Medieval on My Mind: The Past, Present, and Future of Medieval Manuscripts in the Deep South
In October 2023, the Hargrett Library at the University of Georgia purchased a fifteenth-century French book of hours, bound in a sixteenth-century embroidered cover and accompanied by a beaded bag. This recent purchase prompts the need to reflect on three hundred years of collecting medieval objects—both manuscripts and art—in the American South, a region not known for its medieval holdings. The symposium addresses the complex history of Southern medievalisms. We ask: What distinguishes medieval collections in the South? What are their origins?