The material support of the manuscript copies of the Etymologies of Isidore of Seville

• Grant number: 24/17242-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2024
• End date: October 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - History - Ancient and Medieval History
• Principal Investigator: Ana Paula Torres Megiani
• Grantee: Júlia Rovida de Oliveira Ramos
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 21/02912-3 - A connected history of the Middle Ages: communication and circulation from the Mediterranean Sea, AP.TEM

Abstract

This research aims to map the material and iconographic information of the Etymologies, written in the first half of the 7th century by Isidore of Seville (560-636), a Visigothic bishop, with the participation of Braulio of Zaragoza (590-651). His work consists in 20 books that represent a synthesis of Western Christian thought at the turn of the 6th to the 7th centuries. It circulated in manuscript form, in full, added to, or partial versions, throughout Europe for nearly a thousand years, serving various purposes, primarily for the education of young clerics in Western monasteries. Given its encyclopedic and didactic nature, the work was reproduced, illuminated, and adorned by numerous copyists and artists, resulting in over a thousand complete, partial or fragmentary copies produced throughout the Middle Ages. This investigation seeks to examine the material dimension of the Etymologies, providing relevant information about the manuscripts that will contribute to the construction of a hypertext on the work and assist other research within this Thematic Project.