Houghton Library and the Standing Committee on Medieval Studies present “Books for the Soul: Personal Devotion in the Middle Ages,” a hands-on workshop by Dr. Gallant. 

Medieval readers turned to books not only for knowledge, but also for the nourishment of their spiritual lives. In this workshop, we will explore manuscripts from Houghton Library that reveal the many ways books shaped practices of prayer, meditation, and moral reflection.

Together, we will consider these manuscripts as artefacts of personal devotion: how their texts, images, and physical features reflect the intentions of scribes and patrons; how signs of use capture the habits of readers; and how such books created spaces for private piety while also connecting to wider devotional communities. By situating them in their artistic and historical contexts, we will gain insight into the lived experience of devotion in the later Middle Ages.

"Books for the Soul: Personal Devotion in the Middle Ages" will be offered once in the morning and once in the afternoon, and space is limited. Please register for one session only. This is the listing for the morning session. Follow this link to register for the afternoon session: Afternoon Session.

Workshop attendees are encouraged to attend Dr. Gallant’s public lecture, "Considering Withdrawal in Images of the Vitae patrum (Lives of the Desert Fathers)", October 21, 5:30 PM, at Houghton Library.

Image: Detail of Vitae patrum. Italy, between 1350 and 1375. MS. M.626, fol. 86v. Purchased by J.P. Morgan in 1916.