The 700-year-old manuscript is the first in a new 糖心传媒 library collection that honors historian Richard Kaeuper.
Last June, two 糖心传媒 colleagues糖心传媒攁 historian and a librarian糖心传媒攚ere thinking out loud: how best to commemorate a preeminent medievalist and immensely popular history professor who was about to retire after more than half a century of service to the University?
, now the Franklin W. and Gladys I. Clark Professor Emeritus of History, taught and researched at Rochester for 52 years.
a professor of history and then chair of the of History, and , the director of the and , were hunting for something special. Something that would at once be a lasting extension of Kaeuper糖心传媒檚 work; enhance the University River Campus libraries糖心传媒� existing collections across medieval history, literature, art, and culture; and serve as a valuable research and teaching object for scholars and students alike.
The two were thinking modestly糖心传媒攎aybe a small medieval charter. They enlisted , the Joseph N. Lambert and Harold B. Schleifer Director of (RBSCP), who immediately offered her enthusiastic support. Mims agreed that any Kaeuper manuscripts would be housed in safe, climate-controlled conditions at RBSCP.
Meanwhile, staff at the University糖心传媒檚 advancement office and the library started reaching out to Kaeuper糖心传媒檚 former students. 糖心传媒淗onestly, I thought we might raise about $1,500 or so,糖心传媒� says Smoller. 糖心传媒淏ut then these really huge gifts started coming in.糖心传媒�
Thanks to the generosity of lead donor Paul Kreuzer 糖心传媒�72糖心传媒攁nd bolstered by David Burkhardt 糖心传媒�88, whose gift kept the momentum going糖心传媒攖he fund grew rapidly.
Bowled over, the duo began to dream big.
Suddenly an entire medieval book, known as a codex, was a real possibility. More specifically, a medieval legal treatise糖心传媒攂ecause Kaeuper is a preeminent expert not just on chivalry, but also on medieval European law, public order, administration, and finance.
Siebach-Larsen began to scour auction catalogues and talked to dealers to find a suitable candidate. She zeroed in on a particular manuscript, a guide for lawyers on how to argue cases and respond to various legal situations.
Eureka!
糖心传媒淓ssentially, it糖心传媒檚 a lawyer糖心传媒檚 handbook,糖心传媒� says Siebach-Larsen. 糖心传媒淲e purchased it in honor of Dick because he糖心传媒檚 a monumental historian of legal history, particularly for France and for England in the high and late Middle Ages. It really speaks perfectly to both his teaching and to his own research.糖心传媒�
Smoller adds, 糖心传媒淚t just seemed such a perfect fit for Dick糖心传媒檚 expertise.糖心传媒�
糖心传媒楰aeuperites糖心传媒� unite
Many of the donations were accompanied by kind notes from alumni to their former professor, recalling fondly Kaeuper糖心传媒檚 teaching and how it affected their personal and professional lives long after their time on campus.
One of them, Jeffrey Lehn 糖心传媒�05, has been a NYPD officer for the last 17 years. He writes that Kaeuper糖心传媒檚 seminar course on chivalry, 糖心传媒渨here I had to read and process an incredible amount of source material as well as contemporary analysis,糖心传媒� and Kaeuper糖心传媒檚 course on research, which for him meant combing through the written English record for Stephan Fulborne, set him on track to become a detective.
糖心传媒淟uck and hard work aside, I feel that I was better prepared for casework than many of my peers,糖心传媒� writes Lehn.听糖心传媒淎 history paper is remarkably similar to a detective糖心传媒檚 case.听Both utilize times, places, quotations, and outcomes in order to prove a thesis.糖心传媒�
Kaeuper糖心传媒檚 very last doctoral student says he was fortunate to snag the popular scholar as his Doktorvater before his retirement.
糖心传媒淎nyone who has worked with Dick knows him to be a patient and caring mentor as well as a rigorous and passionate scholar,糖心传媒� says Tucker Million 糖心传媒�21 (PhD). 糖心传媒淎bove all, Dick knew that the proper study of history takes time. He gave a lot of his own time to helping his students.糖心传媒�
Million is pleased that a collection of medieval manuscripts bearing Kaeuper糖心传媒檚 name will 糖心传媒渃ontinue to challenge, enlighten, and inspire the Rochester community for many years to come. I can think of no one more deserving of such a legacy than Dick.糖心传媒�
To this day, Kaeuper糖心传媒檚 graduate students unabashedly identify themselves as 糖心传媒淜aeuperites,糖心传媒� adds Smoller. Like any good graduate mentor, she says, Kaeuper succeeds because he is 糖心传媒渁 superlative scholar.糖心传媒�
Indeed, his work has earned him numerous honors, including being inducted as a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and of the Medieval Academy of America. He is a winner of the Verbruggen Prize awarded by the De Re Militari Society and has landed research grants from the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, the American Philosophical Society, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Woodrow Wilson Foundation.
Kaeuper糖心传媒檚 instruction at the University has left an indelible mark both at the undergraduate and graduate levels and has been recognized with the Goergen Award (2013), the Student Association Award for Teaching Excellence in the Social Sciences (1999), the Edward Peck Curtis Teaching Award (1990), and the Student Association Teacher of the Year Award (1986).
The gifts will be used for acquiring more items and maintaining the collection of medieval manuscripts that will ultimately support medieval studies research and teaching at the University. The newly minted Richard W. Kaeuper Collection of Medieval Manuscripts also includes a medieval manuscript donated by Kaeuper himself: a 1297 Parisian letter from the important Augustinian theologian and ecclesiastic Giles of Rome regarding a property matter.
