UCLA library users can now hold in their hands a 450-year-old,
gold-brushed text with the entire Lord’s Prayer calligraphed
in a space the size of a nickel.
This piece is one of 191 medieval and Renaissance manuscripts,
manuscript leaves and documents donated to the Charles E. Young
Research Library by Richard Rouse, professor emeritus of history,
and Mary Rouse, former editor of the UCLA-based annual scholarly
journal Viator.
“We are deeply honored by the gift of this stunning
collection,” said University Librarian Gary E. Strong in a
press release. “Its contents will be invaluable to
researchers exploring the history of the book and printing as well
as subjects ranging from literature to science.”
The collection, worth just over half a million dollars, was
given late last year to YRL’s Department of Special
Collections.
Now anybody with a valid UCLA library card is allowed to access
the documents.
Victoria Steele, head of the library’s Department of
Special Collections, said the materials are being stored in a
highly secure, climate- and temperature-controlled area. But
library users may request to study and even ““ while gloved
““ handle the pieces in the monitored Special Collections
reading room.
“We will help anyone who wants to use or see these
manuscripts,” Steele said.
The manuscripts and documents in the collection were mostly
written between the years 1200 and 1500. The oldest piece was
created in the ninth century, and the most recent piece dates from
the 17th century.
Pieces come from all over Europe and were written in languages
ranging from Middle English to Italian to Czech. They cover a broad
range of topics, including law, medicine, philosophy and pastoral
care.
“We are very fortunate to have been able to form a
collection of medieval manuscripts,” the Rouses said in a
press release. “We have always shared its contents with our
students and wish that it continue to be useful for teaching as
well as for research.”