The Wanderings and Homes of Manuscripts

Manuscripts Through Time: Medieval Book Culture, Provenance, Libraries, and the Survival of KnowledgeBy M. R. James
Listen with Sir Michael Caine™ and 1,000+ voices
Length2h 14m

About this audiobook

In *The Wanderings and Homes of Manuscripts*, M. R. James examines the often intricate histories by which medieval books were produced, transmitted, dispersed, collected, and ultimately preserved in libraries. Combining codicological observation with the narrative gifts of an antiquary, he treats manuscripts not as inert texts but as historical objects whose bindings, annotations, ownership inscriptions, and changing locations illuminate the intellectual and institutional life of Europe. The work belongs to the great tradition of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century English manuscript scholarship, while its emphasis on provenance anticipates modern approaches to book history and the study of cultural heritage. Montague Rhodes James (1862–1936) was among Britain's most distinguished medievalists, a scholar of illuminated manuscripts, a cataloguer of Cambridge collections, and Provost of King's College, Cambridge. His extensive experience inspecting manuscripts firsthand gave him an exceptional understanding of how libraries, monasteries, private collectors, auctions, and national institutions shaped the survival and interpretation of medieval books. His characteristic precision, learning, and sensitivity to historical detail inform every page. This volume will reward readers interested in medieval history, palaeography, bibliography, and the social life of books. It is especially valuable for students and researchers seeking to understand provenance as evidence, yet its vivid sense of discovery makes it accessible to anyone fascinated by the journeys of rare books across centuries and continents.

Audiobook details

GenreHistory
Length2 hrs 14 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateDec 12, 2023
LanguageEnglish

Table of contents

1BY
2M. R. JAMES, Litt.D., F.B.A.
3Some Specimen Pedigrees of MSS.
4The Limits of the Subject
5Greek MSS.: Production and Dispersion
Show all chapters
6European Centres for Greek MSS.: Continental
7Greek MSS. in England
8Latin MSS.
9Chronological Survey
10Wanderings of Latin MSS.: the Continent
11Latin MSS. in England
12Catalogues of MSS.
13The Evidence of MSS. Themselves
14English Libraries
15English MSS. on the Continent
16Remains of Medieval Libraries
17Disappearance of Classical and other MSS.
18Collectors of Books
19Curiosities of Research
20BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

