A schoolboy passion has determined the course of Dr Christopher de Hamel’s life.
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Dr de Hamel first discovered medieval manuscripts in a public library while he was growing up in Dunedin in New Zealand.
The manuscripts “utterly enchanted” him from a young age and shaped his career as a lecturer and writer focused on illuminated manuscripts.
“They encouraged me and let me take items out of their display cases,” Dr de Hamel said.
He is the guest speaker at the Australian Decorative and Fine Arts Societies Launceston branch lecture series on Tuesday evening.
Discussing Elephants and Archbishops: Matthew Parkers and his Medieval Manuscripts, Dr de Hamel said the lecture would be the perfect time to discover the wonders hidden in ancient texts.
“There are some 300 medieval manuscripts in Australia, including fine examples in Tasmania.”
Manuscripts unlocked the rich history of classical and medieval literature, including the text of the Bible and the development of our language, science, medicine and law, he said.
They also documented almost the entire surviving spectrum of European art for a thousand years before the Renaissance, Dr de Hamel said.
He completed a doctorate at Oxford University on medieval manuscripts before working at Sotheby’s in London, covering all medieval manuscripts sales worldwide for more than 25 years.
However, it was his time at Parker Library in Cambridge that will serve as the inspiration for his Launceston lecture.
The library was home to many of the oldest and most precious manuscripts from medieval England, Dr de Hamel said.
The lecture will be held at the Sir Raymond Ferrall Centre at the University of Tasmania Newnham Campus.
It starts at 6.30pm, although guests are advised to arrive by 6.15. A light supper and a glass of wine will follow the follow the lecture, which costs $30 for visitors.
His most recent book Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts has won this years’s Wolfson History Prize and the Duff Cooper Prize.
The new Penguin paperback edition was officially launched from Hobart on Monday.
Tess Brunton
I recently returned from across the ditch where I worked at New Zealand Fairfax paper The Timaru Herald and developed a love of mountains. Originally I'm a mainlander from an area known for cheese, the Bega Valley, who also dabbled in radio at ABC RCAFF before finding a place in newspapers. I can often be found hiking, caving or climbing when I'm not cursing at my work computer or technology in general.
I recently returned from across the ditch where I worked at New Zealand Fairfax paper The Timaru Herald and developed a love of mountains. Originally I'm a mainlander from an area known for cheese, the Bega Valley, who also dabbled in radio at ABC RCAFF before finding a place in newspapers. I can often be found hiking, caving or climbing when I'm not cursing at my work computer or technology in general.
