Tag Archives: British Library

‘The Art of the Scribe’ – Winner in the British Book Awards

Art of the Scribe book and Britich Book Award TrophyI was absolutely stunned and truly delighted that my latest book for the British Library (published in March 2025) won in the ‘Scholarly, Academic and Reference’ category of the British Book Awards sponsored by the British Printing Industries Federation. It was thrilling to know that the British Library had nominated my book for this Award, and even more so when it was shortlisted.

However, I did practise my loser’s smile beforehand, not looking a bit disappointed that it hadn’t won to start with and then smiling with a ‘but the other book really was the worthy winner’ look on my face (as in the BAFTAs)!

 

When it came to this category, there were four other books that looked like very worthy winners, and having looked at them, I was pretty sure who would win – not mine.

When the book wasn’t even Highly Commended (Runner Up), I took a bit of a back seat – it had been a good evening, and at least the book was shortlisted.

 

 

 

 

Then came the ‘And the Winner is …’ moment. I absolutely couldn’t believe it when ‘The Art of the Scribe’ was announced with this citation on the left (also in the ‘Book of Winners and Nominees’ given to everyone afterwards)! It was just tremendous!

 

 

 

 

Winning Team! Art of the Scribe editor, Alison Moss, John Lee, Head of Publishing at the British Library and Patricia Lovett, authorThe Award was presented by Heather O’Connell, Publishing Consultant, Coach and Trainer at Bluebird Consulting. When I thanked her afterwards she said something on the lines of ‘when we saw your book we hardly thought it worth looking at the others, it stood out so much’! The Head of Publishing at the British Library, John Lee, and my Editor, Alison Moss, are shown here, Alison with the Award and me with my book.

 

 

And the double spread in the ‘Book of Winners and Nominees’ which was distributed after the presentations was a thrill too.

 

Mediaeval decorated letters to colour

I’ve been lucky enough to have worked closely with the British Library for what is now decades. Many years ago I was helping the Education Department which had a lot of school visits. The problem always with such visits is how to occupy those who finish any set tasks quickly before the rest of the class. I suggested producing a series of outline drawings taken from illuminated and decorated mediæval manuscripts that could be coloured in, and then produced six of them.

Having a clear-out recently, I came across them again, and thought that they could be shared with a wider audience, hence this blogpost. They are copyright, but free for personal and educational use, simply click on the picture/link below for a high resolution pdf to print out; they’re sized for A4.

I’ve copyrighted them because they mustn’t be used by anyone or an institution to print out or use in a publication and make money from them.

Please, though, feel free to print these outline letters for your own use, for children and grandchildren, for courses, and for classes.

As the British Library’s website, including the digitised manuscripts, is still not completely available, colour images are here if possible, otherwise black and white photos or similar images are posted.

Copy the original colours if you wish, or go freestyle – they’re your letters to colour, so your choice.

The first is the magnificent letter B from the Ramsey Psalter (BL Harley 2904).

 

 

 

 

 

And the outline letter is here, click on it to download the high-resolution PDF:

Worksheet 1

David and Goliath, mediaeval manuscriptI wasn’t able to get a coloured image of the miniature from BL Harley MS 2895, but this is from a similar period and indicates the colours that would be used.

 

 

 

 

And the outline letter is here, click on it to download the high-resolution PDF:

Worksheet 2

Again, no colour copy copy of the letter ‘N’ from the actual manuscript, but a black and white image is here, and below it a similar letter in colour:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the outline letter is here, click on it to download the high-resolution PDF:

Worksheet 3

Yet again there are no colour images available for the York Psalter; here it is in black and white:

 

 

 

 

 

And the outline letter is here, click on it to download the high-resolution PDF:

Worksheet 4

Hosea from the Worms Bible:

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the outline letter is here, click on it to download the high-resolution PDF:

 Worksheet 5

Finally, this magnificent lettering and decoration from the Lindisfarne Gospels:

 

 

 

 

And the outline letter is here, click on it to download the high-resolution PDF:

Worksheet 6

‘The Art of the Scribe’

The Art of the Scribe cover‘The Art of the Scribe’ is the latest book published by the British Library in Spring 2025. It focuses on the scripts and the illumination and decoration used in the seven major periods of mediæval and Renaissance book production. Each of the seven chapters includes information about manuscripts of those times, what they were, who they were produced by – the scribes and illuminators – and the people associated with the books. There is also a detailed second section on tools, materials and techniques for calligraphy (including analysing texts, spacing of letters, words and lines, layouts, and serifs), illumination, painting, and simple book binding.

