Nationale De France Research Articles

Księgi liturgiczne brata Feliksa Trzcińskiego

The paper is an attempt to systematize the liturgical books copied by the Cistercian brother Feliks Trzciński (d. 1649) in the monastery in Pelplin. Until now, four volumes written by his hand are known: two graduals: L 14 (1625) and L 12 (undated) as well as two antiphonaries: L 16 (1643) and L 4 (1648). In 2020, the author identified in the Bibliothčque nationale de France in Paris another manuscript (RES 2239) written by F. Trzciński in 1635, probably for the monastery of the Brigittine Sisters. In the manuscript a colophone has been preserved (f. 127v), and it confirms the authorship of F. Trzciński. In the last written book (antiphonary L 4) brother Trzcinski wrote: „opus 7”. It confirms that two volumes have not yet been identified.

Ainard of Dives and the Ste-Catherine-du-Mont office for St Katherine of Alexandria: ‘Inter praecipuos cantores scientia musicae artis’

ABSTRACTOrderic Vitalis writes that Ainard, a monk of Ste-Catherine-du-Mont monastery, composed a historia for St Katherine of Alexandria for use at his institution, which possessed the saint's oil-secreting finger bones. Through a series of historiographical errors, throughout the twentieth century it came to be believed either that Ainard composed not a liturgical office, but a prose vita of the saint, or that the office he had composed was lost. This article presents a survey of the oldest extant offices for St Katherine, showing that the office widely disseminated in German-speaking lands can be traced to Normandy, and through palaeographical and codicological analysis of its earliest source, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, nouv. acq. lat. 1083, to Ste-Catherine-du-Mont in the late eleventh century. The office contained in this manuscript juxtaposes newly composed proper chants for St Katherine with existing chants from a variety of liturgical sources that honoured established saints, and emphasises the power of St Katherine's relics. The contents and themes of the office suggest an agenda of legitimisation and cultic publicity on the part of its creator, which would be consistent with the aims of a monk of Ste-Catherine. If this manuscript is indeed from Ste-Catherine-du-Mont, it likely records the office that Ainard composed. This attribution is reinforced by a textual-melodic style and modal organisation that grounds it in a later style of chant composition, which Ainard – a south German by birth – would likely have been familiar with.

Re-reading Merleau-Ponty through the language of drawing

In order to present visual art as a paradigm for philosophy, Maurice Merleau-Ponty investigated the creative processes of artists whose work corresponded closely with his philosophical ideas. His essays on art are widely valued for emphasizing process over product, and for challenging the primacy of the written word in all spheres of human expression. While it is clear that he initially favoured painting, in his late work Merleau-Ponty began to develop a much deeper understanding of the complexities of how art is made in parallel with his advancement of a new ontology. In this article I focus on the materiality of Merleau-Ponty’s work in progress through an examination of his unfinished manuscript and working notes in the Bibliothèque national de France (BnF) in Paris. Through a reflection on the potential of these archive documents to reveal new insights into his working processes, I establish a connection to Merleau-Ponty’s own embodied thought mechanisms to uncover comparative methods of enquiry to those used in drawing practice.

The Fustat al-‘adala: a Unique Manuscript on the Religious Landscape of Medieval Anatolia

The particularities in the political development of medieval Anatolia after the arrival of the Seljuq Turks in the eleventh century resulted in a singular scenario in which a long but steady process of Islamization transformed medieval Anatolia with the majority Christian population into a mostly Muslim territory by the end of the fifteenth century. However, this process of conflict and accommodation affected not only the different religions present in the peninsula but also those confessions that coexisted and competed with each another within each of these religions. The religious diversity of the 13thto 15thcent. Anatolia has also reflected its textual production. Several significant works onkalamandfiqh, in addition to a variety of Sufi texts, were produced during this period. These works often deal with dogma, practices or traditions of their religious confession. But, generally, they do not offer much information on other religious confessions. The manuscript held at the Bibliothèque National de France (Supplément Turc 1120) contains a work which has been identified by Osman Turan as theFustat al-‘adalaand attributed to a certain Muhammad b. Muhammad al-Khatib. The uniqueness of this work is that a part of it is occupied with describing the different ‘heresies’ that were present in Anatolia at the time when the author lived, which appears to be during the lifetime of the last Seljuq Sultan of Rum, Ghiyath al-din Mas‘ud (d. 1308 AD). This introduction will look at this manuscript from both a codicological and thematic perspective. On the one hand, I will discuss certain aspects related to the production of the codex, its authorship and potential patronage. While on the other, the section on heresies contained in the text will be examined to explore what this work can tell us about the religious environment of medieval Anatolia.

