#literary-provenance

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Fashion & style
fromI Love Typography Ltd
1 day ago

A Brief History of the Dust Jacket - I Love Typography Ltd

Dust jackets evolved from protective covers to marketing tools, first appearing in the 1760s and gaining popularity in the 1920s with advances in color printing.
History
fromMedievalists.net
4 days ago

New Medieval Books: Light on Darkness - Medievalists.net

Liturgy is central to Western cultural history, rich in artistic expression and emotional depth, influencing society for over a thousand years.
Books
fromConde Nast Traveler
6 days ago

Book Lovers, These Towns Were Made for You

Cities are nurturing a return to reading with bookstores, literary festivals, and spaces for readers to enjoy books.
Higher education
fromFortune
1 week ago

What if I told you the 'AI slop' debate was over 100 years old? It used to be about 'ghostwriting' | Fortune

Vanderbilt University faced backlash for using ChatGPT to draft a message about community after a campus shooting.
Arts
fromColossal
3 weeks ago

You'll Need a Magnifying Glass to Read Some of the World's Smallest Books at the V&A

Queen Mary's Dolls' House at Windsor Castle contains nearly 600 miniature books designed by leading craftspeople, representing a remarkable collection of scaled literary works from the early 20th century.
fromMedievalists.net
2 weeks ago

Lost Archimedes Page from Medieval Manuscript Discovered in France - Medievalists.net

The newly identified leaf corresponds to page 123 of the Palimpsest and contains part of Archimedes' treatise On the Sphere and the Cylinder, specifically Book I, Propositions 39 to 41. Much of the mathematical text remains legible, despite later alterations to the manuscript.
History
Books
fromFuturism
2 weeks ago

Novel Pulled From Shelves After Author Is Accused of Using AI

A prominent publisher canceled a horror novel due to accusations of AI usage in its writing process.
Intellectual property law
fromwww.theguardian.com
3 weeks ago

Thousands of authors publish empty' book in protest over AI using their work

Thousands of authors published an empty book protesting AI firms using their work without permission or payment, demanding government protection of creative copyright.
#charles-dickens
History
fromMedievalists.net
2 weeks ago

New Medieval Books: Widow City - Medievalists.net

Late medieval Italian widows mourned their spouses and navigated their lives through religious or secular paths, evolving from allegorical subjects to prominent authors who reshaped public discourse on widowed identity.
OMG science
fromNature
1 month ago

Daily briefing: Galileo's notes discovered in the margins of an ancient book

Tectonic plates moved 3.3 billion years ago with higher oxygen levels; Galileo's annotations discovered in 400-year-old Ptolemy text; rotator cuff degeneration common in older adults regardless of symptoms.
France news
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

Worried about the demise of reading? Come to France, where we're up to our eyes in print | Alexander Hurst

XXI/Revue21 represents a vital counterforce to digital fragmentation by publishing literary long-form journalism that prioritizes authorial presence, reader trust, and substantive narrative reporting in physical form.
fromMedievalists.net
3 weeks ago

New Medieval Books: Approaching Records of the Household and Wardrobe - Medievalists.net

The Household and Wardrobe Accounts are English records that document the daily needs of the king and his family. This book serves as a guide to these sources, showing how they can be used and what valuable insights they offer into medieval government.
History
Books
fromThe Atlantic
3 weeks ago

How Not to Recommend a Book

Reader's advisory—the skill of matching specific books to individual readers' preferences—is essential for successful book club experiences and literary recommendations across libraries, bookstores, and online platforms.
Books
fromOpen Culture
3 weeks ago

How to Rescue a Wet, Damaged Book: A Handy Visual Primer

Syracuse University Libraries provides practical tips for salvaging water-damaged books through a visual guide with both intuitive and specialized restoration techniques.
fromInsideHook
1 month ago

Are the Humanities Poised for an Academic Comeback?