The Art of the Scribe, a pageFor each of the seven writing styles there are clear exemplar letters with guides for writing each one – here are Uncials as in the St Cuthbert Gospel in the British Library. Both the alphabet is shown as well as the letters arranged in families that have similar strokes – this makes learning and practising the letters much quicker.

 

The Art of the Scribe, a pageIllustrations are large, often taking up the whole page as here – a page from one of the huge bibles produced at the monastery of St Martin, Tours, in France. The script is Caroline Minuscule and is a lovely dancing script, very legible, and wonderful to write.

 

 

The Art of the Scribe, a pageAt the end of each of the seven chapters are three graded projects – foundation, intermediate and advanced. This is a favourite from Caroline Minuscule – a zig zag or concertina book using text from Dorothy Wordsworth’s ‘Grasmere Journal’ describing the walk when the ‘host of golden daffodils’ was seen. The illustration along the bottom matches the text, with a few daffodils to start with and then more and more.

 

The Art of the Scribe, a pageThe second section consists of a comprehensive consideration of materials, tools and techniques; for tools and materials – what is needed, how to use them and how to take care of them. The pages here are how to mix gouache for ink and paint and how to mix repeat colours.

 

 

The Art of the Scribe, a pageThis double spread is about vellum, how it’s made, types of skin – vellum and parchment – and the differences in thickness in the skin which affects the final result in use.

 

 

 

The Art of the Scribe, a pageIncluded in the section on tools is a section on quills, quill curing and quill cutting – all clearly illustrated with excellent photographs by the British Library photographer, Jonathan Vine, and with step-by-step instructions. Just visible on the left are the final steps for laying gesso, adding gold leaf (illumination) and painting a mediæval miniature.

Here is a sneaky peek inside the book showing the seven chapters – Uncial, Caroline Minuscule, English Caroline Minuscule, Gothic Textura (Black Letter), Bâtarde, Humanistic Minuscule and Italic – and also the second section of detailed information.

‘The Art of the Scribe’ is available from the British Library bookshop, and I have a limited number of copies for sale where I am happy to write in a name calligraphically; contact me through this website for this and for the cost of p+p (it is a heavy book, so that isn’t cheap!).

 

‘Maidens and Monsters’ by Chantry Westwell

How wonderful to have a whole book that focuses on women in mediæval manuscripts, but also in it being such an informative and comprehensive book. In the Middle Ages women were often put into very restrictive categories of virgin, saint, temptress and crone. Chantry enlarges these categories to Warriors, Murderesses and Femmes Fatales; Holy Women; Powerful Women; Tragic Heroines; Partners and Lovers; Mystical, Magical and Allegorical Women.

 

 

The research done by Chantry is really impressive, for example that on Salome considers that, in the Herodian dynasty, there were three women named Salome – which one was she? Intriguingly, Salome, despite her connection to John the Baptist, here holding his head on a platter, is not named in the New Testament, this happening only in the latter part of the first century by Flavius Josephus. There is, though, no mention of her suggestive or acrobatic dancing as in some stories and it is thought more likely that Herod executed John for political reasons rather than rewarding Salome for her cool moves!

 

Margaret of Antioch appears in the Holy Women section. In manuscripts she is often shown with a dragon, either with a foot on the dead body in victory or climbing out of its stomach. In fact Margaret had quite a tortuous journey before she got to this point, refusing the Roman governor of the province in which she was living resulted in her being put on the rack, beaten and raked with iron combs until her bones were exposed, attacked by this dragon and then a black demon, and also boiled in a cauldron as here – not the luckiest woman!

 

Hairy Mary, or St Mary of Egypt, enjoyed life to the full as it were until she joined a group of pilgrims, ‘servicing’ them along the way, until she had a sudden conversion. She then went into the desert with little food and eventually her skin became black, her hair white, and, in some versions, grown all over her body for modesty. In this image she really is miraculous being in the desert with monkeys!