An Arthurian Knight in Ivory and Ink

Manuscript Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS fr. 12577 and ivory casket Musée du Louvre, OA 122, and are two of three extant fourteenth-century visualizations of Chrétien’s Le Conte du Graal, produced in Paris circa 1310-1330. Although the objects’ shared era of production suggests similarities of iconography, artistic influences, and production methods, little research has been conducted regarding visual and cultural connections between MS fr. 12577 and OA 122. Through iconographic and stylistic analysis of the scenes each artisan depicted within his respective medium, I elucidate how the casket and manuscript’s imagery personifies Perceval’s dual nature, a young knight symbolic of the secular and sacred. As visualizations of Chrétien’s most religiously-minded legend, MS fr. 12577 and OA 122 exemplify the intertwining of the sacred and secular within fourteenth-century French romantic art, specifically within illuminated manuscripts and carved ivory, materials that through their refinement, rarity, and expense, signified leisure, luxury, and nobility. By examining these two opulent objects, I provide insights into their purpose and significance in late medieval France, especially cultural crossover between the porous realms of sacred and secular medieval life.

The Artistic Patronage and Transatlantic Connections of Florence Blumenthal

<p class="MsoNormal">This article will trace the artistic patronage and transatlantic connections of the collector and philanthropist, Florence Blumenthal (1873–1930), who, with her husband George Blumenthal (1858–1941), constructed vast homes and collections in both New York and France beginning in the late nineteenth century. In partnership with George, Florence became an important patron of art and a benefactor of medical and cultural institutions in both America and France, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Louvre Museum, Necker Children’s Hospital, and the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Florence died prematurely at the age of fifty-seven, without direct descendants, and has often been overshadowed by the legacy of her husband. This article aims to draw renewed attention to her important position within the scholarship and history of female collecting, patronage, and taste. It will also trace Florence’s family background and highlight other key female relatives who likewise became influential patrons of modern art and supporters of civil and women’s rights, women’s education, leadership, and philanthropy. Additionally, it will explore Florence’s exchanges with other female collectors and the domestic and international influences on both sides of the Atlantic. Finally, this article will explore Florence’s creation of La Fondation américaine pour la pensée et l’art français (The American Foundation for French Art and Thought) in 1919 for the support of young, contemporary French artists and how this new initiative facilitated an entrée into the public sphere and a means to shape and participate in culture and civic involvement. It will also document Florence’s direct involvement in the design and construction of a <i>Salle Gothique</i> (Gothic room) attached to her home in Paris, composed of medieval architectural elements and stained glass windows, to house her foundation and hold meetings and musical concerts, which also served as a catalyst for her individual identity.<br>

The Valise Correspondence: A Reconsideration of Nadia and Lili Boulanger, Composers

