At the beginning of the thirteenth century a new type of Bible emerged from Paris and southern England and spread rapidly throughout Western Europe.  Innovations in script and parchment enabled the creation of single volume Bibles, some of which could easily fit a modern pocket; other features, such as the modern chapter division, introduced unprecedented ease of usage.  These Bibles became the template for Gutenberg’s celebrated 42-line version and have had an influence on printed Bibles ever since. Today, hundreds of these manuscripts survive, bearing witness to one of the most popular books of the Middle Ages.  The ubiquity of these Bibles has only recently been met by scholarly interest, and questions remain regarding their evolution as well as their place within the medieval university, pulpit and priory.

The above information is from the Call for Papers of a conference organised by the University of Edinburgh and the National Library of Scotland set to take place in Edinburgh next July, which sounds most interesting.  It is called “Form and Function in the Late Medieval Bible” and will take place at the Centre for the History of the Book, University of Edinburgh, 12-14 July 2010.  It will bring together experts in medieval liturgy and sermons, art, religion and manuscripts, to examine the material culture of the Late Medieval Bible and its setting.  Presentations, discussions and two workshops would draw on the wealth of manuscripts in the University Library and the NLS in analysing variants of text and layout, imagery and addenda. 

So if any of you is in Scotland at that time, you might consider attending.

To see the Call for Papers click here.

Tags: Books

Beloved Cousyn:  John Howard and the House of York, by John Ashdown-Hill will be published by The History Press in November 2009  (£18.99 in the UK).

Impatient readers who loved John’s Eleanor, The Secret Queen might not want to wait until the author’s new book  is published here (probably next year).  The History Press have a offer of  £15 for members of Ricardian Societies from November 2 to January 4, but we suspect that the offer of free postage and packing doesn’t apply to us. For individual orders contact www.thehistorypress.co.uk and quote offer code HPBeloved.  If you would like to be part of a bulk order from either Amazon or The History Press, at about the same price or posssibly a bit cheaper for shared postage costs (to be advised), please let us know at library@richardiii-nsw.org.au by 23 October 2009 (sorry –  members only).

John Ashdown-Hill, the Richard III Society’s tireless and ever helpful Branches’ and Groups’ Liaison Officer, sends this information:

John Howard, a 15th-century Suffolk gentleman founded a dynasty of dukes of Norfolk which has lasted to the present day.  In 1455 Howard was untitled and obscure; at his death in 1485 he was Earl Marshal, Duke of Norfolk, Lord Admiral and a very wealthy man.

…The author examines Howard’s reasons for supporting Richard III, even at the cost of his own life; he reveals how Richard became king in 1483 and looks at Howard’s involvement with the fate of the ’Princes in the Tower’ and of the royal secrets he knew through his association with the private life of Edward IV.

Beloved Cousyn brings out many fascinating details which have previously been overlooked.  The book also re-writes the history of shipbuilding, outlining Howard’s naval innovations, hitherto ascribed to the Tudors.  The details of Howard’s death together with the subsequent fate of his remains are also explored.

Tags: Books, Richard III

Look out for a new novel by Philippa Gregory published soon by Simon & Schuster. The White Queen is the first in her new Plantagenet series and is about Elizabeth Woodville. It’s very readable, doesn’t gloss over her faults and ambition, but shows a great understanding of her love for her children, her family and Edward, plus an interesting slant on what may be an answer to the Princes’ mystery – although the author admits there is no proof of it. It will be interesting to see who is next in line for her attention

Tags: Books, Elizabeth Woodville, Richard III

Great news!  Respected author Annette Carson has let us use any of her published articles for our website.  You can find her excellent articles in the About section.   Annette has a deep understanding of the period and offers us new and clearer insight into the Ricardian era.

Her fascinating book Richard III – The Maligned King, which was up to now only available as hardback, is due out in paperback later this month, which means it will be much more affordable (£12.99 is the UK price).    We certainly hope that the paperback edition will also be available in Australia soon.  She has also supplied us with a little paragraph which was offered to magazines to coincide with the paperback appearing:  this offers a list of the principal amendments in the paperback to anyone who bought the first edition and would like to see the changes.  There were a few corrections to make (thankfully not too many!), but there have also been some interesting items that came to light in time to be included.  Should you have the hardback edition and be interested in obtaining this paragraph, please contact us at library@richardiii-nsw.org.au.

Tags: Books