This is such a marvellous and enjoyable book, full of information with the results of Chantry’s extensive research presented in the most user-friendly way. It is very highly recommended and not just for those interested in women, but also those who love stories, who are interested in manuscripts, and those who just like a good read!

The Benedictional of St Æthelwold

6a00d8341c464853ef01a3fcaecb6f970b-500wiA benedictional is a book of blessings given by a bishop; some manuscripts, such as the Benedictional of St Æthelwold (904/9–984), are richly decorated with gold and colour. Unusually we actually know who wrote this particular benedictional – the scribe Godeman as he included his name in a poem, probably in shell gold, placed at the beginning of the book. The poem includes the fact that the book should be richly decorated in gold and colour, as below, as instructions were given:

 

 

 

6a00d8341c464853ef01a3fcaecb8b970b-500wi-1‘A bishop, the great Æthelwold, whom the Lord had made patron of Winchester, ordered a certain monk subject to him to write the present book … He commanded also to be made in this book many frames well adorned and filled with various figures decorated with many beautiful colours and with gold … Let all who look upon this book pray always that after the term of the flesh I may abide in heaven – Godeman the scribe, as a suppliant, earnestly asks this.’

 

 

 

CIMG3078The manuscript, written in Winchester, which was where St Æthelwold was bishop, is decorated in the  ‘Winchester style’. This includes borders of acanthus leaves intertwining around circles and vertical and horizontal lines. There is much modelling and the appearance sometimes is almost 3-D. There is lavish use of gold and pages are most striking, although it could be said that the illumination on occasion almost overpowers the text. This style is seen clearly here, a copy of the beginning of the Eadui Psalter written a little later than as the Benedictional but decorated in a similar manner. This page was prepared for the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms exhibition at the British Library, 2018–2019. There’s more about the creation of this page on my website here. And a blogpost with short films on how manuscripts were made here, including a film of gilding and painting this page.

6a00d8341c464853ef01a73d69da35970d-500wiThe potentially rather overwhelming aspect of the Winchester style is shown well on this folio. This full page miniature shows St Benedict and is placed in the book just before the benediction for his feast day. It is rather difficult to identify the central figure surrounded as it is by the gold and colour, with heavy and elaborate decoration at each corner, looking a little like shield bosses, and ones almost as elaborate halfway down the side. There are, though, as instructed by St Æthelwold, many arches in the book!

 

 

 

Screenshot 2024-05-14 at 17.43.51The lettering in the manuscript is very similar to, but not exactly the same as the Ramsey Psalter (shelfmark: BL, Harley 2904). The latter was written around the same time, and both in Winchester; the Psalter was the key manuscript used by Edward Johnston for his Foundational Hand. It is rather intriguing to think that both scribes may have been sitting next to one another in the scriptorium, and writing the letters slightly differently, perhaps even comparing notes!

There’s more information on a British Library blogpost here and it will certainly be worth looking at each page when the British Library website is up and running (this blogpost written May 2024).

 

 

The British Library One Day Illumination Masterclass Course

August 2023, finished animalsIt can be quite daunting signing up for a course which for many involves completely new techniques and tools. Most people haven’t picked up a paintbrush or dealt with paint since schooldays, and the thought of painting a mediæval miniature may be very tempting, but what if everyone else on the course is a trained artist? The British Library one-day Illumination Masterclass course is geared to allay all fears (at least most of them!). Much of painting in the style of mediæval miniatures is technique, and this is what I teach. These are the results of the course held in August 2023.

IMG_3380Everything is provided for each participant, no-one has to bring anything. It takes quite some time to prepare everything beforehand, and also a considerable time to set up for the course on the day. Here are the wet and dry boxes (those on my courses will know all about these!).

 

 

 

 

IMG_3381Each participant has their own work station set up on individual tables so that there is lots of space and everything they need is to hand. This is set up for a right-hander.

 

 

 

IMG_3382To allay any fears about not being creative, to avoid too complex an image for one day, and to use the time as effectively as possible, bestiary animals from manuscripts held at the British Library are chosen, and even these are selected to be ones that aren’t too complicated. Tracings are made which are transferred to treated vellum. The outlines are then reinforced with paint as here.

IMG_3383Instructions are given on dealing with gouache paint, using brushes, and how to paint using fine sable brushes. Here the pigment is being tested with a mixing brush to ensure that the very dilute consistency to paint the outline is correct, and also that the brush is held at the right angle to make the very fine strokes.

