We’re delighted to be able to join celebrations marking the first anniversary of the inspirational series ‘Picture this…’, a collaborative project between Canterbury Cathedral Library and the University’s own Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies (MEMS).

The Picture this…re-view exhibition in the Templeman Library offers a second chance to explore the discoveries made by MEMS in the Cathedral Library, combined with examples of Special Collections’ own historical book collections. Included are some insights into early modern natural science, the nineteenth century answer to medieval Books of Hours and the craft of sixteenth century map making.

Pop into the Gallery to learn what this intriguing illustration is all about.

‘The Parables of Our Lord’ published to mimic a medieval book of hours

Picture this… brings experts from MEMS together with historical books from the Cathedral Library in writing workshops. The results of these workshops are then made available on the Cathedral Library’s website each month, offering new insight into the collections. The aim of the project has been to make items in the Cathedral Library more accessible to a wider audience and to provide an awareness of some of symbolism and meaning within the images, as well as their historical significance. This year, we’ve been treated to explorations of heroism, piety, superstition and artistic techniques from a range of materials including manuscripts, printed books and objects.

Pop into the Templeman Gallery (Level 1 East, just inside the cafe area) during Welcome Week to take a look at some of our treasures and to celebrate the success of the series!

Detail from ‘The Parable of the Ten Virgins’.

Items in the Cathedral Library and in Special Collections are available for researchers. If you would like to know more about accessing materials, please contact specialcollections@kent.ac.uk or library@canterbury-cathedral.org.