The Valise CorrespondenceA Reconsideration of Nadia and Lili Boulanger, Composers Kimberly Francis (bio) and Hayley Berry When Nadia Boulanger died, the executors of her estate donated an extensive collection of primary sources to the Bibliothèque nationale de France. The contents of a specific valise, or suitcase, were meant to be left unopened until 2011, and scholars are now gaining access to these sensitive materials. Most recently, Fiorella Sassanelli published a comprehensive inventory of the suitcase in her book Lili Boulanger: Frammenti ritrovati di una vita interotta (2018). Sassanelli's text also contains the transcription and translation from French into Italian of more than sixty letters exchanged between the Boulanger sisters from 1905 to 1917. This correspondence begs for an extensive English-language treatment. Doing so will cast new light on the Boulanger sisters' careers and provide details for understanding musical developments of the past hundred years. Here, I focus on three series of letters exchanged between Lili and Nadia: one set from May 1913, one letter from 2 March 1914, and the series of letters written at the end of Lili's life.1 These letters pertain to two major works by Lili Boulanger: Faust et Hélène and La princesse Maleine. The first of these works has received little attention in the scholarly literature beyond a summary analysis by Caroline Potter. Annegret Fauser's discussion of women's participation in the Prix de Rome competition provides a thorough account of Lili Boulanger's public persona but does not touch upon the music of the cantata itself—understandably so, given the previous lack of sources.2 The valise letters make a robust discussion [End Page 132] of the work's genesis possible. The second of these works, La princesse Maleine, is arguably the most significant composition undertaken by Lili Boulanger and has already received extensive attention by Fauser. That said, to quote Fauser, her work was "necessarily speculative," even if it did allow scholars to "look into [Lili Boulanger's] workshop."3 To extend Fauser's metaphor, these newly available letters allow us to peer over Boulanger's shoulder during the commissioning process. The letters pertaining to Faust et Hélène provide unprecedented evidence concerning Lili Boulanger's compositional methods, her processing of dramatic texts, her navigation of competition politics, and her calling upon the support of professional women within her orbit, most importantly, Nadia Boulanger. The letters pertaining to La princesse Maleine speak to Lili Boulanger's professional ambitions, her striking awareness of gender constructs, and her navigation of the professional world as guided by her older sister's advice. I present these two sets of letters as glimpses of Lili Boulanger's process along with unprecedented details of the sisters' synergistic creative process, showing that, above all others, Lili Boulanger placed immense emphasis on the opinions of her older sister. The Boulangers truly were, to borrow Potter's description, "sister composers."4 This correspondence calls for the celebration of a unique professional model in Western art music whereby two women assumed responsibility for the maturation and support of one another's creative talents. These letters bring to life a woman-centered artistic space, providing one model of women's creative development. Thus, I argue that on a broader, historiographical scale this dialogue offers a unique way of thinking about women's creative lives, especially two women whose artistry contained the additional rich influence of sisterhood. Prix de Rome, 1913: Politics, Prejudice, and Persuasion Lili Boulanger first entered the Prix de Rome competition in May 1912 without advancing to the final round.5 The following spring she returned, carrying wellwishes and advice from numerous prominent French musicians, including Paul Vidal, Raoul Pugno, Charles-Marie Widor, and her teacher, Georges Caussade.6 The assignment in 1913 was without surprises: write a cantata on a scene from Gounod's Faust, with text by Eugène Adénis. The valise letters reveal three major themes regarding Boulanger's process: (1) her outright courting of the judges' favor; (2) her subtle manipulation of dramatic texts; and (3) her reliance on her sister's guidance and professional influence. Overall, this project tells us a great deal [End Page 133] Click...

Les exempla dans les sermons de Nicolas de Hacquevilleet les récits additionnels du manuscrit Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Latin 15957

ABSTRACT (EN) Two sermon collections by thirteenth-century French preacher Nicolas de Hacqueville have been preserved, one containing a de tempore series and the other a de sanctis series. This essay offers a list, description, and analysis of the exempla used in both collections. It puts this into perspective with the use of exempla in the additional texts found in one of the witnesses, manuscript Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Latin 15957, which contains both collections by Nicolas, and gives us some insight into the practices and expectations of users of the manuscript.