IMG_3385Then a modern adhesive is applied. There is not enough time in one day to use traditional gesso which raises the gold from the surface so that it shines brightly, and also creates a smooth surface to achieve a brilliant burnish. Anything other than gesso won’t have the effect of gold as in manuscripts, but it can still be stunning! Here the adhesive has been applied.

IMG_3386Next it’s GOLD. Despite not using gesso it’s always exciting to achieve that brilliance of metal with real gold leaf shining in the light. Areas not being worked on are masked as here.

 

IMG_3387Agate dog tooth burnishers are used to apply the gold.

 

 

 

 

IMG_3390And the effects are rather wonderful!

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_3392And again here:

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_3394Finally the paint is applied to create a wonderful mediæval miniature.

 

 

 

Comments from participants on this course:

Fantastic! Well structured and most enjoyable.

Such an enjoyable day, it’s amazing what can be done in a day due very much to the preparation and expertise Patricia brings.

Wonderful day and a very good and welcoming tutor.

Fascinating stuff!

Patricia is a great and supportive instructor. I look forward to taking more classes with her.

Humour, even steady pace, clear instruction, perfect level of detail, and fantastic tuition.

Most enjoyable and informative. Never thought I would produce such illumination in such a short time.

Very well pitched (in my view) to meet the requirements of novices and more experienced participants from a range of backgrounds. Loved the technical information.

Really enjoyed it! It was especially detailed with supplementary information which I liked.

It was very well planned and instruction and teaching were well summed up and delivered. I am going to return and learn more. Thank you Patricia.

It was very interesting and informative; I thoroughly enjoyed the day!

Well organised course. We didn’t bring anything to the course, which is great, everything is provided. Big thank you to Patricia.

(The only negative comments were to do with the arrangement of tables and movement round the room, which we realised as soon as the participants came in, and will be resolved for future courses, and the lighting in the room; it is suggested that if this is a potential problem, then participants may like to bring an illuminated magnifying glass with them.)

‘Elizabeth and Mary: Royal Cousins, Rival Queens’

IMG_2353The story of Elizabeth I, daughter of Ann Boleyn and Henry VIII, and Mary, Queens of Scots, is well-known from films and TV series, but this exhibition at the British Library (October 2021–February 2022) approaches these two monarchs from the point of view of documentary evidence – and much more. Bearing in mind how fragile much of these papers must be it is quite amazing how many have survived in good condition and are exhibited here. But don’t be put off by ‘boring’ letters and charters, there is much else here to excite the eye, but this post will focus on the written word.

 

 

IMG_2354But starting with images, here are two glorious miniatures of the two Queens painted by the incomparable Nicholas Hilliard. On the left, Elizabeth I in 1580–5, and on the right Mary, Queen of Scots in 1576. These are both really small and show well the amazing skill of the great artist. Both are in the Royal Collection Trust.

 

IMG_2356Elizabeth’s handwriting when she was young was neat, precise and very clear. There is certainly an Italic feel to this with the letter a, but there is also a touch of Humanistic Minuscule with the arches on the letters n and h. This is a translation into Latin, French and Italian of English prayers and meditations put together by Katherine Parr, Henry VIII’s sixth wife. It was presented by Elizabeth to her father, the king, in December 1545.

IMG_2357By 1563, though, the precise and careful script of Elizabeth has deteriorated to what is described in the excellent catalogue as being written in her ‘atrocious cursive or ‘business’ hand, which had replaced the elegant italic hand of her youth’. Here she is reserving the right to choose whether she would ever marry, but had not decided not to marry!

 

 

 

 

IMG_2358The ‘scrawl’ of Elizabeth contrasts with the still precise handwriting of Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1571. This is written by her to Elizabeth after the Ridolfi Plot had been discovered and Mary is writing in despair at her continued imprisonment, saying that if she can’t get support from Elizabeth then she must turn to other sources. Her neat and unadorned signature is at the bottom right of this letter – ‘Marie R’.

 

 

 

IMG_2359The famous signature of Elizabeth I and the ways in which she embellished with flourishes the descenders is well demonstrated here, in contrast with that of Mary. It seems to be pretty consistent throughout her life and was used here on a document which supported the Earl of Mar being regent to James VI in 1571. The script used for the body of the text – Gothic Cursive – contrasts with Elizabeth’s Italic signature. Note the four vertical slits on the left-hand side which indicate where the document would have been sealed after folding.

