Author Archives: CODEX

The first 100 medieval manuscript fragments from the Academy Library of Cluj are now online on Fragmentarium. This is the only collection of medieval fragmenta codicum from Romania described in any format so far. Statistically, 86 of these fragments are in Latin, 9 are in Hebrew, and 3 are in German. We dated the fragmentsContinue reading “100 Manuscript Fragments from Cluj on Fragmentarium”

CODEX members Adrian Papahagi and Carmen Oanea were invited to give a paper to a conference on Early Modern Humanist Canons in East-Central Europe. The conference was organised by the RCH, Institute for Literary Studies of ELTE University, and took place at theRCH Institute for Musicology in Budapest, on 17-19 September 2025. Adrian Papahagi andContinue reading “Conference on “Early Modern Humanist Canons” in Budapest”

CODEX has started an international partnership in order to catalogue and publish the Hebrew manuscript fragments at the Academy Library in Cluj. Our partner, Books within Books: Hebrew Fragments in European Libraries, will provide expertise in Hebrew palaeography and codicology, and will give the fragments from Cluj international visibility. We would like to thank ProfessorContinue reading “New International Partnership to Catalogue Hebrew Manuscript Fragments”

On July, 2nd CODEX member, Andrei Crișan, gave a paper entitled “Be þam þingum, þe þærto gebyrige: Re-editing Wulfstan‘s Evil Rulers in Context” to the 22nd Biennial Conference of the International Society for the Study of Early Medieval England. “Communities” was the theme of the conference, taking place in Düsseldorf from July 2nd-4th, 2025. TheContinue reading “Andrei Crișan gives paper at ISSEME Conference in Düsseldorf”

CODEX wins a new research grant from the Romanian Research Council. Project PN-IV-P1-PCE-2023-0465 is entitled “Medieval Books in the Early Modern Period: The Case of Cluj in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries”. Prof. Adrian Papahagi, the principal investigator, will lead a team including four other CODEX members. The project studies the provenance, nature and useContinue reading “CODEX wins € 230K research grant”

CODEX member, Carmen Oanea, has received a CERL grant to catalogue incunabula at Blickling Hall, Norfolk. “Blickling Estate, built in the early seventeenth century and situated a short distance away from Norwich on the edge of the market town of Aylsham, is a jewel in the National Trust’s crown. It is home to one ofContinue reading “Carmen Oanea receives grant to catalogue incunabula at Blickling Hall”

CODEX member Teodora Sava co-organised, alongside other PhD students from Italy, France, Spain, Germany, and Denmark the “First international Symposium of Multidisciplinary Medieval Studies” at the Norwegian Institute in Rome. This is the first conference organised by students enrolled in the Diplôme Européen d’Études Médievales – a programme to which CODEX has been participating sinceContinue reading “16 May 2025 – CODEX member co-organises conference in Rome”

Between 24-28 March 2025, CODEX director, Prof. Adrian Papahagi gave a series of courses and lectures in Rome. On March 25, Prof. Papahagi gave a lecture on the Nowell Codex (British Library, Cotton MS Vitellius A.XV), entitled “De diversis monstribus, anglice: Beowulf e il suo manoscritto” at the Università di Roma – La Sapienza. TheContinue reading “24-28 March 2025: Adrian Papahagi lectures in Rome”

We are delighted to announce the publication of a bilingual edition of Archbishop Wulfstan’s Institutes of Polity (bef. 1023): Wulfstan, Rânduiala lumii, studiu, ediţie şi trad. Andrei Crişan, Cluj-Napoca: Presa Universitară Clujeană, 2024, ISBN 978-606-37-2360-5. Two versions of the text are edited afresh and separately from Cambridge, CCC MS 201 and Oxford, The Bodleian Library,Continue reading “New Publication: Wulfstan, Institutes of Polity (OE-Romanian)”

On 26 October 2024, Prof. Adrian Papahagi gave a paper on “Caedmon’s Hymn: More than Meets the Eye” to the Journée d’études André Crépin, organised by the Centre d’Études Médiévales Anglaises at the Sorbonne. Here is the conference programme:

