30 Apr 2020

Lecture 12 - Henrike Lähnemann

Recycled Parchment. Manuscript Fragments in Medieval Dresses

Henrike Lähnemann, Professor of Medieval German Literature and Linguistics, University of Oxford, UK

Overview

In March 2011, fragments of 23 medieval manuscripts were discovered sewn into the hems of dresses. These garments were made in the late 15th century by nuns at the Cistercian convent of Wienhausen (Northern Germany) to dress up sculpture groups for feast days. The talk is going to explore these fragments and other forms of parchment recycling as part of late medieval reform movements.

Link to the youtube video mentioned during the talk

About the speaker

Henrike Lähnemann works on the manuscripts and material culture of the late medieval convents in North Germany and regularly worked with the textile conservators in Kloster Lüne. In Oxford, she teaches History of the Book and regularly collaborates with the Bodleian Libraries.