Contact: Maridith Geuder662) 325-3442[email protected]http://www.ur.msstate.edu/news/
Medieval Latin scholarship to be available worldwide by Internet
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Historical works describing the national, political, military, and ecclesiastical life of medieval times are the focus of a major research effort now under way by a Mississippi State University professor.
Based on his work in a number of European libraries, including the Vatican, English professor Dan Embree is organizing an Internet resource that is the first attempt to record in a single reference work the location of every known Latin manuscript of every known Latin chronicle of the Middle Ages. Currently, there is no bibliographic tool for locating all members of this class of Latin manuscripts.
The site, found at www.chronica.msstate.edu, also is available at the Internet site for Mississippi State University Libraries at http://library.msstate.edu.
"The project is an attempt to track down every surviving manuscript that self-consciously recounts history," Embree explained.
The scope of the project is huge: a survey of more than 7,500 manuscripts and more than 1,000 works that now are found in hundreds of public and private collections in Europe, the United States and even Japan.
"Because the project is so big, our plans are to continuously publish information as it is collected and to invite scholars to contribute their findings," Embree explained. The materials will be valuable to those who wish to study contemporary accounts of medieval events. A planned feature for the resource is additional information about the chronicle author, as well as scholars' notes about the manuscripts.
"We hope the resource will be valuable to scholars in deciding whether a particular manuscript will be useful to their research," Embree added.
Dean of Libraries Frances Coleman noted that the unique research effort continues to expand the scope of online reference materials available through the MSU Libraries.
"Dr. Embree's 'Repertorium Chronicarum' will be an asset to scholars around the world," she said.
A professor of Old and Middle English literature, Embree has published scholarly editions of "The Simonie" and "The Chronicles of Rome." He is co-editor of Boydell and Brewer's Medieval Chronicle Series. In addition to his academic responsibilities,he serves as chair of Mississippi State's Holland Faculty Senate.
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