Claude Debussy: A Critical Biography by François Lesure

Reviewed by: Claude Debussy: A Critical Biography by François Lesure Mark DeVoto Claude Debussy: A Critical Biography. By François Lesure. Translation and revised edition by Marie Rolf. (Eastman Studies in Music, vol. 159.) Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press, 2019. [xvi, 525 p. ISBN 9781580469036 (hardcover), $49.95; ISBN 9781787444515 (e-book), price varies.] Notes with bibliographical references, indexes. Among a century of books on the life and work of Claude Debussy, the most important biographical studies began with several works by Léon Vallas— Debussy (1862–1918) (Paris: Plon, 1926); Les idées de Claude Debussy, musicien français (Paris: Éditions musicales de la Librairie de France, 1927), translated by Maire O’Brien as The Theories of Claude Debussy (Oxford: University Press, 1929); Claude Debussy et son temps (Paris: F. Alcan, 1932); Achille-Claude Debussy (Paris: Presses universitaires de France, 1944)—and include several by Edward Lockspeiser—Debussy (London: J. M. Dent, 1936), followed by the two-volume study, Debussy: His Life and Mind (London: Cassell, 1962). Equally well regarded is Marcel Dietschy’s La passion de Claude Debussy (Neuchâtel: La Baconnière, 1962), which appeared in English, edited and translated by William Ashbrook and Margaret G. Cobb, as A Portrait of Claude Debussy (Oxford: Clarendon, 1990). Claude Debussy: A Critical Biography now makes its appearance as the most comprehensive biographical study of Debussy in many years. It is much larger than the original French edition, which was in its time François Lesure’s culminating achievement. Updated with new and expertly edited material, the English version now has a dual authorship, which makes it the most detailed examination of Debussy’s protean career yet seen. Lesure, who died in 2001 just as his book was ready for the printer, had been director of the Music Division of the Bibliothèque nationale de France and was the renowned author of several previous studies of Debussy as well as the editor-in-chief of the ongoing edition of the complete musical works, the Œuvres complètes de Claude Debussy (Paris: Durand-Costallat, 1985–). Claude Debussy: Biographie critique (Paris: Librairie Arthème Fayard, 2003) has 460 well-annotated pages with an additional 136 pages given over to Lesure’s catalogue of Debussy’s compositions with “L” numbers, which were later revised. This new translation has been greatly enlarged by Marie Rolf, professor of music at the Eastman School of Music and a member of the editorial team of the Œuvres complètes, for which she also edited the score of La mer. Rolf had worked closely with Lesure for sixteen years and was able to make use of his research materials after his death. Her work has also benefited from the appearance of many new additions to the corpus of Debussy documentation in the sixteen years since Lesure’s biography was published, including a revised edition of Debussy’s Correspondance, 1872–1918 (Paris: Gallimard, 2005), which had previously appeared as Correspondance, 1884–1918 (Paris: Hermann, 1993), this resource being just one of many from which Rolf was able to derive more than two thousand notes and references. Lesure did not number the thirty-four chapters of his book. For the English version, Rolf has reordered and combined some of these and numbered them with new titles (twenty-nine in all) and some new subheadings. [End Page 83] The subtitle of the book is precise: this critical biography is very much a biography of the abundant critical writing about Debussy, by such able writers as Paul Dukas and Louis Laloy. Readers familiar with la presse musicale usually know what to expect; this book reveals the surprising degree of sympathetic understanding of Debussy’s art in France in his own time, and to an extent elsewhere as well. Where Lockspeiser, in two well-documented volumes, sought to place Debussy’s thought and musical aesthetic within the context of the artistic life of la belle époque, Lesure’s approach to Debussy’s life is more closely tied to the composer’s daily existence and events—especially concert life—with which Debussy was directly involved as composer and performer, and obliquely (as well as monetarily) as a well-known and barbed critic...

Специфика освещения русско-японской войны 1904-1905 гг. французскими корреспондентами на Дальнем Востоке

The article aims at identiIying the speciIic qualities oI corerage oI the war between Russia and Japan in 1904-1905 by French newspapers. The study is based on the publications in Iour oI the leading French newspapers oI the period (Le Figaro, Le Temps, Le Journal, and Le Matin) which are presented in Gallica, the online archiye of the National Library of France (Bibliotheque nationale de France). Particular attention is Iocused on publications that reIlect the early period oI the conIlict (27 January - 10 February 1904) and sereral episodes of the war (the shelling of Port Arthur in January-February 1904 and the battle of Liaoyang 24 August - 4 September 1904). The study of archiral documents (a total of 15 issues of Le Matin, 15 issues of Le Journal, 10 issues of Le Figaro, and 2 issues of Le Temps that hare preriously been neither fully translated into Russian nor presented to the academic community) clearly demonstrates that the French newspapers followed one single communication strategy which was quite different from the other pro-Japanese European and American media. The study of hard news and interriews published on the early stage of the conflict reflects the attempts to create a positire image of the Russian Empire in the eyes of French readers, eren though the analysed newspapers relied mainly on reports from English, German, and American newspapers and telegraph agencies. Howerer, reportages, published by a dozen of journalists sent to the theatre of operations in the Far East from Paris, were not only a part of this strategy to reinforce the positive image of Russian troops, they also created an objective picture and a deeply personal account of the event seen through the eyes of a war reporter - the identity and adventures of a war correspondent became, for the first time in the history of French press, a major subject of interest for the audience of the French press. Having examined in detail the publications of two quality newspapers (Le Figaro and Le Temps) and two newspapers for a wider audience (Le Matin and Le Journal) presented on the website of the Gallica archive, the author comes to the conclusion that the French press established a dual approach to war coverage in these years. Despite the great role of information from foreign newspapers and telegraph agencies, gradually, it is the reportage from French correspondents that becomes the leading genre in French journalism at the beginning of the 20th century. Articles describing the reporter's view of the war laid the foundation not only for war journalism but for reportage journalism in the French press as well. Therefore, this study analyses these publications as proper examples of the war reportage and not just as individual correspondence from the front lines. The case of the Russo-Japanese war coverage allows analysing the principles of the construction of belligerents' images in quality and mass newspapers as well as their communication strategy.