Many colleges and universities have made cuts in these programs, often bolstering STEM programs at their expense. It's a situation that has sparked no small amount of impassioned editorials. The headline of a recent article at The Guardian by Alice Speri referenced an 'existential crisis at U.S. universities,' and Speri's reporting features numerous examples of undergraduate and graduate programs facing cuts or outright elimination.
Higher education
fromwww.theguardian.com
3 weeks ago

UK Society of Authors launches logo to identify books written by humans not AI

The SoA said the absence of any government measure to compel tech companies to label AI-generated output meant readers were struggling to distinguish between books written by a human, and machine-generated work based on AI models trained on copyrighted work without permission or payment.
Books
#medieval-manuscripts
Science
fromNature
1 month ago

From Victorian voyages to vanishing maps: Books in brief

Historical expeditions and proxy records reveal long-term Earth and ocean processes essential for understanding and addressing contemporary climate and environmental challenges.
Science
fromNature
1 month ago

Why every scientist needs a librarian

Academic libraries have transformed into dynamic research hubs offering expert librarianship, technologies, coding, maker spaces, and data support that accelerate scientific research.
Books
fromHarvard Gazette
4 weeks ago

That's a book? - Harvard Gazette

Italo Calvino used tarot card decks as a computational system to generate interconnected narratives, predating modern AI by decades and demonstrating how structured systems can create complex literary works.
History
fromMedievalists.net
1 month ago

Dreaming of Owning a Medieval Artefact? Here's Your Chance - Medievalists.net

TimeLine Auctions' March 3 online sale features hundreds of medieval historical objects including a 13th-century Limoges cross, 1224 Chinese armor, Viking silver mount, and Anglo-Saxon brooch.
Books
fromianVisits
1 month ago

New exhibition explores how early printing developed into readable books

William Caxton revolutionized English book printing in the late 15th century, transforming books from elite luxury items into affordable, widely accessible products through rapid technological advancement.
fromAeon
2 months ago

How a playful literary hoax illuminates Classical queerness | Aeon Essays

Carved on the walls surrounding her sarcophagus were more than 150 ancient Greek poems in which Bilitis recounted her life, from her childhood in Pamphylia in present-day Turkey to her adventures on the islands of Lesbos and Cyprus, where she would eventually come to rest. Heim diligently copied down this treasure trove of poems, which had not seen the light of day for more than two millennia.
Philosophy
Books
fromThe Atlantic
1 month ago

When Did Literature Get Less Dirty?

Philip Roth's Zuckerman Unbound functioned as a response to the controversial reception of Portnoy's Complaint, with Roth's protagonist expressing regret over writing sexually explicit material that drew accusations of anti-Semitism and misogyny.
fromMedievalists.net
1 month ago

New Medieval Books: The Medieval Moon - Medievalists.net

In this book of moons, I am writing for people for whom the medieval world and its literatures and arts may be unfamiliar. I hope that in telling the stories of medieval moons, I also introduce these readers to the wonderful, mesmerising realm of medieval texts and images. But I also hope that this book may be useful to those with greater familiarity with medieval languages, literatures, and arts.
History
fromArtnet News
1 month ago

Van Eyck Attribution Dispute Pits Art Historians Against A.I. Firm | Artnet News

Once again, A.I. and human experts are butting heads over the authenticity of a world-famous painting. A Belgian art historian has refuted claims made by Swiss company Art Recognition that two paintings have been falsely attributed to the Northern Renaissance master Jan van Eyck. The paintings in question are versions of Saint Francis of Assisi Receiving the Stigmata (ca. 1428-32) belonging to the Royal Museums of Turin and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Arts
Science
fromNature
2 months ago

Daily briefing: Scientists delve into the smells of history

Researchers recreate historical smells and use imaging, AI, and biomedical advances to probe heritage, ancient human timelines, medical rescue devices, and rare-disease genetics.
Arts
fromHyperallergic
1 month ago

Art Books That Serve Up Beauty and Depth

A diverse selection of art books highlights contemporary women artists, historical art studies, racial justice memorials, disability advocacy in art, and provocative art-history reinterpretations.
fromArtnet News
2 months ago

