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Harold B. Lee Library

Archive for the “Renaissance and Reformation” Category

  • Polyglot Bibles
    Posted November 8, 2011 by Maggie Kopp

    This week’s post highlights a different type of Bible found in Special Collections: the polyglot.  Polyglots present the text of the Bible in multiple languages, side-by-side on the page, in order to facilitate study and scholarship. Special Collections’ earliest example of a polyglot Bible is the “Genoa Psalter” of 1516.  This polyglot presents the text [...]

  • Special Collections’ Wycliffite Bible manuscript
    Posted October 3, 2011 by Maggie Kopp

    One of the more unique Bible manuscripts held by Special Collections is this copy of the Wycliffite New Testament.  It is currently on display in the exhibit “The Life and Legacy of the King James Bible.”  Special Collections’ Wycliffite New Testament was copied in a cursive script by a man named Richard Robinson around the [...]

  • Celebrating the King James Bible
    Posted August 15, 2011 by Maggie Kopp

    Special Collections is proud to announce the opening of its newest major exhibit, “The Life and Legacy of the King James Bible,” which celebrates the 400th anniversary of the printing of this monumental work.  The exhibit, located in Special Collections’ first floor gallery, is open during Special Collections’ operating hours.  The library has also created [...]

  • A Gutenberg Bible for the Reading Room
    Posted April 20, 2011 by Maggie Kopp

    A recent donation of a Gutenberg Bible facsimile now graces Special Collections’ reading room.  The facsimile is bound in two volumes in a German medieval-style reproduction binding.  Here is a detail of some of the illuminations in the facsimile: Patrons wishing to consult the facsimile must abide by Special Collections’ reading room policies.  It can [...]

  • Works of the Aldine Press on display now
    Posted April 8, 2011 by Maggie Kopp

    This month, Special Collections is displaying a number of books from its collection of works of the Aldine Press.  Founded by Renaissance scholar Aldus Manutius (or Aldo Manuzio) in Venice, the Aldine Press is still renowned today  for its attractive typography, excellent book design, and its historical contributions to the scholarship of the late 15th [...]

  • New acquisition: Codex Sinaiticus facsimile
    Posted March 25, 2011 by Maggie Kopp

    One of Special Collections’ most recent acquisitions is a copy of the new facsimile of the Codex Sinaiticus issued by the British Library. The Codex Sinaiticus is a very important Greek manuscript dating from the 4th century. It is one of the two oldest manuscripts of the Bible in existence, and the oldest copy of [...]

  • Project update: French Political Pamphlets digital collection
    Posted March 7, 2011 by Maggie Kopp

    BYU’s multi-year project to digitize its unique collection of French political pamphlets continues making strides.  To date, nearly 1500 items have been scanned and posted online at http://www.lib.byu.edu/dlib/fpp/. The collection includes works printed between 1547 and 1626 which cover such topics as French laws and statutes, economy, propaganda, religion, and social and cultural commentary.

  • Celebrating the King James Bible
    Posted February 22, 2011 by Maggie Kopp

    At Brigham Young University, the spotlight is shining on the King James Bible, which was first published during the year 1611.  To celebrate the King James version’s 400th  anniversary, during the month of February BYU has hosted a university forum address by Bible scholar David Norton, and the Religious Studies Center will present a symposium [...]

  • See Philip II on the big screen this Friday!
    Posted January 26, 2011 by Maggie Kopp

    BYU’s Motion Picture Archive Film Series is screening the 1940 Errol Flynn movie “The Sea Hawk” this Friday.  The film is set during England’s naval wars with Spain in the 16th century and stars Flynn as an English sea captain. Special Collections owns primary documentary evidence of these wars from the Spanish point of view, a [...]

  • Dante in facsimile
    Posted October 13, 2010 by Maggie Kopp

    The latest medieval manuscript facsimile acquired by L. Tom Perry Special Collections is a reproduction of a late 14th century manuscript of Dante’s Divine Comedy.  The original manuscript is held by the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana.  The manuscript is one of the earliest extant copies of Dante’s poem and is highly illustrated. This new facsimile joins [...]

  • Early printed textbooks
    Posted September 22, 2010 by Maggie Kopp

    The most-printed titles of the early printed book market have little in common with today’s bestseller list.  Renaissance printers supplied a huge demand for theological books, including the works of the early Christian fathers and devotional works like books of hours or The Imitation of Christ.  Textbooks were also a best-selling genre in the late [...]

  • Bestiaries, medieval to modern
    Posted July 26, 2010 by Maggie Kopp

    The bestiary was a popular literary genre of the middle ages.  Bestiaries describe animals – both real and imaginary – and provide moral or allegorical interpretations of their characteristics or behaviors. Sometimes the descriptions are accurate, other times, fantastic.  Bestiaries were usually highly illustrated, often with colorful, whimsical depictions of the animals in the text.  [...]

  • Newly-acquired medieval manuscript facsimiles
    Posted January 6, 2010 by Maggie Kopp

    Special Collections has just acquired the following facsimiles of medieval manuscripts: Parma Psalter: a facsimile of an illuminated Hebrew book of Psalms (with commentary) produced in Northern Italy in the 13th century.  The manuscript is decorated with images of buildings, people, plants, and musical instruments. Call number: Vault Collection 223.2 P24 1996 Antiphonar von St [...]

  • Philip II letters now available online
    Posted September 22, 2009 by Maggie Kopp

    The library recently completed its newest digital project, the digitization of a collection of letters from Philip II, King of Spain, related to naval wars with France and England during the period 1592-1597. These letters were previously available in incomplete black and white facsimiles. The letters have been re-scanned in full color and the digital [...]

  • Stationers’ Company Records
    Posted August 18, 2009 by Maggie Kopp

    Special Collections recently acquired the 115-reel microfilm reproduction of the Records of the Worshipful Company of Stationers & Newspaper Makers.  The Stationers’ Company was founded in 1403 and was a major force in London’s book trade both before and long after printing technology arrived in England.  Throughout the centuries, many of London’s leading printers, publishers, [...]