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Archive: "Renaissance and Reformation" Category

Robert Beale collection of letters

L. Tom Perry Special Collections is pleased to announce the availability of a newly digitized collection: Robert Beale collection letters (Vault MSS 457).  This collection contains official correspondence of the Kingdom of England and Wales in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, found among the personal papers of Robert Beale. Most letters are either by …

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Two Bibles of 1522

2022 marks the 500th anniversary of the publication of two important early Bible translations. The Complutensian Polyglot or Bible of Alcalá was the first Bible to include the text in multiple languages (in this case, Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and Aramaic). The project was conceived by Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros, a powerful Spanish religious leader. …

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New Acquisitions in Renaissance printing

The L. Tom Perry Special Collections has a long history of collecting the output of the major French humanist printers of the 16th century. Our vaults hold extensive collections of the work of the Estienne (Stephanus) family, Simon de Colines, Josse Badius Ascencius, and Christophe Plantin. These printers helped spread Renaissance and humanist learning throughout …

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Student exhibit on Books of Hours

Dr. Elliott Wise’s Fall 2021 Art History 490/540 class are guest curators of the newest exhibit in Special Collections. “The Book and the Body” showcases the students’ original research using images from Special Collections’ printed and manuscript Books of Hours. The exhibit examines how early readers would have interacted emotionally, spiritually, and physically with these …

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Celebrating Dante Alighieri

Today marks the 700th anniversary of the death of the Italian poet, Dante Alighieri. His Divine Comedy (completed in 1320) is considered both one of the greatest works in Italian literature and one of the greatest literary works of the European Middle Ages. Dante’s poetry and prose works were copied widely in Medieval Italy—around 800 …

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This month in Reformation history: Martin Luther translates the New Testament

Five hundred years ago, during the summer of 1521, Martin Luther sequestered himself at Wartburg castle. While in hiding from secular and Papal authorities who might arrest him on heresy charges, he set to work translating the Bible into vernacular German according to his understanding of scripture. In Germany, vernacular Bibles based on the Latin …

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This month in Reformation history: The Edict of Worms

The Imperial Diet was divided on what to do about Luther. While some felt he should be condemned, others feared that any action against Luther would lead to rebellion in areas of the Holy Roman Empire which supported him. On May 8, 1521 Emperor Charles took the decisive step of drawing up an edict against …

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This month in Reformation history: Luther at the Diet of Worms

When Charles V was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in October 1520, he was immediately confronted by urgent political, military, and social challenges within his new realm. He called an imperial council, or Diet, to be held in the city of Worms on the Upper Rhine in modern Germany. The council opened on January 23, 1521. …

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This month in Reformation history

The winter of 1520-1521 marked a crucial turning point in the theological conflict between Martin Luther and the papacy. Pope Leo X issued an official decree (or “Bull”), Exsurge Domine on June 15, 1520 which condemned Luther and his teachings. Luther received a copy of the decree in October. It gave him 60 days to …

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