Temática apocalíptica medieval en lengua francesa

La literatura apocalíptica en lengua francesa durante el periodo medieval no ha recibido la atención que consideramos necesaria al haber sido eclipsada por la producción literaria en francés, por una parte, y la producción apocalíptica en latín, por otra. Con este artículo pretendemos establecer las bases para un estudio de la temática apocalíptica en lengua francesa con la creación de un corpus de manuscritos franceses de la Edad Media conservados en la Bibliothèque Nationale de France.

Conception, Connotation, and Essential Predication: Peter Auriol’s Conceptualism to the Test in II Sententiarum, d. 9, q. 2, art. 1

This paper comprises two parts. The first part is an introduction to Auriol’s moderate conceptualism, as it is presented in his Commentary on Book II of the Sentences, distinction 9, question 2, article 1. The second part is an edition of the text. In the introduction, I focus on Auriol’s use of the noetic tool of connotation. My thesis, in particular, is that connotation is a necessary prerequisite to his moderate conceptualism. To this purpose, the first part of this introduction will be devoted to a brief presentation of Auriol’s conceptualism. In the second part, Auriol’s theory of essential predication will be presented. In the third part, I will present my claim that Auriol’s theory of essential predication can only be made sense of when read against the background of his theory of connotation as applied to intellectual cognition. Finally, I will offer a collation of Auriol’s Commentary on Book II of the Sentences, distinction 9, question 2, article 1, obtained by collating eight manuscripts, which hand down Auriol’s text, that is, Firenze, Biblioteca nazionale centrale, ms. Conv. Soppr. B.6.121, Firenze, ms. Conv. Soppr. A. 3.120, Napoli, Biblioteca nazionale, ms. VII.C.3, Padova, Biblioteca Antoniana, ms. 161, scaff. ix, Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France, ms. latin 15867; Pelplin, Biblioteka Seminarium duchownego, ms. 46/85, Vaticano (Citta del), Biblioteca Apostolica, ms. Borgiano 404, Vaticano (Citta del), Biblioteca Apostolica, ms. Vat. lat. 942.

Bull in the Book: A 1308 Witness to the Career of Francesco Caracciolo, Chancellor of Paris

Bound with the 1338 Catalogue of the Library of the Collège de la Sorbonne (Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, N.A.L. 99) is a 1308 papal bull used as a pastedown in a previous binding (https://fragmentarium.ms/overview/F-nqp8). This Bull provides a further witness to the early career of the theologian Francesco Caracciolo (d. 1316), who served as Chancellor of the University of Paris.

A List of 267 French Texts in Tours: A Hub for Reading in the Vernacular

This article analyses the late fifteenth-century booklist on folios 78r to 82v of Manuscript français 2912 of the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris, listing over 267 books in French. A close study of the material aspects of the document itself and of the texts listed in the inventory has allowed for a new dating of the booklist, to shortly after 1494, and for a fairly reliable hypothesis concerning the owner of the books: a bookseller specialising in second-hand books in French. The geographical indication in the booklist, «In Tours in front of the hôtel [town house] of monseigneur de Dunois», can be located in the town on the basis of historical maps: in the Grand Rue (now the rue Colbert) against the southern wall of the church of Saint-Julien or next to its southern and main entrance. Comparison with other book producers and booksellers in Paris and in Flanders shows that this is a typical location. The names and locations of booksellers and artisans active in the production of books in Tours as contained in the notarial archives of the town have unfortunately not permitted an identification of the bookseller, although the printer Simon Pourcelet had his printing workshop and bookshop nearby. Documented lending activities of booksellers in Flanders and the open character of other late medieval libraries and book collections show that this remarkably rich collection of literary, historical, pragmatic, and religious books in French was most likely an open access hub for reading in the vernacular in the bustling heart of late medieval Tours.

