Robin Reagler of The Other Mother has come up with a clever blog carnival idea. For the rest of the week, post a photo, memory, poem, music, or a combination on the following theme:
- Tuesday, 2/12: Something old
- Wednesday, 2/13: Something new
- Thursday, 2/14: Something borrowed
- Friday, 2/15: Something blue
Further details at her site.
Here’s my “Old” item for today, part memory and part photo:
As some of you know, I am a recovering academic, and nearly spent my life as a scholar of medieval history. (No, not the “dressing up in chainmail and running around a field” kind, but rather the “dressing in jeans and spending time in dusty old archives” kind.) Although I’m no longer working in the field, I’ve watched with great interest as Internet technology makes its mark even here.
If you haven’t yet discovered the British Library’s Turning the Pages project, which offers stunning online facsimiles of some great works of history, do check it out. There are medieval Christian classics like the Lindesfarne Gospels and Lutrell Psalter as well as a Haggadah and a Qur’an from the 14th-century. Of later provenance are Jane Austen’s manuscript of the History of England and the original Alice by Lewis Carroll.
No, this has nothing to do with lesbian moms (except insofar as it’s educational for the kids), but Robin said we should be surprising.
You’ll need the Shockwave plugin for your browser and a zippy connection speed, but it’s worth it.