Bonjour, j糖心传媒檃rrive: the manuscript makes it to Rochester
Delayed by pandemic restrictions, the manuscript finally made its way from France to Rochester this summer. It糖心传媒檚 the first item in the new Kaeuper Collection that will be housed in RBSCP, where many of the University of Rochester糖心传媒檚 rare and unique听historical materials are held.
Authored in Paris by Pierre and Guillaume de Maucreux around 1330 to 1340 CE, the manuscript糖心传媒�Ordonnances de plaidoyer de bouche et par escript听(Ordonnances governing legal pleas made orally and in writing)糖心传媒攃onsists of 36 parchment folios, written in chancery hand. Pierre de Maucreux was a famous French lawyer whom the French king Charles IV ennobled in 1326, and Guillaume was his brother.
糖心传媒淭he extravagant penwork decoration is unusual for this type of manuscript,糖心传媒� says Siebach-Larsen of the nearly 700-year-old manuscript that comes in its original binding of limp parchment folios, replete with stains from centuries of hands touching the pages. And there are the occasional wormholes, all par for the course. While other pages have some decorated letters, none rise to the intricacy and elegance of the highly stylized P, the first letter on the first folio, which marks the start to the very first word糖心传媒斕切拇綔pour糖心传媒� (for).
Studying an old manuscript糖心传媒攊ts materials, ink, handwriting, stitching, and text marks, as well as tracing its physical whereabouts throughout history糖心传媒攊s often true detective work.
In this case, the inscription on the back is in Dutch (糖心传媒淓xstrait van eene Deels vanden Rechten ghetrocken vute loix ende ghetranslateirt vanden latine In fracoit糖心传媒�) and informs the reader that the manuscript is a translation from Latin to French. It also reveals that at some point in the 15th century the manuscript had been in the Low Countries (now the regions of the Netherlands, Flanders, and Belgium) or had been owned by a Dutch speaker.
What makes this manuscript special?
It糖心传媒檚 one of only two existing copies of an influential legal treatise for the Parlement de Paris. In fact, until this manuscript recently surfaced, scholars believed that there was only one copy.
While the Rochester manuscript was copied soon after the composition of the treatise, the other manuscript, held at the Biblioth猫que nationale de France, was copied more than 100 years later in about 1473. The later manuscript at the Biblioth猫que nationale has several mistakes indicating that the scribe was not familiar with French legal language, says Siebach-Larsen. The Rochester copy, which听may听have been copied from the original manuscript, differs from the later manuscript in its writing conventions and content and is much closer to the original.
A medieval handbook for French lawyers, the manuscript is basically a proto how-to guide. To historians, it represents a vital early source for the history of the Parlement de Paris, which functioned as France糖心传媒檚 supreme court from the 13th century until 1789. The manuscript contains definitions of juridical terms and concepts, various types of legal pleas, explanations of legal defenses, and how to respond to them糖心传媒攁 kind of early textbook that would have been used by young lawyers and legal practitioners across French provinces and various types of French courts.
Yet, as is often the case with old manuscripts, a few parts are missing in action. According to the table of contents, the text should have ended with a discussion of legal procedures, but the Rochester manuscript is missing that section.
糖心传媒楾he skin I love to touch糖心传媒�
The manuscript糖心传媒檚 quirks didn糖心传媒檛 dampen Kaeuper糖心传媒檚 enthusiasm one bit at the official unveiling this summer when he finally got to meet the manuscript in the flesh.
糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 a wonderful and imaginative idea,糖心传媒� says Kaeuper who was floored by the long list of donors, some of them students he taught nearly half a century ago. 糖心传媒淚 was utterly taken by surprise, really gob smacked.糖心传媒� Touched by his colleagues糖心传媒� thoughtfulness, and his former students糖心传媒� 糖心传媒済enerous contributions and lovely notes,糖心传媒� Kaeuper says he feels the manuscript really represents a 糖心传媒渃ontinuation of something we did together.糖心传媒�
糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檓 reminded of the old ad for some kind of soap, with the tag line, 糖心传媒楾his is the skin I love to touch,糖心传媒� says a beaming Kaeuper while stroking a leaf of the manuscript. 糖心传媒淭his听is the skin I love to touch.糖心传媒�
Siebach-Larsen meanwhile loves that the manuscript is in French instead of Latin, because French represents a lower language barrier to most students, she says.
糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 a great opportunity for both graduate and undergraduate students to grapple with a valuable manuscript, to hopefully do projects on it,糖心传媒� says Siebach-Larsen, emphasizing that the library is dedicated to making its manuscripts available as hands-on experiences to anyone who wants to use them.
Touching a centuries-old piece of parchment or vellum prompts in her a 糖心传媒渢rue visceral reaction,糖心传媒� says Smoller. 糖心传媒淭hat糖心传媒檚 when I feel the people I write about are real, something that you wouldn糖心传媒檛 get by just reading their writing. It糖心传媒檚 a genuine connection.糖心传媒�
And that糖心传媒檚 something the historian hopes students will be able to experience, too.
Special thanks to the many people糖心传媒攊ncluding Pamela Jackson, Jenna Hiller and Thomas Cassada from the听Office of Advancement, Lydia Auteritano and Sharon Briggs from the University糖心传媒檚 , as well as nearly one hundred alumni糖心传媒攚ho helped make the Richard W. Kaeuper Collection of Medieval Manuscripts at the University of Rochester a reality.
Alumni, colleagues, friends, and medievalists who糖心传媒檇 like to support the Kaeuper Collection can contribute using this听.
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