The Making of the Queen's Manuscript
focuses on London, British Library, Harley MS 4431, the largest
surviving collected manuscript of the works of Christine de Pizan
(1365-ca1431). Commissioned by Queen Isabel of France, the collection
was planned, copied, decorated and corrected under Christine's direct
supervision, before being presented to Queen Isabel early in 1414.
This research programme has been funded by an Arts and Humanities Research
Council grant of £199,716 over the five years from 1 October 2004 to 31
October 2009, and is being carried out in partnership with the British
Library which has contributed a complete set of high-resolution digital
images of Harley MS 4431.
The planned outcomes of the research programme include a study of Christine de Pizan's language. In
that connexion the University of Edinburgh has signed a collaboration
agreement with ATILF (Analyse et
Traitement Informatique de la Langue Française - Analysis and Computer
Processing of the French Language), a joint research unit of the CNRS
(Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) and the University of
Nancy 2. ATILF is recognised worldwide for its outstanding work on the
French language from the Middle Ages to the present day. Of particular
relevance to The Making of the Queen's Manuscript is the ATILF research
on Old and Middle French which has developed the
Dictionnaire électronique de Chrétien de Troyes
and the Dictionnaire du Moyen Français.
The
project is located in the University of Edinburgh, partly in the French
section of the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures, partly in
the Special Collections department of Edinburgh University Library
(EUL). The Project Director is Professor James Laidlaw. Dr Andrew
Grout, Special Collections Digital Library Officer, is Project Officer.
The Research Associate is Dr Charles Mansfield. Dr Justin Clegg, Curator
of Medieval Literary Manuscripts, is the Project Officer for the
British Library.
Contact the project by email: pizan@ed.ac.uk