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History Books in the Anglo-Norman World c.1100-c.1300

A research project at Trinity College Dublin 2011-2016

In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries history, interpreted as both the recent past and a period stretching back to include the biblical narrative, became a major interest for both the educated elite and a growing audience who accessed ideas through vernacular texts. New chronicles and annals were produced, together with accounts of the histories of particular peoples, nations and subjects. At the same time, history was explored through images in books and other media. Much historical writing in this period dealt with issues of conquest and identity, which were often allied to geography, ethnicity or particular institutions. The 'History Books' project, funded by the Marie Curie Programme (FP7), examines surviving medieval manuscripts in order to investigate the writing of history in areas controlled by the Anglo-Norman monarchs, concentrating on the period 1100-1300. In particular the project explores surviving manuscripts, to explore how and why history was communicated through text, page layout and decoration.

Principal Investigator

Laura is Ussher Lecturer in Medieval Art at Trinity College Dublin. She is currently working on a book on the use of images in historical writings c.1100-c.1300.

Publications relevant to this project include: 'Kings Behaving Badly: Images of Rulers in Gerald of Wales' Works on Ireland c.1200' Ikon Vol. 5 (2012), 151-160; 'Gerald of Wales on Irish Art: Objects, Stories and Images in the Making of History in the Thirteenth Century' in J. Hawkes (ed.) Making Histories: Proceedings of the Sixth International Insular Art Conference (2013), 'Past, Present and Future for Thirteenth-Century Wales: Two Diagrams in British Library Cotton Roll XIV.12' electronic British Library Journal (2013, article 13), 1-26, 'From Codex to Roll: Illustrating History in the Anglo-Norman World in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries' Anglo-Norman StudiesVol. 36 (Woodbridge, 2014), 69-89.

Project News

Project Conference

In May 2015 the project hosted a conference on History Books in the Anglo-Norman World. This event brought together scholars from a range of disciplines to explore the manuscripts in which history circulated in the Middle Ages. Further details and abstracts of the papers can be found here. The proceedings of the conference will be published by Boydell & Brewer in 2017.

Manuscript Exhibition

In conjunction with the History Books project's conference, Trinity College Library presented an exhibition of Anglo-Norman history books from their collection. The exhibition was held in the Old Library and included the autograph manuscript of John of Worcester's Chronicula (MS 503) and copies of works by other famous medieval historians including William of Malmesbury, Geoffrey of Monmouth, Henry of Huntingdon and Ralph of Diss.

M.Phil Studentships for 2013-14

In 2013-14 the project sponsored three M.Phil students working on medieval manuscripts. Nina Baker, Kerstina Mortensen and Charlotte Schaeken explored aspects of book production and identity as part of the M.Phil programmes in Medieval Language, Literature and Culture, and Irish Art History.

Participants:

This project has brought together scholars from a wide range of disciplines to examine issues relevant to the project and work on manuscripts in Trinity College Library's collection.