Doctoral Research

Collecting the Nation: National Identity and the Circulation of Medieval Manuscripts in Britain, 1900-1939

My doctoral research interrogates how medieval manuscripts were transformed into symbols of national identity in early twentieth-century Britain. This transformation occurred during a unique historical convergence:

  • The First World War and rising nationalism in western Europe
  • The ‘Golden Age of Collecting’ in the international art market
  • The professionalisation of museum curatorship and historical studies

Research Questions

The project examines how pre-modern, handmade books were understood to represent the modern nation.

My thesis investigates several key questions: how medieval books transitioned from historical sources to embodiments of national identity; who had the cultural authority to claim particular books were essential for the nation; what assumptions underpinned these claims of national importance; how the British Museum's collection became seen as the natural place for their preservation; and what relationship these books had to the telling of national history.

Methodology

The research analyzes rhetorical discourse about manuscript books of 'national importance' across multiple contexts:

  • Private correspondence
  • Public debate
  • Museum acquisition records
  • Press coverage
  • Institutional archives

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