Elizabeth A. R. Brown Medieval Historians' Archive
The Elizabeth A. R. Brown Medieval Historians’ Archive is a new initiative at Penn Libraries to collect the professional papers of scholars of the Middle Ages and of associated professional organizations.
Collection Overview
A $5 million gift from the late historian Elizabeth A.R. Brown, alongside the gift of her professional papers, will elevate the Penn Libraries’ position as a leader for research in medieval studies. Brown, who died August 8, 2024 at age 92, honored the Libraries with a bequest to establish an archive preserving the professional papers of medieval historians and an endowed archivist position to develop and manage it.
For proposed additions to the Elizabeth A. R. Brown Medieval Historians' Archive, please contact the Elizabeth A. R. Brown Archivist, Meg Phillips.
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Collections Currently Being Processed
The following collections are not yet accessible to researchers:
- Elizabeth A. R. Brown Collection
- Marcia Colish Collection
- Mary-Jo Arn Collection
- Thomas G. Waldman Collection
Existing Penn Libraries Collections
The following archival collections related to Medieval Studies are currently housed at Penn Libraries:
- Henry Charles Lea Papers (Ms. Coll. 111)
- Henry Charles Lea Research Collection (Ms. Coll. 729)
- Hope Emily Allen Collection (Ms. Coll. 993)
- Dana Munro Papers (Ms. Coll. 1168)
- William Romaine Newbold Papers (Ms. Coll. 1076): A historian of science broadly construed, William Newbold was one of the first to write on the Voynich manuscript. The photo facsimiles of the Voynich manuscript in this collection are one of the only sources for how the item appeared in the 1920s/30s when Penn considered buying it.
Individual Items of Note
The following items are of relevance to the historiography of Medieval Studies:
- Lecture notes taken during Leopold van Ranke's class on medieval history given ca. 1839
- Lecture notes on Medieval history taken at the University of Vienna, ca. 1903
- Lecture notes on Chaucer and other literary topics covered during Penn classes in the 1870s
- Lectures given on English medieval history at Penn by Henry Reed in the 1850s
- George Sarton, Appreciation of ancient and medieval science during the Renaissance (1450-1600) : annotated typescript 1953
- Edward Potts Cheyney Papers (UPT 50 C531)
- Custom-bound compilation of mostly Sotheby's medieval ms. sale catalog illuminations
Related Notable Collections
Contact
Holding Location
Collection Subject
Date Range
- 1000-1099 C.E.
- 1100-1199 C.E.
- 1200-1299 C.E.
- 1300-1399 C.E.
- 1400-1499 C.E.
- 1900-1999 C.E.
- 2000 C.E. - present
Era / Period
Format
Language