The 700-year-old manuscript is the first in a new 人妻少妇专区 library collection that honors historian Richard Kaeuper.
Last June, two 人妻少妇专区 colleagues鈥攁 historian and a librarian鈥攚ere thinking out loud: how best to commemorate a preeminent medievalist and immensely popular history professor who was about to retire after more than half a century of service to the University?
, now the Franklin W. and Gladys I. Clark Professor Emeritus of History, taught and researched at Rochester for 52 years.
a professor of history and then chair of the of History, and , the director of the and , were hunting for something special. Something that would at once be a lasting extension of Kaeuper鈥檚 work; enhance the University River 人妻少妇专区 libraries鈥� existing collections across medieval history, literature, art, and culture; and serve as a valuable research and teaching object for scholars and students alike.
The two were thinking modestly鈥攎aybe a small medieval charter. They enlisted , the Joseph N. Lambert and Harold B. Schleifer Director of (RBSCP), who immediately offered her enthusiastic support. Mims agreed that any Kaeuper manuscripts would be housed in safe, climate-controlled conditions at RBSCP.
Meanwhile, staff at the University鈥檚 advancement office and the library started reaching out to Kaeuper鈥檚 former students. 鈥淗onestly, I thought we might raise about $1,500 or so,鈥� says Smoller. 鈥淏ut then these really huge gifts started coming in.鈥�
Thanks to the generosity of lead donor Paul Kreuzer 鈥�72鈥攁nd bolstered by David Burkhardt 鈥�88, whose gift kept the momentum going鈥攖he fund grew rapidly.
Bowled over, the duo began to dream big.
Suddenly an entire medieval book, known as a codex, was a real possibility. More specifically, a medieval legal treatise鈥攂ecause Kaeuper is a preeminent expert not just on chivalry, but also on medieval European law, public order, administration, and finance.
Siebach-Larsen began to scour auction catalogues and talked to dealers to find a suitable candidate. She zeroed in on a particular manuscript, a guide for lawyers on how to argue cases and respond to various legal situations.
Eureka!
鈥淓ssentially, it鈥檚 a lawyer鈥檚 handbook,鈥� says Siebach-Larsen. 鈥淲e purchased it in honor of Dick because he鈥檚 a monumental historian of legal history, particularly for France and for England in the high and late Middle Ages. It really speaks perfectly to both his teaching and to his own research.鈥�
Smoller adds, 鈥淚t just seemed such a perfect fit for Dick鈥檚 expertise.鈥�
鈥楰aeuperites鈥� unite
Many of the donations were accompanied by kind notes from alumni to their former professor, recalling fondly Kaeuper鈥檚 teaching and how it affected their personal and professional lives long after their time on campus.
One of them, Jeffrey Lehn 鈥�05, has been a NYPD officer for the last 17 years. He writes that Kaeuper鈥檚 seminar course on chivalry, 鈥渨here I had to read and process an incredible amount of source material as well as contemporary analysis,鈥� and Kaeuper鈥檚 course on research, which for him meant combing through the written English record for Stephan Fulborne, set him on track to become a detective.
鈥淟uck and hard work aside, I feel that I was better prepared for casework than many of my peers,鈥� writes Lehn.听鈥淎 history paper is remarkably similar to a detective鈥檚 case.听Both utilize times, places, quotations, and outcomes in order to prove a thesis.鈥�
Kaeuper鈥檚 very last doctoral student says he was fortunate to snag the popular scholar as his Doktorvater before his retirement.
鈥淎nyone who has worked with Dick knows him to be a patient and caring mentor as well as a rigorous and passionate scholar,鈥� says Tucker Million 鈥�21 (PhD). 鈥淎bove all, Dick knew that the proper study of history takes time. He gave a lot of his own time to helping his students.鈥�
Million is pleased that a collection of medieval manuscripts bearing Kaeuper鈥檚 name will 鈥渃ontinue to challenge, enlighten, and inspire the Rochester community for many years to come. I can think of no one more deserving of such a legacy than Dick.鈥�
To this day, Kaeuper鈥檚 graduate students unabashedly identify themselves as 鈥淜aeuperites,鈥� adds Smoller. Like any good graduate mentor, she says, Kaeuper succeeds because he is 鈥渁 superlative scholar.鈥�
Indeed, his work has earned him numerous honors, including being inducted as a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and of the Medieval Academy of America. He is a winner of the Verbruggen Prize awarded by the De Re Militari Society and has landed research grants from the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, the American Philosophical Society, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Woodrow Wilson Foundation.
Kaeuper鈥檚 instruction at the University has left an indelible mark both at the undergraduate and graduate levels and has been recognized with the Goergen Award (2013), the Student Association Award for Teaching Excellence in the Social Sciences (1999), the Edward Peck Curtis Teaching Award (1990), and the Student Association Teacher of the Year Award (1986).
The gifts will be used for acquiring more items and maintaining the collection of medieval manuscripts that will ultimately support medieval studies research and teaching at the University. The newly minted Richard W. Kaeuper Collection of Medieval Manuscripts also includes a medieval manuscript donated by Kaeuper himself: a 1297 Parisian letter from the important Augustinian theologian and ecclesiastic Giles of Rome regarding a property matter.