The Diploma in Medieval Studies (European Diploma for the Study of Medieval Latin Written Sources) was established in Louvain-la-Neuve in 1991. More than twenty European and non- European universities are involved in this programme. The courses focus on methodology and the teaching of auxiliary disciplines: Classical Latin, Medieval Latin, Palaeography, Codicology, Diplomatic, Textual Editing, andContinue reading “DEEM: Apply until December 1st to Study Manuscripts in Rome”

On Friday, August 9th, the Palace of Transylvanian Princes opened an exhibition on the most famous manuscript in Alba Iulia: the Codex Aureus (Lorsch Gospels, 1st part). The exhibition was preceded by conferences on the manuscript’s context, contents and reception given by CODEX members, Prof. Adrian Papahagi and Dr. Doina Hendre Biro. The conference wasContinue reading “9 August 2024, Alba Iulia: The Lorsch Gospels – Conference and Exhibition”

During a ceremony held on 13 June 2024, the Romanian Ministry of Culture awarded the FRAGMED Project a diploma in recognition of its contribution to national culture. Our FRAGMED Project (financed through a SEE 2014-2021 grant) pioneered fragmentology in Romania, and created the first fragmenta codicum collection in Romania (shelfmark “Fragm. cod. lat.” at theContinue reading “Ministry of Culture Award to FRAGMED Project”

A conference on “Local Elements – Transregional Connections: Medieval and Early Modern Age Culture and Education in Central Europe” was held at Slovak National Gallery in Bratislava, on 11-13 March 2024. CODEX member, Adrian Papahagi, gave a paper entitled The Circulation of Scribes, Scholars and Books between Present-Day Slovakia and Transylvania (15th-18th Centuries). The conferenceContinue reading “11-13 March 2024 (Bratislava): Conference on Medieval and Early Modern Manuscripts”

Since 2016, CODEX member, Adrian Papahagi has been teaching the codicology course of the Diplôme Européen d’Études Médiévales (DEEM), organised in Rome by the Fédération Internationale des Instituts d’Études Médiévales (FIDEM). The Codicology course consists of ten three-hours’ meetings, dispatched along two weeks. In the first week (February 26th-March 1st), students learned the basics ofContinue reading “February-March 2024: Codicology Course in Rome”

The recent rediscovery of a manuscript of Nicolaus de Lyra’s Postilla at the archive of St Michael’s Roman-Catholic parish in Cluj has attracted significant media attention. Here are two media services (in Hungarian):

During the renovation of the medieval parish church of Cluj (completed in 2021), almost two thousand books kept in St Michael’s church (picture below) were transferred to the newly established archive of the Roman-Catholic Church. Until recently, almost nothing was known about these books, of which no catalogue exists. The inventory of the collection, draftedContinue reading “Exciting Discovery: Medieval Manuscript Emerges in Cluj”

On 31 October 2023, Dr Dragoș Calma, Associate Professor of Medieval Philosophy at University College, Dublin, gave a class on medieval palaeography. The class was attended by the students of Adrian Papahagi’s course of Manuscript Studies (LLE 5122/5222), by students of Classics, and by PhD students in medieval studies. The class read a series ofContinue reading “31 October 2023: Medieval Palaeography Masterclass (‘Liber de causis’)”

On 30 October 2023, Dragoș Calma, Associate Professor of Medieval Philosophy at University College, Dublin, gave a conference on Ratio et Revelatio: A History of the Book in the Middle Ages. The conference studied the impact of the revealed Book, and of the philosopers’ books on late antique and early medieval culture, culminating with Eriugena’sContinue reading “30 October 2023: Conference Dragoș Calma (UCD)”

CODEX member Carmen Oanea gave a paper to the international conference on “Printing Centres and Peripheries in the Early Modern Period”, organised by the National Library of Lithuania. The conference was held in Vilnius on 5-6 October 2023. Ms Oanea’s paper was entitled: Private Owners and Their Books. Reading Incunabula in 16th-Century Transylvania. The conferenceContinue reading “5-6 October: Printing Centres and Peripheries”

