parchment minded person had a chance to have the full sensory experience ❤️😍

111

And that's day one wrapped. 5 pumiced skins left drying and waiting for tomorrow's work Such a fun day, loads of new insights and new questions with which to look at #medievalMss #Skin2Script

1100

Approaching end of day one. Scraping and some more, and chalking and pumicing #Skin2Script

010

And stitching holes, trimming hide to fit the frame Surprisingly time consuming stage, gotta get that tension right #Skin2Script #parchmentMaking with @crasshlive.bsky.social workshop

110

Next? Pebbles, string and stretching the hide on a frame Teamwork at #Skin2Script workshop

100

Three different knives for fleshing i.e. defleshing. Hard hard work. Some holes did appear so more suturing in sight #Skin2Script #medievalMSS #parchment

120

Trying the dull two-handed blade for dehairing. This takes off follicles too! Suturing some pre-existing holes, skin is thick and not easy tp pierce #Skin2Script

140

Started with dehairing skin that had been soaked in lime. Surprised hoe easily the hair came off, just by pushing fingers against skin. For professionals this would take no time #Skin2Script

160

Lisa Fagin Davis @lisafdavis.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Next 3 days will be on From Skin to Script workshop with @crasshlive.bsky.social Starting with dehairing soaked skins #Skin2Script #medievalMSS

4389

Reposted by Tuija Ainonen

This is a great opportunity to apply for funding to attend @rarebookschool.bsky.social! You might even apply for a scholarship to attend my Fragmentology class next summer...

01812

Reposted by Tuija Ainonen

The Parker Library @parkerlibcccc.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Curious what the exhibition is all about? Your chance to see some exceptional early medieval manuscripts - mainly from pre-1066 world & the #BayeuxTapestry, some even from the time before Charlemagne (d. 814) & King Alfred (d. c. 886) & the Viking invations! 📖 www.corpus.cam.ac.uk/articles/art...

Our Art of Handwriting exhibition focuses on Humfrey Wanley (1672–1726) and his calligraphic work on some of the oldest manuscripts at the Parker Library

The Art of Handwriting

12616

Reposted by Tuija Ainonen

Rory Naismith @rorynaismith.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Early medievalists may be happy to know that Simon Keynes’s collection of maps of Anglo-Saxon England has now been made freely available via @trincolllibcam.bsky.social These were commissioned by Simon and drawn (by hand) by Reg Piggott between 1991 and 2012. archives.trin.cam.ac.uk/index.php/ma...

archives.trin.cam.ac.uk

Maps of Anglo-Saxon England - archives.trin.cam.ac.uk

413568

Tuija Ainonen @tainonen.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I'll be there enthusing about medieval manuscripts, palaeography, book culture, parchment, Laon-az, Matthew Parker, Old English, Latin, cultures of learning and curiosity, use of history etc. etc. Welcome all #medievalMSS and #library admirers, you'll be in for a treat 😍📖

021

Reposted by Tuija Ainonen

Dr David Rundle @drdavidrundle.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Ahead of the launch today of the manuscript fragments of Guernsey, on which @tamarajatkin.bsky.social and I have been working with the Island Archives for the last couple of years, I have written up one of my favourite finds: lostmss.org.uk/highlights - Hidden Devotion on Guernsey

lostmss.org.uk

Highlights | Lost Manuscripts

0206

Reposted by Tuija Ainonen

The Parker Library @parkerlibcccc.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Catch a rare sighting of the earliest known copy of Richness of Desire (Ghunyat al-Munya), the earliest treatise on Hindustani music written in Persian (now CCCC Or. MS 219; c1425–50) A Mughal Songbook: Art, Music and Empire at The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge www.corpus.cam.ac.uk/parker-libra...

