Online Lecture: 2021 Anselm Lecture – Practices of Writing in England, 1050–1250, Professor Elaine Treharne, Thursday 8th April, 6pm (BST)

This talk will follow one line of research attempting to date a bilingual manuscript from the second half of the twelfth century. From exploring the aspect, duct, and shapes of individual letters, the study moves outward to consider the grade and formality of later twelfth and earlier thirteenth-century manuscripts and charters, before focusing on twelfth-century commentary hands. As the thread of research unravels, the issues of scribal training and professional writing become significant, involving discussion of Leofric of Exeter, Saints Anselm, Thomas Becket and Hugh of Lincoln, the Tremulous Hand of Worcester, and a host of other writers and scholars both past and present. In the final analysis, she asks: what uses does palaeography serve? What do we really know about writing practices in England in the central Middle Ages? And while access to digitised handwritten materials is a boon, what else can digital tools and methods now do to advance scholarship in medieval manuscript studies?

To join the seminar, please DM @MEMS_UKC on Twitter for the Zoom link and password. Please email E.Guerry@Kent.ac.uk with any further questions.