Description: Nicholas Sumrall will present the findings of his M.A. thesis project, which was a paleographic study of an Old English manuscript that has recently been uploaded to an open-access digital database, the Parker Library on the Web. The manuscript is one of five surviving Old English translations of Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People; in addition to this primary text, the manuscript also contains an eclectic assortment of charms, poetry, prayers, and homilies throughout its margins in a manner unparalleled in any other Old English manuscript.  Nicholas's research focused on assessing the physical and thematic relationships between the manuscript's body text and its extensive marginalia, which past scholars have deemed "unrelated" to each other. In doing so, his study not only calls into question centuries-old academic theories of the manuscript's function, but also reveals new perspectives on Anglo-Saxon literary culture and religious practices. 

About the presenter: Nicholas is a third-year M.A. student in the Department of English studying Old English literature and paleography. He also obtained his B.A. in Classics with a minor in Medieval Studies here at the University of Mississippi in 2021.