Redesigning the Medieval Book

Alongside Designing English, an exhibition from 2017, which showed the imagination and ingenuity of books in English in the Middle Ages, we invited contemporary artists and craftspeople to come and see those medieval manuscripts and make new books – or alternatives to books – inspired by what they saw.

Some people showed us that medieval crafts such as calligraphy or embroidery are still thriving today. Others designed new formats, from board games to video, which might suit medieval literature. Several artists adapted medieval formats – calendars, concertina books – in order to tell new stories about our very different society. Others imitated the medieval creativity in very modern materials – rubber stamps, smartphones, recycled paper. And several responded to our exhibition with humour or friendly critique.

Redesigning the Medieval Book shows how we might be inspired by medieval book design, in the handicrafts, arts and digital technology of our own age.

First prize

A pamphlet of handwritten text lies on top of a colourful fabric backing

Sue Doggett

The 2018 Almanac for the Modern Medievalist

Sue Doggett updated a medieval calendar to honour the ‘saints’ of our own changing world. She adapts the delicate format of almanacs with embroidery and elaborate folding; she responds to the stereotyped symbols of medieval saints with a witty choice of stamps.

 

Runners up

Paul Johnson

A brightly coloured paper concertina covered in drawings and text

Serenade to Chaucer

Paul Johnson folds the energy of Geoffrey Chaucer’s Miller’s Tale into a playful pop-up book.

Kathy Sedar

A foldout book with stitched binding and red thread detail

MCXXXVII

Kathy Sedar continues the medieval crafts of calligraphy and bookbinding to recount the cruelty of medieval history.

Roy Willingham, with Mike Sims

A foldout paper book on a cardboard back with text and red detail

Restrukturanta la Mezepoka Libro (Restructuring the Medieval Book)

Roy Willingham continues our exhibition of everyday English in the Middle Ages by using recycled junk mail and Esperanto to tell our story.

Special commendations

Angela Callanan

A book in three parts made of cardboard

Invisible

Angela Callanan uses the playfulness of contemporary book arts to capture the zaniness of medieval magic charms.

Shay Hamias, with Anthony Bale and Hofesh Shechter

Painted artwork with the words 'The Matter of Jerusalem' in orange, white and teal

The Matter of Jerusalem

Shay Hamias tracks a medieval pilgrim’s journey with the moving images of animation.

 

 

Entries

Thank you for all the entries. You can click through the gallery to view the entries from the project.

An open book shown with colourful image squares of creatures from a medieval bestiary
A page of text covered with painted yellow flowers and leaves
Rolls of printed paper inside a glass cylinder
A box with text on foldout boards
A concertina of grey paper with drawings on each side
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Caroline Hack
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Carolyn Trant
Redesigning the Medieval Manuscript entry Corinne Welch
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Elizabeth C.Teviotdale
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Gillian Wraight
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Heather Hunter
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Helen Hayman
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Imogen Foxell
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Jennifer Mansfield
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Jeremy Dixon
A purple "bookbinding" encasing a smartphone. It is open and - embossed on blue on the inside case cover - are the words "enquire within"
Redesigning the Medieval book entry Jill Newton
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Judith Waring
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Jules Allen
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Julie Goring
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Julie Shaw Lutts
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Kate Bernstein
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Kevin Stuckless
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Krikor Momdjian
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Lianne van Essen
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Linda Parr
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Linette Withers
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Lisa Davies
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Lizzie Brewer
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Lizzie Waterfield
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Makkiko Tsundo
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Maryanne Grebenstein
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Mavina Baker
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Nathalie Moisey
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Nesta Davies
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Orly Amit
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Paul Salt
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Penny Stanford
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Peter Malutzki
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Ruth Sutherland
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Sam Kelly
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Sandie Gent
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Sarah Burnett
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Sarah Jarrett-Kerr
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Stuart Henley
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Susan Brown
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Susan Hufton
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Tanya Bentham
Redesigning the Medieval Book entry Tom Sowden

Related Links

Contact us

Exhibitions

exhibitions@bodleian.ox.ac.uk

Professor Daniel Wakelin

daniel.wakelin@ell.ox.ac.uk