On 17 March a seminar will be held in Leiden University Library marking the end of the NWO VIDI project led by Prof. Mariken Teeuwen, ‘Marginal Scholarship: The Practice of Learning in the Early Middle Ages (c. 800 – c. 1000)’. The speakers will be John J. Contreni (Purdue University, USA), Evina Steinova (Huygens ING and Utrecht University) and Mariken Teeuwen (Huygens ING and Utrecht University). The three lectures will be followed by a manuscript display in the Vossius zaal.

Programme

• 13.30-14.15: Prof. John J. Contreni:
  What Were They Thinking? Decoding Technical Symbols in Four Ninth-Century Exegetical Manuscripts
• 14.30-15.15: Drs. Evina Steinova:
  Pay Attention and Mark Your References! The Use of Technical Signs in Manuscript Margins
• 15.30-16.15: Prof. Mariken Teeuwen:
  Annotating books in the Early Middle Ages: An Attempt at an Overview
• 16.30-17.00: Manuscript display in the Vossius Zaal, drinks in the hallway

The project ‘Marginal Scholarship’ seeks to map the phenomenon of writing in the blank space of manuscripts (in the margin, in between the lines, on fly-leaves or inserted leaves) in the early Middle Ages, in order to better understand the way in which books and texts were used in that period.