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World-famous authority on Western medieval manuscripts to talk 12th century ‘giant Bibles’

October 30, 2013

bible-1Christopher de Hamel, Donnelly Fellow Librarian at the Parker Library, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University, will give the next lecture in the 2013-2014 Elizabeth Allen Visiting Speaker Series.

de Hamel will speak at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13, on “Twelfth-Century English Giant Illuminated Bibles.” It promises to be erudite, eloquent and entertaining in equal measure.

Sponsored by the NIU School of Art, the talk takes place in Room 100 of the Visual Arts Building. It is free and open to the public.

Well known to lovers of medieval manuscripts, de Hamel is the author of more than a dozen books and many articles on the subject. Best known among his books are “A History of Illuminated Manuscripts” (London: Phaidon, 1986; new edition, 1994) and “The Book: A History of the Bible” (London: Phaidon, 2001).

No stranger to NIU, de Hamel delivered a memorable talk here in 2003 on “Why an Elephant Can’t Bend its Knees: Medieval Bestiaries and their Purpose.” His visit to NIU also inspired the Friends of the NIU Libraries to fund the acquisition of a small collection of medieval manuscript leaves, now kept in the Rare Books and Special Collections department at Founders Memorial Library.

For his return engagement, de Hamel will present a lecture on a group of exceptionally large and beautifully illuminated English manuscripts of the twelfth century, popularly referred to as Giant Bibles.

The event is co-sponsored by Friends of the NIU Libraries.

For more information, call (815) 753-7923 or email avandijk@niu.edu.