History Talk: Revealing Medieval Manuscripts

Join us for this illustrated presentation by Dr. Alan Cottrell.

Opening Leaves: Revealing Medieval Manuscripts

The majority of art that remains today from the Middle Ages exists as illuminations on the pages of medieval manuscripts. We’ll explore these beautiful paintings that portray the evolution of art over a thousand years. But the hand-written book itself reveals a history of its own. We’ll consider also how early Christianity adopted this new form of bound volume, the use of which changed over the course of the Middle Ages: from books being religious relics to be venerated to becoming works with pages to be intensively studied by scholars. The development of cathedral schools and universities resulted in new libraries along with waves of book production. We’ll see how these fascinating specimens of the past also disclose much about the people who lived in the Middle Ages.

About the Speaker

Dr. Alan Cottrell is a past National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow. A retired college administrator and history professor, Alan remains active in his scholarly research and writing. A two-volume work of his was published by Harvard University Press in 2020; he is now completing an intellectual biography of a central Renaissance figure, the classical scholar and poet Angelo Poliziano. A Baylor graduate, Alan completed his graduate studies at the University of Texas in medieval/renaissance history, including training in manuscript paleography and codicology. A native of San Antonio, Alan now lives in Seguin. He regularly spends time each autumn and spring in Tuscany and also organizes recurring tours to Italy.