The INSULAR project takes a corpus-wide view of manuscripts containing Insular scripts written between c. 600–c.900. We will be using novel digital imaging methods and biocodicology alongside palaeography, art and text analysis to interrogate assumptions and re-evaluate the primary evidence to better understand the origin and movement of these manuscripts in the long eighth century. This talk will focus on some early results, especially evidence of early readers’ engagement with Insular manuscripts.
Joanna Story is Professor of Early Medieval History at the University of Leicester. Her research centres on the period between c. 500–1000, focusing on the early English kingdoms, Ireland, Francia and Italy. Her work is characterised by an interdisciplinary approach to evidence, shown most recently by her book on Charlemagne and Rome: Alcuin and the Epitaph of Pope Hadrian I (Oxford University Press, 2023), and by her new ERC AdG/UKRI-funded project, INSULAR: Insular Manuscripts in the Age of Charlemagne (2024–29)