Binding a Book

Since the dawn of civilization, people have increased their specialization and moved further away from the intimate understanding of the material objects they interact with daily. In recent decades this has become ever more apparent. While this specialization has made life easier and improved many of these material objects, there is something special that an […]

The Dragon Prayer Book Breathes Fire

I’m so excited about how this amazing team of students has breathed life into the dragon -and how just a little bit of breath has let it speak back to us. Laura Packard, the project manager, along with Meghan Jones, a newer recruit to the team, applied for a grant to investigate the musical dimension […]

Meeting the Manuscript

After spending several months at the Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC), the prayer book has returned, stabilized and ready to be studied. I visited the prayer book last Tuesday at its home in the basement of Northeastern’s Snell Library. At the NEDCC, a small box was made to encase and protect the prayer book. Once […]

Slow Food Manuscript

That moment when, after you’ve been trying and trying to decipher a series of lines that all look the same, suddenly everything falls into place and a WORD magically appears in front of you! Ahhh, Transcription, how I’ve missed you! It’s a rare feeling to look at a page of text completely baffled by its […]

The Next Phase

Over the past few weeks, several exciting developments have allowed us to take significant steps forward in our research. Having received the manuscript from the Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC), we are now able to access the book both physically and digitally. With the help of reference books such as Michelle Brown’s “Understanding Illuminated Manuscripts,” […]

Methods of the Manuscript

In the past few weeks, as we have continued our study of the Dragon Prayer Book, we have begun learning about transcription. Although the prayer book is still at the Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC), we have several photographs of the first page, which Lexi, Anna, and I have each tried to transcribe. Since much […]

More Than Meets the Eye

As we dive deeper into the vast world of manuscript studies, it is becoming clear that this project has even more facets than we could have initially imagined. Last Friday, our team was able to take a close look at a few manuscripts at Harvard University’s Houghton Library as well as learn about Northeastern’s Digital […]

A Tale of Two Meetings

Wow–so, last Friday, we (myself, Laura, Anna, and Professor Boeckeler) all took a little trip to Harvard to visit Houghton Library and to get an opportunity to take a look at some medieval manuscripts in order to prepare us for what we’ll be looking for in our own medieval manuscript! Additionally, we got the opportunity to […]

The Mysteries of Medieval Multimedia

I am Anna Smith, and I am currently studying graphic and information design and English at Northeastern University. Having just completed my freshman year, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to research as fascinating an artifact as the Prayer Book so early in my academic career. I cannot wait to discover what lies within […]

A Voyage in Miniature

I’m Lexi Bond, and I’m an undergraduate student at Northeastern University. I just completed my third year here, I’m an English major, and I’m so excited to be working on this never-explored, entirely mysterious Prayer Book. Along with undergrad students Anna Smith and Laura Packard, as well as Professor Erika Boeckeler of the Northeastern English Department, […]