RUTGERS SEMINAR IN THE HISTORY OF THE BOOK
2010-2011 series public lecture

MARTHA RUST (New York University)

Thursday, 28 October
6 p.m. (Pane Room, Alexander Library)

"Northumbrian Gold, Wear Valley Green: The Illuminated Realm of John Lacy,
Book Artisan and Anchorite"

Abstract:
A space for dwelling in prayer, a room closed off from the world that made
way for an openness to God: the stony confines of anchorite John Lacy’s
cell were meant to serve as a threshold to mystic rapture. As a book
artisan as well as an anchorite, however, Lacy also had privileged access
to an annex to his anchorhold in the form of the bookish “cells” of text
and image he created and, in the process, projected himself into, in the
case of Oxford, St. John’s College MS 94, in quite explicit ways. A study
of that manuscript, the sole surviving product of Lacy’s artisanship,
presents a view of a book that serves as both medium and environment for
an anchoritic practice peculiarly suited to a book artisan: a practice
that bears some resemblance to the functionality of a book, closing, so as
to honor and preserve; opening, so as to attract and communicate.


More about RUTGERS SEMINAR IN THE HISTORY OF THE BOOK 2010-2011 events and
directions at:
http://comminfo.rutgers.edu/book_history/RSHOB_2010-2011.html

For their support for the lecture series, the Rutgers seminar in the
History of the Book would like to thank the following programs and units
at Rutgers:

Center for Cultural Analysis | Departments of English, French, and History
| Program in Early Modern Studies | Rutgers University Libraries | School
of Arts and Sciences (Dean's Office) | School of Communication and
Information | The Transliteratures Project

-- 
Marija Dalbello
Associate Professor
School of Communication and Information
4 Huntington Street
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901-1071
Voice: 732.932.7500 / 8215
FAX:  732.932.6916
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http://comminfo.rutgers.edu/directory/dalbello/index.html