A Mughal Songbook: Art, Music and Empire at The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge 8 September 2026–7 March 2027

Parker on Loan

0145

Reposted by Tuija Ainonen

Elaine Treharne @etreharne.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

If you look closely at the image in CCCC 286, you'll see a later addition of a little handbell in the upper right. It's a sanctus bell, a symbol of the moment of transubstantiation at mass. Cool, eh! I wrote about this in an essay 'Word & Image' mentioned in my 'Perceptions of Medieval MSS' (158)

2217

Reposted by Tuija Ainonen

The Parker Library @parkerlibcccc.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Going to see the Bayeux Tapestry? Be sure to look out for the image that may well have been inspired by the 6thC Augustine Gospels (CCCC MS 286) parker.stanford.edu/parker/catal... The 11thC embroidery was probably made at Canterbury where the MS was then at St Augustine’s Abbey #bayeuxtapestry

A scene from the Bayeux Tapestry that resembles the scene of Last Supper in the St Augustine's Gospels (CCCC MS 286)

Feast scene from the Bayeux Tapestry: "Et hic episcopus cibum et potum benedicit" (And here the bishop blesses the food and the drink) written above a scene of 6 people eating and drinking around a curved table; one person carrying more food to the table, and two red animals (dogs?)
It is the scene depicting a feast with Bishop Odo of Bayeux and his nobles are arranged around a circular table, very similar to the Last Supper panel in the Augustine Gospels. Odo is also shown in a pose similar to the figure of Christ, blessing his wine just as Christ was shown blessing his food.

Feast scene from the St Augustine's Gospels (CCCC MS 286): "Cena domini" (Lord's Supper) written above a scene of 8 disciples and Christ eating and drinking around a curved table
A scene from scene of Lord's Supper resembles the one in the Bayeux Tapestry with Bishop Odo of Bayeux and nobles feasting around a curved table

07730

Reposted by Tuija Ainonen

Elaine Treharne @etreharne.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

"It’s that honesty that makes this not just a fascinating medieval relic but a universal depiction of the madness that is war...The dead bodies pile up in mounds as Saxon after Saxon falls.." Jonathan Jones's heartfelt review of the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...

theguardian.com

The Bayeux tapestry: a stupefying, thrilling, horrifying masterpiece that shakes the earth

The greatest battle ever depicted in art is here at last – and it hurtles along, making your heart pound with its sense of doom and destiny, culminating in fires and corpses on a battlefield full of p...

44316

Tuija Ainonen @tainonen.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Humanities❤️Science = beautiful babies #medievalMSS

052

Reposted by Tuija Ainonen

Alicia Smith @timekeptcity.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Calling anyone & everyone interested in saints: Saints Outside Hagiography has *two* calls open for you to consider! First, for our next series of monthly online workshops: get in touch to propose a source from your research about saints and sanctity to discuss in an informal setting, by 25 Sept.

We invite expressions of interest to participate in the Saints Outside Hagiography workshop series 2026–2027. Our group examines how saints and holy people are represented outside the classic form of the single-text hagiography.
Sessions so far have examined texts including: visual art, poetry, mortuary rolls, chronicles, liturgical texts, didactic literature, and objects. We offer an informal, work-in-progress format focused on discussion of primary sources and key methodological questions in the study of saints.
Meetings consist of 1-2 brief presentations, discussing a text or object
precirculated along with a short description and the speaker’s guiding questions.
If you have a source related to sanctity that you would like to discuss, please get in touch with Laura Moncion (laura.moncion@philosophie.uni-tuebingen.de) and Alicia Smith (alicia.smith@uib.no) by 25 September 2026 with a brief description of the source, career stage, and institutional affiliation if any.
Guidelines:
• Chronological and geographical scope are open.
• Participants are free to contest whether a text is ‘outside hagiography’ – we aim to study saints and the construction of saint/sanctity beyond canonical textual forms, including troubling our understanding of those forms.
• If your source is not in English, we will need an English translation.

1157

Reposted by Tuija Ainonen

CRASSH @crasshlive.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Join us for 'From Skin to Script', a hands-on workshop in traditional parchment-making – one of the UK's most critically endangered crafts Explore how living craft knowledge affects how we understand medieval manuscripts 29 Sep - 1 Oct 2026 bit.ly/4gcqbRn (limited places)

From Skin to Script is a practical workshop in traditional parchment making.