The 7th European Congress of Medieval Studies of the Fédération Internationale des Instituts d’Études Médiévales (FIDEM) was held by the University of Basel, Switzerland, between 6-9 September. The congress is held every five years. CODEX, a member of FIDEM, was represented at the general assembly by Prof. Adrian Papahagi. The topic of the congress wasContinue reading “6-9 September: 7th European Congress of Medieval Studies (FIDEM)”

On Tuesday, 30 May 2023, from 4 pm, Dr Zsuzsa Czagány will be giving a conference on Fragments, chants, notations: Ecosystem of medieval music fragmentology at the Faculty of Letters (Room Popovici). After the conference, Eszter Göbölösné-Gaál will sing bits of medieval liturgical music. Dr Czagány is head of the department of Old Music atContinue reading “30 May 2023: Zsuzsa Czagány – Conference on Medieval Musical Fragments”

The Lorsch Gospels, a codex aureus whose first part is kept at the Batthyaneum Library of Alba Iulia (MS II.1) has been inscribed in the UNESCO Memory of the World register alongside with the other manuscripts of Charlemagne’s Court School (produced between c. 781 and c. 810). The project was initiated in 2016 by ProfessorContinue reading “The Batthyaneum “Codex Aureus” on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register”

CODEX has launched its series “Istoria cărții și a textelor”, published by Presa Universitară Clujeană. The first title in the series is now available, and can be ordered from the publisher (follow this link): Adrian Papahagi, Books from Lost Libraries: The Medieval Dioceses of Cenad, Oradea, and Transylvania, Cluj: Presa Universitară Clujeană, 2023 (hardcover, 276Continue reading “New Publication: Books from Lost Libraries”

CODEX has launched its series “Istoria cărții și a textelor”, published by Presa Universitară Clujeană. The second title in the series is now available, and can be ordered from the publisher (follow this link): Adinel C. Dincă, The Transylvanian Saxons and Their Books in the Middle Ages, Cluj: Presa Universitară Clujeană, 2023 (hardcover, 210 pp.,Continue reading “New Publication: The Transylvanian Saxons and Their Books in the Middle Ages”

Anyone interested in medieval manuscript fragments can now read online or download our exhibition catalogue for free. Enjoy!

Christophe Didier, délégué à la coopération internationale à la Bibliothèque Nationale Universitaire de Strasbourg, donnera une conférence à la Faculté des Lettres (Str. Horea 31), Salle Popovici, le lundi 21 novembre, à partir de 16h. La conférence porte le titre provocateur: Non, l’Europe n’est pas morte… et l’Europe Centrale commence à Strasbourg. La Bibliothèque nationaleContinue reading “Conférence Christophe Didier (BNU Strasbourg)”

Sont exposés ici treize incunables imprimés à Strasbourg, soit à peu près un dixième des incunables conservés à la Bibliothèque de l’Académie Roumaine de Cluj. Strasbourg, un des centres majeurs de l’imprimerie, constitue donc pour la culture de Cluj une source importante d’incunables, et ce dès le quinzième siècle. L’exposition, réalisée par Adrian Papahagi etContinue reading “‘Impressa Argentine’: Exposition d’incunables”

On Wednesday, 16 November 2022, at 6pm (Romanian time), Dr Sarah Wood (University of Warwick) is giving a guest lecture on ‘Piers Plowman and Its Manuscript Tradition’. The lecture can be attended live on Zoom (Meeting ID: 891 9868 6870; Passcode: 210139). Sarah Wood was educated at the University of Oxford, and is currently AssociateContinue reading “Lecture: Piers Plowman and Its Manuscripts”

On Friday, 27 May 2022, from 10 am, Prof. Mircea M. Tomuș (Kirkwood Community College, Iowa) will present his translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight – Sir Gawain și Cavalerul cel Verde (Cluj: Școala Ardeleană, 2020). Convenors: Prof. Michaela Mudure, Prof. Adrian Papahagi, Faculty of Letters. Venue: Faculty of Letters, UBB Cluj (Str.Continue reading “Conference on ‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’”

On the occasion of the European Night of Museums, Prof. Adrian Papahagi presented the iconography of the Lorsch Gospels (Alba Iulia, Biblioteca Batthaneum, MS II.1) at the Museum of the Orthodox Cathedral in Cluj.

