Words, Words, Words: Medieval and Early-Modern Dictionaries (May 31, 2013)
Colloquium, Grote Vergaderzaal, University Library Leiden (12 pm-5pm)
This colloquium places center stage medieval and early-modern glossaries: lists that present words and their meaning, the ancestor of our modern dictionary. The colloquium addresses a broad variety of issues related to these fascinating objects. What did dictionaries in the age of the manuscript and the early printed book look like as physical objects? How did they present their wordy information on the page? Why did users need them? Why do their contents vary so much, and what does this potentially tell us about pre-modern intellectual culture? The keynote lecture is by Professor Rosamond McKitterick, winner of the Heineken Prize for History 2010 and specialist of glossaries from the early Middle Ages.
The four papers are accompanied by a display of manuscripts and early-printed books from Leiden collections, including some of the oldest glossaries that survive from the medieval period.
The colloquium is aimed at non-specialists and is free and open to all. If you would like to attend, please RSVP to the organizer, Erik Kwakkel, before Tuesday 28 May.
The event is organized as part of the annual celebration of the Stichting Stedenband Leiden-Oxford, an organization that aims to emphasize the ties between the cities of Leiden and Oxford. The theme for 2013 is “De wonderlijke wereld van het woord” (The remarkable world of the word). For the press release and a list of other activities taking place in the same week, including an exhibition in the public library, see the PDFs below (Press Release and Event Calendar).
Programme :
12h00-12h15 : Opening by Kurt de Belder, Director of Leiden University Library
12h15-13h00 : Ed van der Vlist (Koninklijke Bibliotheek Den Haag) – More than Words: Latin-Dutch Wordlists in The Hague
13h00-13h45 : Rolf H. Bremmer Jr (Leiden University) – The Lure of the Glossary: Medieval Wordlists and Their Significance
13h45-14h30 : Coffee and Tea Break
14h30-15h15 : Paul Hoftijzer (Leiden University) – Early-modern Anglo-Dutch dictionaries and their makers
15h15-16h15 : Keynote – Rosamond McKitterick (Cambridge University) – The Power of Words: Early Medieval Dictionaries and the Transmission of Knowledge
16h15-17h00 : Display of Manuscripts from Leiden Collections, Erik Kwakkel (Leiden University)
Source de l’information : Turning Over a New Leaf
L'Agenda des Médiévistes 