03520

Reposted by Tuija Ainonen

Dr Manuel Muñoz García @manuelmunoz.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Deadline has been extended to September 10! Keep those abstracts coming! #medievalsky #IMC2027 #fragments @imc-leeds.bsky.social

0157

Reposted by Tuija Ainonen

Jon Dell Isola @medievaljon.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

You can see an update about the Database of Medieval Digital Resources here, reach out if you are interested in helping out or want to submit a project! It's a great resource you should all check out: mdr-maa.org #medievalsky

mdr-maa.org

Medieval Digital Resources – Created by the Medieval Academy of America

Created by the Medieval Academy of America

12315

Reposted by Tuija Ainonen

The Parker Library @parkerlibcccc.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Enjoy #OpenCambridge with us! What? Exciting display of mss & early printed books, book conservation in action, & College Archives display just for one day! When? Thu 17 Sept, 10–12pom & 2–4pm (queue closes 30min before closing) No need to book, but some queues expected More info: bit.ly/4oHWtpR

0103

Reposted by Tuija Ainonen

Zanna Van Loon @zannavanloon.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

Once carrying chant, now carrying contents: this liturgical #manuscript fragment is recycled as the cover of a small storage case. Just one of the many examples of the afterlives of medieval manuscripts! #rarebooks #bookhistory 💙📚📜

A small chest on a chair covered in a parchment fragment with liturgy, showing a large illuminated initial letter H on top.

Front view of a small chest on a chair covered in a parchment fragment with liturgy, showing a large illuminated initial letter H on top.

Opened chest showing more manuscript waste of a liturgical piece repurposed as the interior lining.

410523

Reposted by Tuija Ainonen

AMARC @amarc.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Our 2026 Summer meeting has come to a close, with huge thanks to @archpbu.bsky.social for hosting such an excellent day ☀️📜 #Manuscripts #Archives #Bangor

0102

Reposted by Tuija Ainonen

The Parker Library @parkerlibcccc.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

We rely on the fantastic support from Cambridge Colleges' Conservation Consortium whenever one of our MSS leaves on loan Sometimes the loan item is exceptionally special 📖⛪🤩 Head of Conservation, Flavio Marzo, offers a peak to the back-stage: www.corpus.cam.ac.uk/articles/bri... #medievalMSS

Bringing to Life the Gospels: Conservation’s Role in the Loan of the St Augustine Gospels

Conservation is a complex field that covers much more than simply repairing and physically preserving items for the future.

0104

Tuija Ainonen @tainonen.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Searching for: Lecturer in Medieval Literature Location: Newcastle, GB DL: 9 July 2026 Fixed Term, 10 months Sept 2026 - June 2027 Salary: £36,636 to £38,784 jobs.ncl.ac.uk/job/Newcastl...

jobs.ncl.ac.uk

Lecturer in Medieval Literature

0511

Reposted by Tuija Ainonen

The Parker Library @parkerlibcccc.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Blooming borders! 🏵️🌺🌼💮🌹 Ordinal and Martyrology of Exeter, CCCC MS 93 fully digitised and available with CC BY-NC 4.0 licensing: parker.stanford.edu/parker/catal...

0102

Reposted by Tuija Ainonen

Dr Laura Varnam @drlauravarnam.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

The cfp for next year’s MAMO (the Middle Ages in the Modern World) conference is live! We’ve got amazing keynote panels, speakers, and special events- check it out!! themamo.org

Cfp for the Middle Ages in the Modern World conference

1318

Reposted by Tuija Ainonen

The Parker Library @parkerlibcccc.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

It is with sadness that we note the passing of Professor John Hatcher (1942-2026), Life Fellow of our College and such an important figure for the successful delivery of Parker Library On the Web Just recently we had a chance to hear him remember the early days: www.corpus.cam.ac.uk/articles/amb...