The topic of my "History of Libraries, Books and Communication" Research Project will be Illuminated Manuscripts, I will be
focusing on the Medieval Period, but within my research I will probably stray
slightly into other eras where necessary.
I spent hours this morning searching the huge list provided by the
lecturer, and so many appealed to me it was very difficult to narrow it
down. So I did a little bit of searching
on several topics that caught my eye, until I found the subject I could not
stop reading about. When I realised I
wanted to read more and more on this subject I decided that would be the one
for me.
Throughout my Research Project I will be focusing on the
cultural importance of, history of and the process of illuminated manuscripts, I
hope to answer the following questions with my research:
1.
What is an illuminated manuscript?
2.
From where did they originate?
3.
Where else in the world did they occur? How did
they differ?
4.
What was the purpose of an illuminated
manuscript?
5.
What forms did they take?
6.
What roles did illuminated manuscripts play in
society?
7.
Who produced illuminated manuscripts?
8.
What is the process of illumination?
9.
What happened to illuminated manuscripts over
the intervening years? Did any survive
the many wars that have occurred?
10.
What were some of the most important or
significant ones?
11.
What occurred to halt the production of
illuminated manuscripts?
I will employ the following strategies to find information:
I will search the Swinburne Library Databases for articles; I will search my
local library for books and articles; and I will use the internet to search for
reputable and relevant websites, for information, photographs and
pictures. I will have to search and read
through information on the Medieval Period in general, as well as searching the
Illuminated Manuscripts, to get a broad amount of information. I am really looking for to finding out as
much as possible on this topic, and sharing it with everyone. The historical information will be very
interesting, but so will the cultural context of Illuminated Manuscripts. I will be keeping a six week online blog
about my processes and progress.
This image is an example of an illustration from an Illuminated Manuscript:
Progress to Date:
I have so far gone to my local public library catalogue and searched for Illuminated Manuscripts, I found half a dozen books that may have anything on the subject, so I borrowed them all to browse. I also approached the libraries Reference Librarian for assistance on their own Journals and Databases. She directed me to some databases that may be useful, one being Trove. Not a fantastic start in my opinion, hopefully my luck will improve. My aim is to start to read through what I have now, and move on to other sources this week. I've added part one of a series of Youtube video's I discovered on the process of illumination:
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