 

 

IMG_2360Mary was involved in plotting, if only to escape imprisonment, and codes were often used. Documents in code were also sent from the Tudor court. This document, though, is by Mary herself and written to Patrick, Master of Gray, as Scottish ambassador in 1584 to England. Mary wanted to return to Scotland or remain in England but to be free. This, of course, never happened and this letter was intercepted by one of Sir Francis Walsingham’s spies and deciphered by Thomas Phelippes.

This superb exhibition is certainly well worth seeing to give greater insight and background to these two queens, and the exhibition catalogue is, typical of the British Library, beautifully designed and a joy to read through, with thorough, well-researched text – and absolutely worth buying if you can’t make the exhibition.

 

 

 

 

‘The Ins and Outs of Public Lettering’

IMG_0802This delightful little book ‘The Ins and Outs of Public Lettering: Kindersley Inscriptions in the Open’ by Marcus Waithe, Lida Lopes Cardozo Kindersley and Thomas Sherwood does exactly what it says. Following their books on the workshop itself, letter cutting, sundials, apprentices, cut letters in gardens and much else, this book focuses on examples of lettering from the workshop which all can see.

Amazingly, the workshop is now in its ninth decade, with David Kindersley having started his training with Eric Gill in 1934, and, after setting up on his own in 1936 he settled in the Cambridge workshop in 1946. This is now run by his gifted letter-cutter widow Lida and there are still apprentices and journeymen learning the skills of letter-form and letter cutting in the workshop.

IMG_0811The workshop has many important and significant commissions under its belt, such as the lettering on the gates of the British Library as shown on the cover of the book, but it does not omit the more seemingly straightforward perhaps and more discrete examples of public lettering such as this memorial in a graveyard. It seems to simple yet note how the word ‘Remember’ is carefully placed on the rather narrow, rugged stone, and that to fit in the larger letters, the first ‘M’ and ‘E’ share a stroke, and the second ‘M’ and ‘B’ do too. And note the three different forms of the letter ‘E’. All add variety, catch the eye, show what good design is all about, but need inspiration, careful thought and great cutting to execute.

 

IMG_0806Perhaps more easily seen and certainly more complicated is the memorial to Francis Crick at Gonville and Caius College in Cambridge. His work on the double helix structure of DNA won him a Nobel Prize. Cut in green slate and Caithness stone, the DNA structure forms the pattern for the memorial and can be seen from outside the college from the Senate House entrance opposite St Mary’s Church.

 

 

 

 

IMG_0804Another complicated piece for the workshop was the design for the Garden Building at King’s College also in Cambridge. Twenty seven slates from the roof of the college were used – not that easy as they had little depth for cutting and the edges were friable – to mark the benefactor, and tie in the name of the building and the life of the benefactor’s late brother with flowers from English gardens of particular resonance to the family.

IMG_0805Everyone in the workshop was involved in painting the flowers on the slate tiles.

 

 

 

IMG_0808Benefactors to Cambridge colleges and Nobel Prize winning scientists are one thing, those who gave their lives saving others at sea are another, but those unsung heroes are nevertheless recorded and remembered on this slate which is now on the Old Coastguard Rescue Station at Shingle Street.

 

 

 

 

IMG_0810Almost missed perhaps on the building itself, but appreciated by anyone who walks by and notices the many ways in which extraordinary people can be remembered in stone.

This little book has so many examples and is certainly worth buying to look through and appreciate the many ways in which letter cutting can bring buildings to life and record the lives of those of note.

Quills and Calligraphy

IMG_1961Sixteen eager students were ready to start a day of learning and practising calligraphy as part of the events associated with the fantastic Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms 2018-2019 exhibition at the British Library. We were focusing on the Angled-Pen Uncials as in the St Cuthbert Gospel of St John, a very pleasing writing style, and which has only majuscules, or capital letters.

 

IMG_1947Everything was set out before the students arrived with a sloping board, pen and nib, ink, etc and sets of A3 information and exemplar sheets so that no ruling lines was necessary while learning.

