Networks of Scribes at Syon Abbey, 1415-1539 by Dr Julia King

This talk focuses on the ways in which the study of scribal handwriting from Syon Abbey, England’s first and only Birgittine monastery, can shed light on the ways in which the sisters of Syon participated in broader late-medieval communities of reading. Focusing primarily on examples of women’s handwriting preserved in both printed books and medieval manuscripts, this talk will paint a picture of the ways in which scribal hands and inscriptions can illustrate the ways in which reading, writing, and community intersected in late-medieval London.

Dr Julia King is Rare Books Librarian at Lambeth Palace Library, where she is responsible for the Library’s collection of pre-1850 imprints and other special collections. She is the curator of the recent exhibition ‘”Her Booke”: Early Modern Women and their Books at Lambeth Palace Library’. Her current research is on medieval and early modern women’s reading communities, most notably the library of the sisters of medieval Syon Abbey, England’s first and only Birgittine monastery.