Online Course: Discovering Medieval Manuscripts

Week 1: What is a manuscript?

Tutor: Dr Mary Wellesley

Palimpsests, Lacunae, Quires… the world of medieval manuscripts can seem strange and baffling at first, but in this first session we will take you through how a manuscript was made – from the processing of parchment, to their construction, writing and decoration. You’ll see how special these objects are as collections of human stories – the work of countless individuals working together. We’ll also think about the lives of manuscripts after they were made and how they bear the traces of the many people who have handled and mishandled them in their storied lives.

Week 2: Origins

Tutor: Dr Victoria Symons

Developing from Week 1, we’ll be looking more closely at the origins of manuscripts: both their own production and the inception of their long and storied lives and afterlives. We’ll take as our focal point the Lindisfarne Gospels, one of the greatest masterpieces of early medieval Northumbria. The names of those associated with its production, Eadfrith, Ethelwald and Billfrith, as well as the intrepid Aldred who took it upon himself to gloss the manuscript and – in so doing – create the first translation of the Gospels into English, give a flavour of the collaboration and innovations required to create such a work. Produced in the early 8th century and soon at risk of Viking marauders, the Lindisfarne Gospels demonstrates above all the enduring power and great allure of the written word.

Week 3: Hunting for Women

Tutor: Dr Mary Wellesley

There is a common misconception that medieval manuscripts were all made by monks, but that isn’t the case. In this session we will look at the role of women as authors, scribes, illuminators, patrons and readers. What becomes clear is that women were involved in the production and use of manuscripts at every level, but the evidence isn’t always immediately obvious. We find the work of women hidden in pieces of secret code, in tiny notes almost obscured in a page gutter and hinted at in specific grammatical constructions that indicate female readers and scribes.

Week 4: Beowulf

Tutor: Dr Victoria Symons

Beowulf – both the poem and the sole manuscript that preserves it – is by far the most famous literary survival of early medieval England. The Nowell Codex, to give the manuscript its official title, is a work of monsters and marvels, written in both Old English and Latin, prose and poetry, with a smattering of images, scattered runes, and adventures aplenty. Beowulf itself is the longest surviving Old English poem and our only example of extended secular heroic narrative in the vernacular. Alongside it, the manuscript includes The Marvels of the East, with rich descriptions and lavish illustrations of the weird and wonderful creatures encountered by travellers, stories of both St Christopher and Alexander the Great, and a poetic retelling of Judith’s encounter with Holofernes. In this session we’ll get to know the Beowulf manuscript, its scribes, and some of the many stories it tells.

Week 5: Chaucer

Tutor: Dr Mary Wellesley

Geoffrey Chaucer is one of English Literature’s greatest figures – an author who presented us a vision of late medieval England in all its riot, tragedy, hope and colour. He translated works of philosophy, wrote dream visions, saints’ lives, a scientific treatise and an excellent story about people sticking their bums out of a window. The manuscripts of Chaucer’s work are just as fascinating and complex. We often imagine that literary manuscripts offer us direct access to the minds of authors, but no manuscript survives in Chaucer’s own hand. In fact, no manuscript survives that dates from his own lifetime. In studying them, we gain a new appreciation of the work of later scribes and readers and get a captivating glimpse of what Chaucer meant to his earliest audiences.

Week 6: Endings

Tutor: Dr Victoria Symons

As our course draws to a close, our final session considers the endings of manuscripts. The written word has always been vulnerable to destruction, whether through loss, or fire, or the vagaries of changing tastes. Charms warding against theft and records of ransoms paid for the return of books attest to some of the risks feared by the owners of these works, while moth damage and singed pages remind us of other dangers. We’ll end our course with the fates that some of these manuscripts meet, the traces left by those that didn’t stand the tests of time, and a few surprising survivals.

This course takes place across 6 weeks. 

• Tuesday 8 September, 12.30 – 13.30
• Tuesday 15 September, 12.30 – 13.30
• Tuesday 22 September, 12.30 – 13.30
• Tuesday 29 September, 12.30 – 13.30
• Tuesday 6 October, 12.30 – 13.30
• Tuesday 13 October, 12.30 – 13.30

Please note this course takes place online via Microsoft Teams. The joining information will be emailed to you in advance of each session. Sessions are recorded and uploaded to the Course Padlet, and can be watched back at your leisure. Access to the Course Padlet is available until Tuesday 17 November 2026.

No prior knowledge or preparation is needed and translations will be provided as required.

There are a range of concessions available. These include discounts for Members, Young Persons (16–25s) and visitors on Universal/Pension Credit. Press Book Now to see the full range of concessions for this event.

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