Every Wednesday morning the MA Medieval Studies group has a session at the Cathedral Centre at the top of Steep Hill. Although it was overcast on this particular Wednesday, walking into our 9am session is always awe-inspiring as the Cathedral Centre (a beautiful thirteenth-century building in its own right) boasts an amazing view of the Cathedral’s West Front as well as the Castle: the two pillars of Lincoln’s medieval heritage!
We are currently studying Palaeography with Prof. Philippa Hoskin which (while initially daunting) is fascinating and unlike anything I attempted during my undergraduate degree. Thanks to Lincoln’s unique resources we are able to use medieval manuscripts from the Cathedral Library, giving us valuable hands on experience with items we don’t usually get the opportunity to interact with. This week we transcribed a fifteenth-century passage from Brut’s Chronicle by taking it in turns to hold and read aloud from the original manuscript. It definitely adds an element of ‘realness’ when you are able to hold 600 years of history in your hands!
Being so immersed in medieval history is well worth the early morning walk up Steep Hill; but, we usually decide to treat ourselves to a cup of tea and a slice of cake on the way down!