B. Schalekamp (Bruno) MA

PhD Candidate in the SOLEMNE project

Bruno Schalekamp’s area of research is the intellectual history of the late Antique and early Middle Ages in Western Europe. The sources, development, transmission, and spread of early medieval Latin manuscripts are his primary focus at Radboud University.

The output of ideas – whichever these may be – their transmission, and affirmation in the early Middle Ages occurred much differently than in modern times. Presently, the internet allows us to distribute knowledge to practically all corners of our world, to whoever we want without limitations. More than a thousand years ago, however, such information had to be borrowed from the right library, collected and compiled by a qualified intellectual, copied by a trained scribe, transported safely, and remain protected from mold in dry environments. By studying the final products – the manuscripts – of this often lengthy and relatively expensive process, we gain insight into the texts’ writers, copiers, and intended audience. Furthermore, we can study the ideas included in such manuscripts, as well as the reasons why they were collected and compiled in a particular textual context and how these ideas changed (or not) throughout history.

Looking specifically at early medieval canon law collections, we can untangle the history of Christian normative texts and their influence on medieval society. In studying their source material, such as ecclesiastical councils and papal decretals, textual transmission, and reception in their respective historical context, we may be able to explore the medieval moral mind.

https://canones.org/
https://www.ru.nl/en/staff-members-text-object-research-network