Conclusion

OUR GOAL

In viewing the Hermann Composite, we encounter several works at once in several media. Biblical commentaries, poetry, philosophical epic, and apocalyptic prophecy are housed under the roof of a single codex, conveyed in text, illustrations, and diagrams. The contents of the manuscript are religious and were assembled for an abbot, yet in style the form of the work often resembles secular editions.

An encounter with the composite will excite any student across the disciplines of history, art history, literary studies, religious studies and book culture, along with anyone with as much as a passing fancy for the medieval world. Any viewer will find themselves falling down a valley of questions, curiosities, and prior associations. The goal of our project is to aid in resolving these questions while encouraging audiences to raise others by displaying both the work itself and comparisons to other works. In our ongoing work creating this project we are building our own composite, connecting this unique artefact to the wider network of medieval books.

-Amy Provo and Nathan Chazan, November 2019