The 2021-2022 class of the Diplôme Européen d’Études Médiévales (DEEM) studying codicology with Prof. Adrian Papahagi (CODEX-UBB) have just published two descriptions of manuscript fragments from the Academy Library-Cluj on Fragmentarium. https://fragmentarium.ms/overview/F-5z0l https://fragmentarium.ms/overview/F-32fd The descriptions were elaborated during the seminars by the following MA, PhD and postdoctoral students: Angelo Bellettini (Toronto), Irene Binini (Parma), GiuseppeContinue reading “DEEM students publish on Fragmentarium”

In its first month, the exhibition of manuscript fragments at the Romanian Academy Library of Cluj attracted a large public. Over 900 visitors (local and foreign scholars, groups of students and pupils accompanied by their tutors) were given tours by the research assistants of the CODEX Centre, Carmen Oanea and Andrei Crișan, and by theContinue reading “900+ visitors in the first month of FRAGMED exhibition”

This is the latest publication of the CODEX Centre: Adrian Papahagi, A Transylvanian Puzzle: Reconstructing Medieval Culture from Manuscript Fragments. Catalogue of an exhibition held at the Library of the Romanian Academy, Cluj-Napoca, 8 February-8 April 2022, Cluj: Presa Universitară Clujeană, 2022, 107 pp. + 109 colour illustrations and plates (ISBN 978-606-37-1392-7).

The FRAGMED project culminated with an exhibition of manuscripts and manuscript fragments at the Academy Library in Cluj, which opened on 8 February. Prof. Doru Pamfil, President of the Cluj branch of the Romanian Academy, Prof. Daniel David, Rector of the Babeș-Bolyai University of Cluj, Prof. Sorin Crișan, Director of the Academy Library in Cluj,Continue reading “Fragmenta Codicum Exhibition (Feb.-Apr. 2022)”

On 13 January 2022, from 6pm (CET), Adrian Papahagi is giving a conference on membra disiecta from medieval manuscripts to the Romanian Society of Classical Studies. The title of the conference is: “Membra disiecta: Fragmente de manuscrise medievale la Biblioteca Academiei Române din Cluj”. The conference can be followed online on Google Meet at thisContinue reading “13 Jan. 2022: Adrian Papahagi on Manuscript Fragments”

On Wednesday, 8 December 2021, Dr Dragoș Calma gave a lecture on Editing Medieval Texts. Dr Calma answered the following questions: why do I edit; what do I edit; how do I edit? He spoke about major authors and minor texts, and about minor authors and their relevance for an intellectual landscape. Rara avis: theContinue reading “8 Dec. 2021: Dragoș Calma on Editing Medieval Texts”

On Thursday, 4 November 2021, from 4 pm (Romanian time), CODEX organised a conference by: Dr Christine Jakobi-Mirwald ‘Lost in Translation’: Speaking about Medieval Manuscripts The conference was broadcast live on Zoom. Christine Jakobi-Mirwald studied art history, French and Italian in Munich, and has a PhD in art history and manuscript studies from the UniversityContinue reading “4 Nov. 2021: Christine Jakobi-Mirwald Conference”

CODEX members, Prof. Adrian Papahagi and Andrei Crișan, PhD candidate, gave papers at the “Academic Days of Cluj” conference, held online on 28-29 October 2021. The topic of this year’s conference was “Word and Image in European Book Production (15th-20th c.)”. Prof. Adrian Papahagi spoke about “Describing medieval manuscript fragments: methods and problems”, and MrContinue reading “Academic Days of Cluj”

Michelle P. Brown, An Introduction to the Illuminated Manuscripts of Britain and Ireland, c. 600-850 • Wednesday, 13 October 2021, 6pm local time (EEST), live on Zoom (link) Michelle Brown is Professor Emerita of Medieval Manuscript Studies at the Institute of English Studies (School of Advanced Studies, University of London), and former curator of illuminatedContinue reading “13 Oct. 2021: Michelle P. Brown conference”

