The Salzinnes Antiphonal is an illuminated manuscript dating from 1554-1555 held in the collection of the Patrick Power Library, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax. Originating from the Cistercian Abbey of Salzinnes on the outskirts of Namur, present-day Belgium, it was made for the Salzinnes prioress and former cantrix Julienne de Glymes. Likely brought to Halifax, Nova Scotia in the mid-nineteenth century by Bishop William Walsh, it is significant to the Atlantic region, and important internationally because it offers a rare portrait of the history of female monasticism, including 34 illustrations of nuns from three different orders, all with their names inscribed in the manuscript.
Conference papers will investigate various themes relating to material culture including: the importance of patronage networks to medieval manuscript production; textual scholarship and the crucial necessity of manuscript conservation and accessibility to researchers; the broad historical reception of medieval books and the varied editorial practices necessary to bring them to non-contemporary audiences; the gendering of medieval reading and female participation in the literate culture of the middle ages; the function of medieval books and their repertories, especially for medieval audiences; and the technological advances that are changing the field of digital humanities.
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Material Matters 