Mellon Summer Institutes in Vernacular Paleography

Funded by a major grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, these summer institutes provide intensive practical training in reading late medieval, Renaissance, and early modern manuscripts in European vernacular hands: English, French, Italian, and Spanish. The institutes emphasize the skills needed for the accurate reading and transcription of vernacular texts, but attention may also be given to the instruments of research, codicology, analytical bibliography, and textual editing, depending on the expertise of the instructors and the nature of the historical documents under consideration.

The institutes are hosted by the Newberry’s Center for Renaissance Studies, the Folger Institute at the Folger Shakespeare Library, the Getty Research Institute, the Huntington Library, and the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin.

Each institute enrolls 15 participants. First consideration is given to advanced graduate students and junior faculty at U.S. colleges and universities, but applications will also be accepted from advanced graduate students and junior faculty at Canadian institutions, from professional staff of U.S. and Canadian libraries and museums, and from qualified independent scholars. Advanced language skills are required. Applicants selected for admission receive a stipend to help defray the cost of attending the institute.

The Mellon paleography initiative is headquartered at the Newberry’s Center for Renaissance Studies. For general information about the program, please contact Carla Zecher, Director of the Center for Renaissance Studies, at (312) 255-3514 or renaissance@newberry.org. For application forms and more detailed information about individual institutes, please contact the host institutions.

Past Mellon Summer Institutes