Digitizing Medieval Manuscripts

What does it mean to digitize a medieval manuscript? This book examines this question by exploring a range of advanced imaging technologies, from multispectral to 3D to reflectance transformation imaging. To understand imaging technologies requires an understanding of the complex materiality of what is being digitized and, to this end, the book focuses on the relationship between digital technologies and the complex materiality of manuscripts and the human bodies that engages them.

From this perspective, the chapters explore imaging technologies, interfaces to present digital surrogates, and limitations to and enhancements through the digital. But lest past photographic information be lost, the book also examines historical photographs, exploring their rich visual information, and how digitizing and comparing them transforms what can be known. Examples and innovations from the author’s work digitizing the eighth-century St. Chad Gospels at Lichfield Cathedral are provided.

This book is essential reading for all those involved in large and small scale manuscript digitization projects in both scholarly and cultural heritage contexts.

Bill Endres is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English, University of Oklahoma, USA. He is a digital humanist who employs advanced imaging technologies on manuscripts such as the eighth-century St. Chad Gospels.