Paper Analyses of Tocharian manuscripts of the Pelliot Collection stored in the National Library of France (Bibliothèque nationale de France)

This paper describes the preliminary results of my PhD research within the ERC pro­ject “HisTochText”. The aim is to perform macroscopic analyses of archaeological papers from the Pelliot Collection. They are stored in the National Library of France (Bibliothèque nationale de France). Most were discovered in the oasis kingdom of Kucha, inscribed in an ancient Indian writing, brāhmῑ. The language was unknown in France. Kucha was a meeting place for many influences both western and eastern, insofar as paper analysis seeks to determine technological influences and local adaptations. Macroscopic analyses rely on traces found in the material of the paper which may be the result of the many stages in the life of the document: the raw material, the manufacturing process, the conditions of use and the storage conditions, both ancient and modern. To this day 350 fragments have been observed. Little is known about papermaking in Central Asia. As a consequence, every shred of information must be examined in order to deter­mine the differences from and similarities to paper manufacturing in Xinjiang.

Foucault’s Critique of the Human Sciences in the 1950s: Between Psychology and Philosophy

This paper is based on the archives of Michel Foucault collected (since 2013) at the manuscripts department of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris. Our investigation focuses in particular on the documents of the 1950s, in order to study the role of the reflection on anthropology and phenomenology at the beginning of Foucault’s philosophical path. This archival material allows us to discover the tremendous work that is at the basis of the relatively few works that Foucault published in the 1950s. The access to the 1950s documents enables us at last to investigate the reasons for the seemingly sharp break that divides these works from the works published by Foucault in the 1960s and the 1970s, in which emerges the archaeological refusal of phenomenology and anthropology, as well as the strong criticism against any form of psychopathological discourse.

Throat cancer surgery training in France

This article reviews the development of practical and theoretical teaching of surgical management of throat cancer, from the dialectic of the Middle Ages to computer simulation of the 21st century. This work is essentially based on original historical publications, analysed from secondary references relevant to the interpretation of the original texts. The literature search was essentially conducted in the “bibliothèque universitaire de médecine de Tours”, the “bibliothèque inter-universitaire de médecine de Paris”, the “Assistance publique–Hôpitaux de Paris archives” and the “bibliothèque nationale de France”. PubMed was used for the most recent references. The search terms focused on surgical training, the history of otorhinolaryngology and throat cancer. Up until the 19th century, throat cancer surgery training was provided by general surgeons. The otorhinolaryngology specialty was created at the turn of the 20th century: throat cancer surgery became a subspecialty, but certain university obstacles prevented the creation of formal throat cancer surgery training. In the 20th and 21st century, throat cancer surgery training was enhanced by technical innovations as well as ethical imperatives. The principle of mentoring, essential in surgical training, has remained a constant feature throughout the ages, regardless of the scientific progress described in this historical review.

Non-Invasive Study on the Sinope Gospels

The 6th century Codex Sinopensis or Sinope Gospels (Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France) is one of the most precious purple codices that survive from the Late Antique period. Together with the Vienna Genesis (Wien, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek) and the Rossano Gospels (Rossano Calabro, Museo Diocesano), it has an unusually rich decorative apparatus with scenes representing biblical episodes. It can be, therefore, considered one of the most important preserved artistic productions of the early medieval era. The manuscript has been subjected to a non-invasive diagnostic campaign to evaluate the quality of the colourants used in its decoration, to understand how the parchment was coloured, and to carry out a comparison with the Vienna Genesis and the Rossano Gospels. The techniques used were UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectrophotometry with optical fibres (FORS), X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF), spectrofluorimetry, and optical microscopy. Analyses highlighted the presence of ultramarine blue, which, besides the use of pure gold for the ink and paint, certifies the high value of the manuscript. In addition, this must be seen as one of the earliest examples of its use in paintings. The purple colour of the parchment was identified as orchil, a dye extracted from lichens, similar to the results of analytical investigations carried out on other purple codices, and not the expected Tyrian purple dye.

International Image Interoperability Framework: A unified approach to sharing images of natural history specimens?

