Less than a week away!

When I woke up today, I realized that we will be at Stanford in less than a week! I’m quite excited to make a major step in our project, but I am also looking  forward to seeing Stanford. San Francisco is one of my favorite cities, but I never visited Stanford in Palo Alto while there. Assuming the climate in Palo Alto is similar to San Francisco’s, I’ll have to pack some decently warm clothes.  I have heard from my family that Stanford’s campus is beautiful; I went on the internet today to look at pictures, and must admit that I agree wholeheartedly. I can’t wait to see it in person. Universities are so distinctive, from Duke’s Gothic architecture to USC’s Horseshoe to Stanford’s Eucalyptus trees (which Dr. Gwara mentioned to me). 

Dr. Gwara also mentioned that we might get to see Stanford’s medieval manuscript collection. I read online that they have a pristine copy of Gregory the Great’s Dialogues as well as a beautifully illuminated early 16th century Life of St. Catherine of Siena. I really hope we get to see these fascinating documents.

Assuming we finish our project early, we might be able to visit a few sites around San Francisco. Out of curiosity, I googled “San Francisco Museums Medieval” and discovered an exhibit on medieval torture. A bit gruesome, but something which might be interesting to see if we have time. There is also the Presidio, which dates back to the Spanish settlement in the 18th century. 

I’m sure that Aaron probably has a few ideas for what we might be able to see (if we have time).  In other news semi-related to the project, Dan Jones’s book The Plantagenets, the royal house which ruled England during the period in which our Breslauer Bible was written; I’ve been surprised to discover the extent to which the various monarch’s quarreled with the church, notably how they confiscated some church property two centuries prior to the Protestant Reformation. That’s all I have to write for now; however, stay tuned for more posts over the weekend before we head to Stanford!

Carl