 

 

 

IMG_1952The morning was spent learning and practising the letters and then the afternoon focused on quill cutting and preparing and writing on vellum. Cutting quills was a lot tougher than it looked – the barrels of swans’ feather are really strong!

 

 

 

IMG_1954It does take some preparation, but once the steps are clearly explained and reinforced to everyone as they cut the feathers, really good quills resulted.

 

 

 

IMG_1958Then it was on to preparing the vellum, practising writing names using the quill and then, with a deep breath, writing on the vellum itself. I suggested using Schmincke Calligraphy Gouache in vermilion as a contrast for the initial letter and this worked really well. The results needed to be admired even halfway through the writing!

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_1956And the concentration here was intense!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_1961But the results were very much worthwhile! Congratulations to all students for such a successful day – and for being such a lovely group to worth with.

How Mediæval Manuscripts were Made

fcdcf8be-d41f-4954-b06e-603091f607c1It really was a great joy and privilege to be part of the great Polonsky Project, which was a joint venture between the British Library and the Bibliotèque nationale in Paris to digitise manuscripts which from before the year 1100. They were keen to show how those manuscripts were made, and so it was on two very hot days in the summer of 2017 that Dr Alison Ray, filmer Jan and I spent many hours recording those processes. The films are now on the British Library’s and the Bibliotèque nationale’s websites (the latter being dubbed into French) and sections of the films were also used in the fantastic 2017–2018 Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms exhibition at the British Library.

Screenshot 2018-12-17 at 18.53.31The first film features the pen used for the writing, which, of course, was usually a quill cut from the feather of a large bird. I always use penknives which have curved blades as the curve rolls over the slight curve in the barrel of a feather to cut the nib tip, whereas a straight blade tends to squash the feather. Indeed, penknives today (the clue is in the name!) still always have a curved blade. Here’s the link. There’s more on quill knives and how to cut a quill on my website on this link.

Screenshot 2018-12-17 at 19.05.35Ink was usually made from oak galls, although in fact peach, cherry and apricot stones can also be used but give a less dense colour. It’s the tannic acid from the galls reacting to copperas (iron sulphate) that creates a dark liquid, and which needs an adhesive, in this case gum Arabic, to ensure that it adheres to the writing surface. To see the process, click here.

Screenshot 2018-12-17 at 19.07.32The writing surface was vellum or parchment – calfskin, sheepskin, goatskin or ever deer on occasion. In this clip I explain about the differences between the hair and flesh sides of vellum and also the qualities of other types of skin. More here.

 

Screenshot 2018-12-17 at 19.10.21Having cut pieces of skin to size for writing, the page needed to be set out, and often dividers – similar to sets of compasses, but with a point at the end of each leg – were used as it was easier to mark the exact positions of the guidelines in this way. On occasion, the lines would be set out using a ruler and lead point (or similar) and then the positions marked using the tip of a knife (perhaps a penknife). Here the ‘point’ would actually be a triangle shape and this can be seen in some manuscripts. There’s more on setting out a manuscript page here.

Screenshot 2018-12-17 at 19.17.54Pigments used in illuminations came from animal, vegetable and mineral sources. Perhaps the most famous is ultramarine, as Cennini Cennino called it ‘perfect, beyond all other colours’. A very similar blue, but much cheaper was citramarine. Woad and indigo are from vegetable sources along with madder. And Tyrian purple and carmine came from animals. There’s more on this link, including dragon’s blood!

Screenshot 2018-12-17 at 19.22.01 1These pigments have no natural adhesive (apart from saffron interestingly!) and so this needs to be added. Traditional either glair, the egg white or the egg yolk was added. This film clip explains the process, including the equivalent of a hole in one! It can be tricky removing the egg yolk from the egg sac, but when this was being filmed, it worked with the very first egg! Here it is with the knife being withdrawn and the yolk falling out at the bottom. See the whole thing and more here.

Screenshot 2018-12-17 at 19.26.13And having got everything ready, it was then only the setting out the illumination, laying the gesso, applying gold and then painting bringing everything to life and with wonderful colour. Watch the process here.

It is hoped that these short films will add to the knowledge and understanding of these historical craft processes and ensure that more people understand and appreciate the skills that went in to creating the wonderful manuscripts now in great collections such as those at the British Library and the Bibliotèque nationale.