More from M. R. James

The Hauntings: 20 Chilling Tales of Macabre & MysteryM. R. James13h 40m$0.99 · $0.00
Ghost Stories of an AntiquaryM. R. James8h 57m4.2 (9.6K)$16 · $0.00
The Five JarsM. R. James1h 56m3.6 (617)$16 · $0.00
Spooky Christmas: 30+ Supernatural & Eerie TalesM. R. James, Arthur Conan Doyle, Saki, Sabine Baring-Gould, Thomas Hardy, Robert Louis Stevenson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Charles Dickens, Fergus Hume, John Kendrick Bangs, Jerome K. Jerome, Leonard Kip, Catherine Crowe, Lucie E. Jackson, William Douglas O'Connor, Frank R. Stockton, James Bowker, Grant Allen, Louisa M. Alcott, Florence Marryat, Katherine Rickford, J. M. Barrie, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, George MacDonald, Bithia Mary Croker, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Catherine L. Pirkis, E. F. Benson43h 54m$1.99 · $0.00
20 HAUNTING TALES OF MYSTERY & MACABRE (Annotated)M. R. James14h 2m$2 · $0.00
A Warning to the Curious, and Other Ghost StoriesM. R. James4h 12m$1 · $0.00
A Warning to the Curious, and Other Ghost StoriesM. R. James4h 11m3.6 (854)$1 · $0.00
The Tales of Mystery & MacabreM. R. James13h 11m$2 · $0.00
The Collected Ghost StoriesM. R. James18h 30m4.3 (12.1K)$2 · $0.00
A School StoryM. R. James15m3.8 (496)$1 · $0.00
An Evening's EntertainmentM. R. James24m3.7 (72)$1 · $0.00
The Story of a Disappearance and an AppearanceM. R. James30m3.7 (269)$1 · $0.00
An Episode of Cathedral HistoryM. R. James36m4.3 (101)$1 · $0.00
The Experiment: A New Year's Eve Ghost StoryM. R. James13m3.4 (76)$1 · $0.00
The Anthology of Ghost Stories of M. R. James. Tales of horror and mysteryM. R. James10h 12m$10 · $0.00
Wailing WellM. R. James24m3.8 (264)$1 · $0.00
The Uncommon Prayer-bookM. R. James34m$1 · $0.00
A Warning to the CuriousM. R. James38m4.0 (1.5K)$1 · $0.00
Lost HeartsM. R. James22m3.6 (931)$1 · $0.00
A Brief History of IntelligenceMax S. Bennett12h 18m4.6 (6.6K)$29 · $0.00
Days of Love and Rage: A Story of RevolutionAnand Gopal22h 36m4.7 (584)$34 · $0.00
We Crossed a Bridge and It TrembledWendy Pearlman6h4.6 (5.2K)$24 · $0.00
Unbroken Bonds of BattleJohnny Joey Jones8h 31m4.6 (2.6K)$8 · $0.00
The Daughter of AuschwitzTova Friedman, Malcolm Brabant7h 54m4.6 (16.7K)$26 · $0.00
Lily's PromiseLily Ebert, Dov Forman8h 54m4.6 (16.1K)$29 · $0.00
On Democracies and Death CultsDouglas Murray10h 38m4.6 (6.5K)$29 · $0.00
Across the RiverKent Babb11h 40m4.6 (927)$29 · $0.00
Balcony Over Jerusalem: A Middle East Memoir - Israel, Palestine and BeyondJohn Lyons12h 37m4.6 (1.4K)$33 · $0.00
BeyondStephen Walker15h 39m4.6 (3.2K)$33 · $0.00
Kings and PawnsHoward Bryant10h 9m4.6 (678)$29 · $0.00
No EscapeNury Turkel9h 30m4.6 (809)$28 · $0.00
Jubal Stone: U.S. Marshal: Blood Trail To Hell: A Western Adventure NovelCasey Nash3h 42m4.6 (3.2K)$18 · $0.00
Fall and RiseMitchell Zuckoff17h 23m4.6 (9.8K)$40 · $0.00
The SurvivorJosef Lewkowicz, Michael Calvin9h 22m4.6 (2.5K)$29 · $0.00
Always FaithfulThomas Schueman, Zainullah Zaki12h 12m4.6 (977)$29 · $0.00
The State of Society in France Before the Revolution of 1789 (Annotated)Alexis de Tocqueville17h 25m4.6 (1.2K)$2 · $0.00
All the Gallant MenDonald Stratton, Ken Gire5h 55m4.6 (11.8K)$24 · $0.00
Saint Joan (Annotated)George Bernard Shaw6h 20m4.6 (1.2K)$1.20 · $0.00
Medgar and MyrlieJoy-Ann Reid10h 52m4.5 (27.8K)$29 · $0.00

You may also like

Chess FundamentalsJosé Raúl Capablanca5h 45m4.3 (5.6K)$0.99 · $0.00
A Little History of the WorldE. H. Gombrich9h 12m4.3 (38.2K)$20
The Story of MankindHendrik Willem van Loon14h 39m3.6 (4.9K)$2 · $0.00
America's GameJerry Rice, Randy O. Williams18h 10m4.2 (590)$40 · $0.00
The Art of Cigar BandsPhilippe Mesmer1h 49m$16 · $0.00
Before and after WaterlooEdward Stanley7h 39m$1 · $0.00
The Art and Science of Fireworks: 3 Classic Books on PyrotechnicsAlan St. H. Brock, Thomas Kentish, Robert Jones16h 9m$1.99 · $0.00
Six Months On The Italien FrontJulius M. Price8h 46m$2.30
Through Palestine with the Twentieth Machine Gun SquadronUnknown4h 45m$2.30
Rapid Mandarin, Vols. 1 & 2Earworms Learning2h 26m$20
Plan Your SuccessXavier I. Kingsley4h 35m$4.10 · $0.00
OVER THERE (War Scenes on the Western Front)Arnold Bennett4h 2m3.8 (151)$0.99 · $0.00
Ypres to VerdunAlex. B. W. Kennedy3h 26m$2 · $0.00
OneNote for BeginnersRuth Callender4h 16m$20
A road-book to old ChelseaG. B. Stuart45m$2 · $0.00
Emperor HirohitoLifeInk Press2h 24m$4 · $0.00
The King's PilgrimageFrank Fox1h 14m$2 · $0.00
Historic ParisJetta Sophia Wolff9h 28m$2 · $0.00
BridgesVictoria Charles2h 6m4.5 (10)$12 · $0.00
Leonardo da VinciLifeInk Press1h 42m4.1 (15)$4 · $0.00