On the evening of November 12, Dr. Christopher Baswell from Columbia University and Barnard College graced Fordham medievalists with a seminar on scholarly editing. The evening was organized by Dr. Brian Reilly in conjunction with his graduate course Editing Medieval Texts. The discussion centered on the topic of multilingualism on the page, ranging from the fundamental importance of familiarizing oneself with the immediate and material manuscript page, to the varying degrees of literacy of those medieval manuscript owners and users, to the multifarious functions of the different languages employed on a page, and finally to the currently under-explored contact between Celtic languages, Anglo-Saxon, Hebrew, and Arabic and that common triad of languages in England—French, Latin, and English.
Dr. Baswell’s enthusiasm for the subject conjured a sense of joy, inquisitiveness, and camaraderie amongst the participants as they collectively admired and investigated a few digital images of manuscript pages. These images included the juxtaposed three living and three dead kings of the DeLisle Psalter, an image described by Dr. Baswell as the “frisson of the deeply creepy.” Typical of Medieval Studies events at Fordham, the seminar drew participants from a variety of departments. Professors from English, History, and Modern Languages and Literatures were present, as well as graduate students from Medieval Studies and the aforementioned departments. The evening concluded with more casual discussion on the topic over a shared meal, while Dr. Baswell graciously continued to offer his time and advice to eager graduate students.
By Sarah-Kam Gordon