Inside New York's Grolier Club, Where the Rare Book World Is Open to All

Founded in 1884, it is one of the world's most important societies devoted to books. Though it operates as a members-only institution, the club maintains a steady program of free, public exhibitions that draw from its members' collections. Though often historical, there are fascinating intersections with contemporary culture. Focused on rare books, manuscripts, and literary ephemera, these shows often illuminate how historical texts continue to shape the present.
Arts
fromMedievalists.net
2 months ago

New Medieval Books: Chasing the Pearl-Manuscript - Medievalists.net

This is a book about a book: the small, cropped, somewhat ragged but brightly illustrated volume now known formally, and rather forbiddingly, as British Library MS Cotton Nero A.x/2. The fame and beauty of its four Middle English poems have given it sobriquets beyond the shelfmark, however, which are more familiar and intimate: it is also the Gawain-Manuscript or, as I will call it, the Pearl-Manuscript.
History
fromMedievalists.net
2 months ago

Rules of a Medieval Library - Medievalists.net

When universities began to emerge in Europe during the eleventh and twelfth centuries, they soon became important centres of knowledge. Their libraries could hold hundreds of books, and many of the most valuable volumes were kept under close control - sometimes even chained to desks. We have few details about how medieval university libraries operated, but a revealing set of rubric headings survives from the University of Angers in western France.
History
History
fromMedievalists.net
1 month ago

Previously Unknown Medieval Chronicle Discovered - Medievalists.net

A previously unknown 8th-century Maronite chronicle (dated 712–13 CE) offers early Christian perspective on Arab-Islamic expansion and Late Antique religious-political change.
Books
fromBig Think
2 months ago

5 literary conspiracy theories - debunked

Literary conspiracy theories question authorship, use pseudonyms, and misattribute works, sometimes entertaining but often distorting historical understanding.
History
fromMedievalists.net
2 months ago

Reading in Byzantium: Literacy, Books, and a World of Texts - Medievalists.net

Byzantine reading was communal and performative, woven into religious, educational, and administrative life while preserving classical learning within a Christian intellectual framework.
fromThe Atlantic
2 months ago

A Biography Without 'The Boring Bits'

Sophia Stewart poses a choice that many biographers struggle with: "what to do with the boring bits."
Books
History
fromMedievalists.net
2 months ago

New Medieval Books: Impossible Recovery - Medievalists.net

Julian of Norwich's illness and visions show how sickness and revelation intertwine, shaping personal recovery and the subsequent expression and theorization of experience.
fromMedievalists.net
2 months ago

New Medieval Books: Interconnected Traditions - Medievalists.net

This open-access book brings together more than thirty essays on languages and the ways they develop, interact, and influence one another. Its main focus is the Middle East, where Hebrew, Arabic, and Aramaic long existed side by side and often overlapped in everyday use, scholarship, and culture. In line with Geoffrey (Khan)'s commitment to the maximally accessible dissemination of research, this Festschrift has been published in both open-access digital editions and affordable printed formats.
History
Books
fromHarvard Gazette
2 months ago

The stories behind the books - Harvard Gazette

Harvard's library collection includes books that use layered images, movable elements, and raised type to create interactive, tactile, and accessible reading experiences.
fromMedievalists.net
2 months ago

New Medieval Books: The Forsaken 14th Century - Medievalists.net

In this volume, the authors aim to provide a truly global overview of the 14 century, with each region given approximately the same space. It is obviously impossible to cover every event in every country of the world in a single volume, just as you would not be able to visit every city in every country if you traveled around the world for a year.
History
History
fromMedievalists.net
2 months ago

New Medieval Books: More Swindles from the Late Ming - Medievalists.net

Late-Ming collection catalogs diverse scams, sexual exploitation, sorcery, and moral corruption, revealing pre-modern Chinese cons, social instability, and normative anxieties.
Books
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago

Is listening to an audiobook as good as reading?