Bonjour, j鈥檃rrive: the manuscript makes it to Rochester
Delayed by pandemic restrictions, the manuscript finally made its way from France to Rochester this summer. It鈥檚 the first item in the new Kaeuper Collection that will be housed in RBSCP, where many of the 人妻少妇专区鈥檚 rare and unique听historical materials are held.
Authored in Paris by Pierre and Guillaume de Maucreux around 1330 to 1340 CE, the manuscript鈥�Ordonnances de plaidoyer de bouche et par escript听(Ordonnances governing legal pleas made orally and in writing)鈥攃onsists of 36 parchment folios, written in chancery hand. Pierre de Maucreux was a famous French lawyer whom the French king Charles IV ennobled in 1326, and Guillaume was his brother.
鈥淭he extravagant penwork decoration is unusual for this type of manuscript,鈥� says Siebach-Larsen of the nearly 700-year-old manuscript that comes in its original binding of limp parchment folios, replete with stains from centuries of hands touching the pages. And there are the occasional wormholes, all par for the course. While other pages have some decorated letters, none rise to the intricacy and elegance of the highly stylized P, the first letter on the first folio, which marks the start to the very first word鈥斺�減our鈥� (for).
Studying an old manuscript鈥攊ts materials, ink, handwriting, stitching, and text marks, as well as tracing its physical whereabouts throughout history鈥攊s often true detective work.
In this case, the inscription on the back is in Dutch (鈥淓xstrait van eene Deels vanden Rechten ghetrocken vute loix ende ghetranslateirt vanden latine In fracoit鈥�) and informs the reader that the manuscript is a translation from Latin to French. It also reveals that at some point in the 15th century the manuscript had been in the Low Countries (now the regions of the Netherlands, Flanders, and Belgium) or had been owned by a Dutch speaker.
What makes this manuscript special?
It鈥檚 one of only two existing copies of an influential legal treatise for the Parlement de Paris. In fact, until this manuscript recently surfaced, scholars believed that there was only one copy.
While the Rochester manuscript was copied soon after the composition of the treatise, the other manuscript, held at the Biblioth猫que nationale de France, was copied more than 100 years later in about 1473. The later manuscript at the Biblioth猫que nationale has several mistakes indicating that the scribe was not familiar with French legal language, says Siebach-Larsen. The Rochester copy, which听may听have been copied from the original manuscript, differs from the later manuscript in its writing conventions and content and is much closer to the original.
A medieval handbook for French lawyers, the manuscript is basically a proto how-to guide. To historians, it represents a vital early source for the history of the Parlement de Paris, which functioned as France鈥檚 supreme court from the 13th century until 1789. The manuscript contains definitions of juridical terms and concepts, various types of legal pleas, explanations of legal defenses, and how to respond to them鈥攁 kind of early textbook that would have been used by young lawyers and legal practitioners across French provinces and various types of French courts.
Yet, as is often the case with old manuscripts, a few parts are missing in action. According to the table of contents, the text should have ended with a discussion of legal procedures, but the Rochester manuscript is missing that section.
鈥楾he skin I love to touch鈥�
The manuscript鈥檚 quirks didn鈥檛 dampen Kaeuper鈥檚 enthusiasm one bit at the official unveiling this summer when he finally got to meet the manuscript in the flesh.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a wonderful and imaginative idea,鈥� says Kaeuper who was floored by the long list of donors, some of them students he taught nearly half a century ago. 鈥淚 was utterly taken by surprise, really gob smacked.鈥� Touched by his colleagues鈥� thoughtfulness, and his former students鈥� 鈥済enerous contributions and lovely notes,鈥� Kaeuper says he feels the manuscript really represents a 鈥渃ontinuation of something we did together.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 reminded of the old ad for some kind of soap, with the tag line, 鈥楾his is the skin I love to touch,鈥� says a beaming Kaeuper while stroking a leaf of the manuscript. 鈥淭his听is the skin I love to touch.鈥�
Siebach-Larsen meanwhile loves that the manuscript is in French instead of Latin, because French represents a lower language barrier to most students, she says.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great opportunity for both graduate and undergraduate students to grapple with a valuable manuscript, to hopefully do projects on it,鈥� says Siebach-Larsen, emphasizing that the library is dedicated to making its manuscripts available as hands-on experiences to anyone who wants to use them.
Touching a centuries-old piece of parchment or vellum prompts in her a 鈥渢rue visceral reaction,鈥� says Smoller. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 when I feel the people I write about are real, something that you wouldn鈥檛 get by just reading their writing. It鈥檚 a genuine connection.鈥�
And that鈥檚 something the historian hopes students will be able to experience, too.
Special thanks to the many people鈥攊ncluding Pamela Jackson, Jenna Hiller and Thomas Cassada from the听Office of Advancement, Lydia Auteritano and Sharon Briggs from the University鈥檚 , as well as nearly one hundred alumni鈥攚ho helped make the Richard W. Kaeuper Collection of Medieval Manuscripts at the 人妻少妇专区 a reality.
Alumni, colleagues, friends, and medievalists who鈥檇 like to support the Kaeuper Collection can contribute using this听.
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