Talk: Decoding clues from a medieval manuscript fragment

Dr Nicholas Thompson, Senior Lecturer in Theological and Religious Studies at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, discusses a medieval manuscript fragment added long ago to the binding of a book displayed in the exhibition Got you covered: Deciphering bookbindings.

A manuscript fragment used to repair the spine of a sixteenth century volume, now held in the University library, dates from the late 12th or early 13th century. It contains readings, prayers and hymns for the feasts of Saints Thomas the Apostle (23 December) and Stephen the Protomartyr (26 December) and probably came from a monastic breviary. At the turn of the 13th century, breviaries represented a new genre. As their name suggests, breviaries abbreviated or compressed the texts used for Benedictine monastic prayer into a more portable format. As such, they were useful to the new itinerant preaching orders like the Franciscans and Dominicans. This talk looks at the clues we have used to date the fragment and offers some informed guesses about its origin and historical context.

Learn more about Got you covered: Deciphering bookbindings, the latest exhibition in He Māra Mahara.

Host or Publisher University of Auckland Library