About the project

MINiTEXTS seeks to systematically study early medieval minuscule texts, short texts which were added in large numbers to blank spaces of Latin manuscripts from c. 700 to c. 1000

Cutout from a Middle Age manuscript.

Letter of recommendation from Odger to Tetelo and Uualterius (probably added to the manuscript at Saint-Julien of Tours between AD 914 and 927). Paris, BnF, MS lat. 13029, fol. 19v, fragment (Reproduced from BnF Gallica).

Manuscript scholars refer to these textual additions as “microtexts,” “guest texts,” or  "additions."

Unlike such manuscripts' main texts, minuscule texts are seldom characterized by identifiable authors or easily traceable histories of textual transmission. As a result, such texts tended to either be neglected or compartmentalized within highly specialized disciplines.

By contrast, this project examines minuscule texts across commonly accepted disciplinary boundaries, as a unique corpus of practical knowledge deeply embedded in the social praxis of early medieval society. MINiTEXTS aspires to understand the “social logic” of such texts as well as the social, religious, and cultural practices that they signify.

Goal

By analyzing historical, textual, codicological, and performative contexts of individual minuscule texts and setting the resulting microhistories within a longue durée perspective, MINiTEXTS aims to contribute to a re-appraisal of early medieval heterogeneous culture and to the current academic debates over several intertwined issues of medieval cultural history.

Sub-projects

MINiTEXTS consists of five sub-projects:

  1. Manuscript Studies & Database
  2. Practical Knowledge & Social Practices
  3. The Christian Norm & Liturgical Practices
  4. Christian Rites & Religious Practices
  5. Cultures of Healing & Medical Practices

Duration

01.01.22 - 31.12.26


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MINiTEXTS – "Minuscule Texts: Marginalized Voices in Early Medieval Latin Culture (c. 700–c. 1000)" is funded by the European Research Council under grant agreement no. 101018645 (ERC Advanced Grant 2020).

Published Sep. 1, 2021 10:19 AM - Last modified Jan. 31, 2024 11:08 AM