Researchers have become accustomed to online access to data about specimens held in natural history collections. Over several decades, metadata standards have been developed to facilitate the sharing and aggregation of this data, notably Darwin Core and ABCD (Access to Biological Collections Data) developed under the auspices of TDWG but other standards developed in other communities, have also proved useful notably EML (Ecological Metadata Language) and GML (Geography Markup Language). Data aggregators have arisen to both, drive standards development and take advantage of the vast number of records made available through this community effort. Examples include Atlas of Living Australia and spin off Atlas projects, EoL (Encyclopedia of Life), iDigBio, Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), WFO (World Flora Online). There are still many “dark specimens” that are not visible to the web and efforts continue to digitise metadata on these objects and make them available. The vast majority of the data that has been liberated so far, has therefore been text based and the standards reflect this, although many institutions and projects are also producing large numbers of images and other media. There have been media extensions to some standards to accommodate the sharing of images and other multimedia formats. However, these are restricted to metadata about media objects rather than the exchange of media objects themselves. For example, two extensions to Darwin Core are Audubon Core, which is designed to “determine whether a particular resource or collection will be fit for some particular biodiversity science application before acquiring the media.” and the Simple Multimedia extension, which is a “simple extension for exchanging metadata about multimedia resources”. Therefore image exchange, in particular, has not used open standards. Projects have relied on transferring high resolution versions of images (e.g. submission of type specimen images to JSTOR) or cut down compressed versions (e.g. many herbarium specimens submitted to GBIF or Europeana). The network has not allowed access to high resolution versions of images as curated by the host institutions themselves beyond basic links to web pages. If high resolution images have been published in online catalogues, they have been made available using a hotchpotch of different technologies including the now defunct Java Applets and Adobe Flash player. The network has not supported different views of the same specimen or annotations of those views, or integration of audio and moving images. In an ideal world a researcher should be able to view and annotate images of specimens held across multiple collections in a unified way, and the host institutions should have access to those annotations and statistics on how their specimens are being used. How can we achieve this? The sharing of multimedia representations of objects online is not a problem unique to the biodiversity community. Scholars in museums and archives of all kinds are facing the same issues. In 2011 the British Library, Stanford University, the Bodleian Libraries (Oxford University), the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Nasjonalbiblioteket (National Library of Norway), Los Alamos National Laboratory Research Library, and Cornell University came together to develop an exchange standard called IIIF (International Image Interoperability Framework). This framework now consists of six APIs (Application Programming Interface), four stable and two in beta, to publish and integrate image and other multimedia resources in a uniform manner and has been adopted by many institutions and commercial partners in the digital humanities. Applications based on IIIF enable many of the features desired by biodiversity researchers. The notion of sharing and annotating specimen images is not new to the natural history community. MorphBank, founded in 1998, has grown to allow much of this desirable functionality but at the cost and fragility of being a centralised database. The question we should perhaps be asking is: how can we make the biodiversity data sharing network as a whole more like MorphBank? From 2019 to 2021, part of the EU-funded Synthesys+ programme will support the adoption of IIIF as a unified way to publish images of natural history specimens. We aim to have a set of exemplar institutions publishing IIIF manifests for some millions of specimens by the end of the project and one or more demonstration applications in place. We hope this will act as a catalyst for wider adoption in the natural history community. A key goal is to integrate image data served using IIIF with metadata available via CETAF (Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities) specimen identifiers. If IIIF were ubiquitous in the natural history community, building tools that implemented this functionality would be feasible. A brief demonstration of a herbarium specimen browser, Herbaria Mundi, will be given. It will illustrate how specimens hosted in different institutions can be manipulated in a single interface. The architecture that supports this behaviour will be explained and its challenges, by implementing the institutions discussed.

CREATING MS C: AUTHOR, WORKSHOP, COURT

Machaut's set of complete works manuscripts forms a central pillar of our understanding of musical and generic developments and their courtly reception in fourteenth-century France. By applying the continuing scholarly advances made during the study of courtly practice and the professional Parisian book-trade to the earliest of these artefacts, this contribution reassesses the creation-history of the manuscript Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fonds français 1586. The results tap into a number of enduring discussions within Machaut scholarship. These range from questions of patronage, to aspects of Machaut's authorial control and involvement in the production of his books, to the importance of order on the single-work level within a generic grouping, and to the practicalities of manuscript creation and intentionality. Finally, proposed adjustments to the dating of some compositions call for a review of existing notions of generic development and polyphonic composition in the early part of the century, thus resonating beyond Machaut's personal output.