Between 27 September- 1 October 2021, CODEX member, Andrei Crișan (PhD candidate), attended the Medieval Summer School: From Diplomatics to Genetics. Old and new fundamental research methods in medieval studies, organized in Berlin by the Centre for Medieval Studies at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (BBAW). Programme: https://www.bbaw.de/die-akademie/mitarbeiterinnen-mitarbeiter/feuchter-joerg/summer-school-2021

All interested are invited to attend our guest lectures. No prior registration is required. • Wednesday, 13 October 2021, 6pm local time (EEST), live on Zoom (link) Michelle P. Brown, An Introduction to the Illuminated Manuscripts of Britain and Ireland, c. 600-850 Michelle Brown is Professor Emerita of Medieval Manuscript Studies at the Institute ofContinue reading “CODEX AUTUMN CONFERENCES”

Singling out the i‘s, especially when they appear in a series of minims, is a well-known aspect of Gothic manuscripts. However, little attention has been paid to the morphology of the “dots”. The present research explores an extensive corpus of manuscripts (ss. XIII-XV) in an attempt to assess whether such morphological variation is systematic, andContinue reading “Dotting the ‘i’ in Medieval Manuscripts”

The Diploma in Medieval Studies, created at Louvain-la-Neuve in 1991 by the Fédération Internationale des Instituts d’Etudes Médiévales (FIDEM), is organised in the framework of the ERASMUS+ programme in cooperation with LUMSA University in Rome (erasmuslumsa@lumsa.it). Students coming from universities with an Erasmus+ agreement with LUMSA (this is the case UBB-Cluj) do not have toContinue reading “European Diploma in Medieval Studies-Call for Applications”

On May 25th, 2021, Adrian Papahagi will give a paper on ‘Anglo-Saxon and Alemannic traditions of Boethius’s De Consolatione Philosophiae’ at an online symposium organised by the University of Oxford and University College London. Full programme: Rethinking English Literary Culture in the Age of Alfred: An Online Symposium Monday April 26th10.00 GMT (=11.00 British SummerContinue reading “‘Anglo-Saxon and Alemannic Traditions of Boethius’ at Oxford/UCL”

On Friday, 26 March 2021, at 16:00 CET/17:00 EET, Adrian Papahagi will give the next Fragmentarium conference on the topic: “Evidence Preserved by Destruction: Recycling Medieval Manuscript Fragments in Transylvania during the (Counter)Reformation” Please register at this link:https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIkceivqzIsHNNLxdELus7pJp8NbAcUevXr Future Fragmentarium conferences: 23 April 2021: Dr. David Rundle (Center for Medieval and Early Modern Studies, UniversityContinue reading “Fragmentarium Conference by Adrian Papahagi”

CODEX member, Dr Balázs J. Nemes is one of the curators of an exhibition on the medieval books of the Dominican sisters from Freiburg. The exhibition is entitled Buochmeisterinn Handschriften und Frühdrucke aus dem Freiburger Dominikanerinnenkloster Adelhausen and can be visited at the City Museum of Freiburg im Breisagau between 13 March and 13 JuneContinue reading “Balázs J. Nemes Curates Exhibition on Dominican Books”

Nine MA and PhD students described manuscript fragments from the Academy Library in Cluj. The young researchers come from various European universities (Barcellona, Castilla-La Mancha, Cluj, Fribourg, Krakow, Sevilla, Torún, Venice), and are enrolled in the Diplôme Européen d’Études Médiévales, organised by the Fédération Internationale des Instituts d’Études Médiévales (FIDEM). This activity is part ofContinue reading “DEEM Students on Fragmentarium”

Here is the passage from the unidentified wrapper of a book printed in 1520 to Cluj, Biblioteca Academiei Române (BAR), Fragm. Cod. Lat. 12, a beautiful twelfth-century fragment from a copy of Otto of Freising’s Chronicle. The fragment has been restored and digitised at the National Unity Museum in Alba Iulia, and has been publishedContinue reading “Becoming BAR, Fragm. Cod. Lat. 12”