Audiobooks and comics are legitimate, effective forms of reading that expand access, boost literacy, and contribute significantly to the publishing industry.
History
fromMedievalists.net
1 month ago

Medieval manuscript lost in World War II returns to Poland - Medievalists.net

A 12th-century Cistercian manuscript looted during World War II has been returned from Yale University to the Republic of Poland.
fromMedievalists.net
2 months ago

New Medieval Books: Old High German Poetry - Medievalists.net

The translations offered are intended to keep as close to the originals as possible in line for line renderings, while conveying at the same time some indication at least of the poetic form. This is, of course, an entirely hubristic aim, and it is either a help (by permitting a certain freedom of approach) or an additional hindrance that, as noted, many of the texts survive in a somewhat parlous state.
History
fromSlate Magazine
2 months ago

My Body Is Being Battered and Broken by an Unlikely Tormentor: Books.

For the 10 th year in a row, my New Year's resolution is to read more books. Ideally, as I tend to tell myself during these protean early weeks of January, 2026 will be remembered for languorous evenings on the couch, tearing through the inventory of novels that crowd the modest capacity of my living-room shelves, perhaps with a tumbler of scotch resting on a coaster.
Books
fromMedievalists.net
1 month ago

10 Medieval Studies' Articles Published Last Month - Medievalists.net

In this paper we investigate whether infant and childhood feeding practices influenced the imbalanced adult sex ratio reported in medieval Europe from historical and osteological evidence. First, we examine hypotheses for the observed imbalanced sex ratios in Europe and the evidence presented to support these hypotheses. We then use stable isotope analysis (δ13C and δ15N) of incremental dentine in 64 first molars from adults at three medieval sites (Aulla, Badia Pozzeveri, and Montescudaio) in north-western Tuscany (11th-15th c. CE).
History
Books
fromThe Atlantic
2 months ago

C'mon, Professors, Assign the Hard Reading

Assigning whole novels in literature classes restores deep reading, rebuilds attention, and enables students to engage meaningfully despite technological distractions.
History
fromMedievalists.net
2 months ago

Medieval Hebrew Prayerbook Could Fetch $7 Million at Auction - Medievalists.net

The 1415 Rothschild Vienna Mahzor, a richly illuminated Ashkenazi High Holiday prayerbook, will be auctioned at Sotheby's with an estimated $5–7 million.
History
fromianVisits
1 month ago

From cassocks to coins: A brief history of Archbishops in Lambeth Palace's library

Lambeth Palace Library exhibits objects, documents, regalia, coins, and ceremonial items illustrating past Archbishops, their offices, privileges, and material culture.
History
fromMedievalists.net
2 months ago

New Medieval Books: The Horse in History - Medievalists.net

Eleven studies examine horse equipment, training, folklore, and material culture across time and Europe, emphasizing archaeological evidence and diverse methodological approaches.
History
fromMedievalists.net
1 month ago

New Medieval Books: Ipomedon - Medievalists.net

A twelfth-century Anglo-French romance about Ipomedon, an incognito prince tested by adventures, tournaments, and ironic narration exploring chivalry, humour, and social values.
History
fromMedievalists.net
2 months ago

10 Medieval Studies' Articles Published Last Month - Medievalists.net

Local populations in Anatolia used spolia to assert cultural continuity with the ancient and Byzantine past, challenging exclusive Western claims to that heritage.
History
fromianVisits
2 months ago

2m heritage funding will make London's papyrus archive easier to visit

A £2 million National Lottery Heritage Fund grant will modernize the Egypt Exploration Society's London headquarters, protecting irreplaceable papyri collections and expanding public access.
History
fromMedievalists.net
1 month ago

New Medieval Books: The Rose, the Bastard and the Saint King - Medievalists.net

The 1471 Lancastrian siege of London aimed to free captive Henry VI; a Kent rebellion prompted Edward IV to order Henry's execution to secure authority.
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