Event Calendar
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Dr Christopher de Hamel (University of Cambridge): The Posthumous Papers of the Manuscript Club
31/01/2023 at 17:30 – 19:00
The illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages are among the greatest works of European art and literature. We are dazzled by them and recognize their crucial role in the transmission of knowledge. But we generally think much less about the countless men and women who made, collected and preserved them through the centuries, and to whom they owe their existence. Christopher de Hamel’s new book introduces us to some of the extraordinary people who have spent their lives among illuminated manuscripts over the last thousand years. A monk in Normandy, a prince of France, a Florentine bookseller, an English antiquary, a rabbi from central Europe, a French priest, a Keeper at the British Museum, a Greek forger, a German polymath, a British connoisseur and the woman who created the most spectacular library in America – all of them were participants in what Christopher de Hamel calls the Manuscripts Club.
This talk will be followed by a book signing.
In the course of a long career at Sotheby’s and at Cambridge University, Christopher de Hamel has probably seen and catalogued more medieval manuscripts than anyone alive, and his delight and enthusiasm run through all he writes. He is the author of many books, translated into numerous languages, including A History of Illuminated Manuscripts, The Book in the Cathedral, and Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts, which won both the Duff Cooper Prize and the Wolfson History Prize. He is a Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.
All are welcome, but those wishing to attend should book a free ticket via Eventbrite or email archives@churchofengland.org not later than 27th January.
Please note that tickets must be booked individually and we need each attendee’s name for security purposes.
This event takes place in the Bancroft Room, Lambeth Palace Library (new building, entrance on Lambeth Palace Road). Please arrive 10 minutes before the advertised start time to allow time to take the lift to the top.
