Public lecture and other events at John Rylands Library, Deansgate

07 Dec 2009

The Memory of Gregory the Great and the Making of Medieval Europe

17 December, 6-7pm
John Rylands Library, Historic Reading Room
Free

Gregory the Great (d. 604) served as an icon for Europe in the early Middle Ages, especially in the ninth and tenth centuries, after the break up of the Empire of Charlemagne. It was in this period that Gregory began to be remembered as magnus, ‘the Great’, a figure looming large enough in memory to rival that other magnus, the Emperor Charles.

The lecture will illustrate the copying and use of Gregory’s writings, in particular his letters, and his Morals on the Book of Job, two tenth-century copies of which are held in the John Rylands Library.

The lecture is sponsored by the Leverhulme Trust through the Wilhelm Levison Network, an international collaboration linking medieval historians at Manchester, Durham, Vienna, and Brussels, and by the John Rylands Library and the University of Manchester’s Centre for Late Antiquity.

HARK! Carol singing in John Rylands Library, Deansgate

Sunday 20 December, 3-4pm
Free

Join us for an afternoon of traditional singing in the beautiful surroundings of our Historic Reading Room.

Raise your voice and help raise funds for St Anne's Hospice. The singing will be led by the Salford Hospitals Choir.

To round off the afternoon, seasonal treats will be available in the Library café.

Making Scents: pomander-making workshop

Saturday 12 December, 11am-4pm
Free

Pomanders were popularly worn as jewellery from the late Middle Ages onward, as it was thought that these scented balls could protect the wearer from infectious diseases.

These workshops offer the chance to make a modern pomander, using oranges and exotic spices.

All welcome, no need to book.