Summer Paleography, Text, and Markup Workshops were an integral component of the Making and Knowing Project and provided intensive training in the accurate reading, editing, and interpretation of BnF Ms. Fr. 640 manuscript. Participants gained paleographic skills in middle French as they collaborated on a transcription and translation of the manuscript, making use of new digital tools and methodologies.
Marc Smith, Professor of Medieval and Modern Paleography at École des chartes, co-led muti-week courses at Columbia University, during which advanced graduate students from across North America and Europe transcribed and translated the manuscript. These workshops provided graduate students in French literary studies, history, and art history with training in Renaissance French hands, giving the students practice in the transcription and translation of the manuscript. Later workshops were held in Toulouse, France, where the author of the manuscript likely lived.
Seven Text Workshops have been held:
- Middle French Paleography Workshop, June 9-27, 2014 held at Columbia University
- Middle French Paleography Workshop, June 1-19, 2015 held at Columbia University
- Middle French Paleography Workshop, June 6-24, 2016 held at Columbia University
- Translation and Markup Workshop, June 19-30, 2017 held at the University of Toulouse, France
- Translation and Encoding Workshop, March 11-14, 2018 held at the University of Toulouse, France
- Paleography, Encoding, and Translation Workshop, July 2-13, 2018 held at the University of Toulouse, France
- Micro Paleography Text Workshop, September 15-21, 2018 held at Columbia University
Learn more
- The digital critical edition, Secrets of Craft and Nature in Renaissance France, is openly accessible
- List of Paleography Workshop Participants
- Letterforms in BnF Ms. Fr. 640
