'Mixed media': the Abbotsford Book of Deeds

Margaret Connolly

'Mixed media': the Abbotsford Book of Deeds

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

Abstract

On display in a cabinet at Abbotsford is a curious book-object which consists of a substantial collection of medieval charters, many with dependant wax seals attached, which have been been grafted onto the stump of a seventeenth-century printed book. The documents, which were given to Walter Scott by a neighbour, relate to lands in Suffolk and once belonged to Thomas Martin of Palgrave (1697-1771). The printed book is a copy of A Tragi-comicall History of our Times, itself a rarity. This essay explores some of the anomalies of this hybrid object (at once manuscript/print, parchment/paper, document/book, medieval/modern, English/Scottish) and the taxonomic and interpretative difficulties it poses to scholars, curators, and conservators.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	The medieval book as object, idea, and symbol
Subtitle of host publication	proceedings of the 2019 Harlaxton symposium
Editors	Julian Luxford
Place of Publication	Donington
Publisher	Shaun Tyas
Pages	317-333
Number of pages	17
ISBN (Print)	9781907730900
Publication status	Published - 1 Aug 2021

Publication series

Name	Harlaxton medieval studies
Volume	31

Keywords

Abbotsford
Manuscript
Printed book
Medieval history
Charter
Walter Scott
Thomas Martin

Cite this

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'Mixed media': the Abbotsford Book of Deeds

Abstract

Publication series

Keywords

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The medieval book as object, idea and symbol

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