Books of Duchesses

We are so excited! We just finished a training session with Sarah Dyer Magleby, our newest Guest Editor who's adding the bourgeois Marie Turquam and her books to the database! Keep an eye on this page: booksofduchesses.com/owners/Marie...

Happening now at @imc-leeds.bsky.social : the first of three panels in memory of Dr Johanna Green. Speakers in the first panel will speak about one of Johanna’s greatest passions: Old English literature.

Get your 300–500 word abstracts in by 30 September 2025!

Another unexpected addition to BoD today as the result of other research: Marie de Baussay, lady of Champdeu and Samarcolle, who shared ownership with her husband of a 1424 copy of Pontus et Sidoine according to the scribe's colophon
booksofduchesses.com/owners/Marie...

We love stumbling across new-to-us women. Today's prime example: Marguerite de Croy, lady of Wavrin (1508-49), associated with two books for sure and potentially a third: booksofduchesses.com/owners/Margu...

Although last night's reading did not advance the paper it had been ILLed for, it did add another couple woman from the bourgeoisie to BoD's list of ladies! Meet Thomasin (Barrington) Hopton and her granddaughter Thomasin (Sidney) Ganell: booksofduchesses.com/owners/Thoma...

And also the mysterious Maid Maria, recipient of a copy of the Erle of Tolous: booksofduchesses.com/owners/Maid%...

And today, it's ONB Cod. 1897 linking Margaret Tudor and her sister Mary, to whom she gave this Book of Hours as a gift: booksofduchesses.com/books/ONB%20...

Always a good time when research for other things results in additions to BoD. Today, that's the beginnings of Anne of Bohemia (booksofduchesses.com/owners/Anne%...) and Mary I of England (booksofduchesses.com/owners/Mary%...).

📢 #CfP #OldEnglish #medievalsky #SELIM35
📜The 35th International Conference of the Spanish Society for Medieval English Language and Literature (SELIM 35)
📅24th-26th September 2025
📲Details: selim35.uma.es/call-for-paper
⌛️Deadline: 30 March 2025

JUST ANNOUNCED! The Winterthur Library Fresh Perspectives on Collecting Symposium highlights the work and voices of the next gen of rare book, manuscript, and special collections professionals, scholars, and enthusiasts. Tune in on Zoom March 18 & 19! 📜

Another new addition (and something is definitely off with the code of our book count...): Isabel de Zuniga y Pimentel! booksofduchesses.com/owners/Isabe...

More minor progress: we've added two more books to BoD, both of which are associated with Yolande de Lalaing, lady of Brederode and Vianen: booksofduchesses.com/owners/Yolan...

Conference prep leads to fortuitous discoveries: newly entered into BoD is Jeanne Filleul, demoiselle d'honneur of Margaret Stewart and a poetess in her own right: booksofduchesses.com/owners/Jeann...

Ideally, we want as much information as possible when we enter a book into BoD, but sometimes it just doesn't exist! Take, for instance, the case of BnF fr. 2154, which has almost unknown women's names inscribed in it: booksofduchesses.com/books/BnF%20...

We have another new addition to BoD: Anne de La Tour d'Auvergne, countess of Auvergne! Check her out:
booksofduchesses.com/owners/Anne%...

And if you know of other of her books, please tell us!

It has been a tumultuous couple of months here on the back end of things, but we're finally (slowly) getting back in the digital saddle: today, we added Margret Vigfusdottir and our first pin in Iceland! booksofduchesses.com/owners/Margr...

It is perhaps a little late in the game, but is there enough interest to pull together a panel of speakers on/using Books of Duchesses for #IMCLeeds2025?

Poster for event Medieval Women's Networks: Exploring Techniques and Tools for Digital Analysis, with information on organization and participants, encouraging interested parties to register at https://tinyurl.com/DHMedievalWomen

Thrilled to let you all know that I'll be a presenter for the 2-day workshop on Medieval Women's Networks happening on Zoom Oct. 17-18! Come listen to me talk about @booksofduchesses.bsky.social and learn about projects by @aboyarin.bsky.social, @yvonneseale.bsky.social, and others!

Exciting news: Margaret of Austria's full inventory as edited by Margaret Debae is finally fully entered into BoD! booksofduchesses.com/owners/Marga...

Now to chase down all of the other associated inventories 😅

SHARP Thesis/Dissertation Bibliography Submission Form Use this form to submit citation information about book history theses and dissertations completed between 2022 and 2023 Guidelines Dissertations and theses about book history (interpreted broadly, if...

Did you finish or examine a book history dissertation in 2022 or 2023 at any level (undergrad, masters, doctoral)? Please submit the citation info to the form below! The next SHARP bibliography will be the 2022-2023 Dissertation Bibliography! (Plz reskeet!) #BookHistory
forms.gle/XbTJNUTSy7Tp...

EBS Session 6: Lost MSS and Printed Books. Between fire (Cottonian Library, 1731), theft, and losses over time, one wonders about titles mentioned in wills and inventories, books lent and lost, ghost copies, fabricated citations w/ no correspondence to primary sources icms.confex.com/icms/2025/pa...

EBS Session 4: Women’s Books: Owners, Makers, Patrons
can explore any aspect of women’s books: ownership, patronage, books written for or directed to women, annotations, ownership marks, heraldic insignia, evidence of reading, etc. icms.confex.com/icms/2025/pa...

EBS Session 1: Old Books, New Technologies explores uses of tech in eliciting information about MSS and books. Also envisioned as a sharing session with papers on useful repositories and other online resources scholars need to know about. To submit a proposal, go to: icms.confex.com/icms/2025/pa...

I'm not EBS's official person #onhere, but I've been asked to post the #cfp for #Kzoo2025, so here they come!

6 EBS sessions have been accepted for the 60th ICMS Kalamazoo (May 8–10, 2025). All open for proposals. Volunteers session chairs welcome! Proposals due 9/15.
See earlybooksociety.org

So, so close to finishing the entries from Debae's edition of Margaret's 1523 inventory (about 50 left!) AND that article got accepted and will come out late this year or early next. Appreciating the small joys!

Another week, another 40 or so additions to Margaret of Austria and Mary of Hungary's book collections on BoD! booksofduchesses.com

Picking up steam on new additions to BoD (helps to have a deadline by which a source needs to be returned...) - another 20 books added to Margaret of Austria, Mary of Hungary, and related women this week!
booksofduchesses.com/owners/Mary%...

A database of Polish medieval manuscripts - including MSS in Polish repositories, of Polish origin/provenance, lost manuscripts, and fragments - has now launched!

Take a look 👀

manuscripta.pl

📜

And last but not least, 5) Crediting of Guest Editors on Book and Owner pages!

Go poke around, check it out, and drop us a line if you'd like to get involved :)