EXHIBITION: Communities in Communication: Languages and Cultures in the Low Countries, 1450-1530, The John Rylands Library, The University of Manchester, 17 July – 21 December 2014.
The Middle Ages are commonly seen as a time of widespread ignorance and prejudice, but diversity and multiculturalism are not modern inventions. Perhaps surprisingly, examples can be found in medieval Europe.
Drawing on the Library’s collections of manuscripts and printed books from the late 15th to early 16th centuries, Communities in Communication explores how the shared experience of different traditions and languages inspired a culture of mutual respect and integration.
Highlight objects in the exhibition include The Golden Legend, printed by William Caxton in 1483; Boetius De consolatione philosophie (The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius), a printed book from 1485 sumptuously bound in velvet and silk; and a printed Book of Hours from 1494 with beautifully hand-coloured illustrations which echo the illuminated manuscripts of the earlier medieval period.