Adventures from across the pond and advice acquired there
A blog post by Carl.
From May 12th to June 12th, I have the
privilege to travel in Europe with my grandfather. We stayed in bread and
breakfasts and visited Normandy, Paris, Rheims, London, Norwich, Canterbury,
Yorkshire, Edinburgh, Chester, Wales, and Salisbury. While there, I saw several
things which relate to our research. On the continent, we visited several
monastic structures, including Mont St. Michel Abbey and the Basilica of Saint
Denis in Paris.
While in England, we also visited several former monastic
sites. However, most (excluding monastic cathedrals) were in ruins. When we
investigated the scene of the crime, the culprit was, without exception, Henry
VIII. In many places, we found streets named after the greyfriars or the
blackfriars, but there were no medieval friaries to be found. While on my way
into the walled city of York, I remember ambling through the ruins of St. Mary’s
Abbey. Its tall, gothic stone walls still stand, but grass grows within the
former nave, and a field is all that remains of the cloister. Standing in the
midst of the ruins, I could picture the wealth of the abbey, because the
structure around me must have rivaled Yorkminster in size and grandeur. Instead
of black-clad Benedictine monks, grey-cloaked pigeons now nest in the boughs of
the once great structure.
In York, I had the privilege of having breakfast with Dr.
Pete Biller, a professor of medieval history at the University of York, his
wife, and his friend Mark Hearld, an artist. We talked a bit about medieval
historians and my future plans in academia, but the conversation turned to the
Breslauer project. He asked me why I had titled part of the blog “Gestae Breslauorum,”
“deeds of the Breslauers,” and I explained the history of the Breslauer Bible
and how it was given that name because Mr. Breslauer left USC the money with
which to purchase the manuscript. Dr. Biller advised me to examine the methodologies
used by researchers on similar projects, and told me to investigate a book
called The Friars’ Libraries. He also
suggested that I examine the Corpus English
Medieval Library Catalogues and contact the British Academy’s current
general editor and email him to ask if anyone is working on revising it. He recommended
that I also look at the works of Neal Ker, an expert in paleography who has a
catalogue of manuscripts which have been traced to their locations/owners of
origin or use. We talked a bit about art in today’s world and in the past. Mark
said he thought Yorkminster looked most beautiful from the outside when cast in
beautiful evening or morning sun; later that evening, I saw how the orange glow
of the setting sun turned the stone of the cathedral to various shades and
found I agreed with him. The depth of medieval art never ceases to amaze me.
Over the next few weeks, I will continue to work on the
project. I hope to get caught up with Dr. Gwara and Aaron soon. That’s all for
now—thanks for reading!
