Kelin Michael
I am an aspiring museum curator who currently researches Carolingian manuscripts and their reception. One of my main goals is to make medieval art more accessible to the public, both physically and intellectually.
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From the classical encyclopedias of Pliny to famous tales such as The Travels of Marco Polo, historical travel writing has had a lasting impact, despite the fact that it was based on a curious mixture of truth, legend, and outright superstition. One foundational medieval source that expands on the ancient idea of the “wonders of the world” is the fifteenth-century French Book of the Marvels of the World, an illustrated guide to the globe filled with oddities, curiosities, and wonders—tales of fantasy and reality intended for the medieval armchair traveler. The fifty-six locales featured in the manuscript are presented in a manner that suggests authority and objectivity but are rife with stereotypes and mischaracterizations, meant to simultaneously instill a sense of wonder and fear in readers.
In The Book of Marvels, the authors explore the tradition of encyclopedias and travel writing, examining the various sources for geographic knowledge in the Middle Ages. They look closely at the manuscript copies of the French text and its complex images, delving into their origins, style, content, and meaning. Ultimately, this volume seeks to unpack how medieval white Christian Europeans saw their world and how the fear of difference—so pervasive in society today—is part of a long tradition stretching back millennia.
This volume is published to accompany an exhibition on view at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center from June 11 to September 1, 2024, and at the Morgan Library & Museum from January 24 to May 25, 2025.
Devotion is a fully embodied activity that engages the senses as well as the heart and mind. The Materiality of Devotion: From Manuscript to Print provides visitors with the opportunity to explore a variety of objects, texts, and images that supported devotional practices in the medieval and early modern world. The exhibition invites visitors to consider both the form and the content of these sources, which include traditional theological and biblical material as well as musical scores, cityscapes, and poetry. Though these materials have been removed from their original contexts (manuscript leaves excised from full books and books removed from their sacred or secular settings), the exhibition offers a glimpse into the rich and endlessly multimodal world of premodern devotion.
The exhibition draws on Pitts Theology Library’s medieval manuscripts as well as its world-renowned early print collection, and also benefits from generous loans made by the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library and the Michael C. Carlos Museum.
This exhibition catalogue was in part funded by Mellon Humanities PhD Intervention Program and the Laney Graduate School New Thinkers/New Leaders Program.
Dissertation
As I am currently working on further projects related to my research, I have not uploaded my dissertation here, but please feel free to reach out to me should you be interested in reading portions.
Exhibitions
The exhibition drew on Pitts Theology Library’s medieval manuscripts as well as its world-renowned early print collection, and also benefited from generous loans made by the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library and the Michael C. Carlos Museum.
Articles/Chapters
Conference Presentations
Workshop: “Immaterial Culture," hosted by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (2021).
Talks
From the classical encyclopedias of Pliny to famous tales such as The Travels of Marco Polo, historical travel writing has had a lasting impact, despite the fact that it was based on a curious mixture of truth, legend, and outright superstition. One foundational medieval source that expands on the ancient idea of the “wonders of the world” is the fifteenth-century French Book of the Marvels of the World, an illustrated guide to the globe filled with oddities, curiosities, and wonders—tales of fantasy and reality intended for the medieval armchair traveler. The fifty-six locales featured in the manuscript are presented in a manner that suggests authority and objectivity but are rife with stereotypes and mischaracterizations, meant to simultaneously instill a sense of wonder and fear in readers.
In The Book of Marvels, the authors explore the tradition of encyclopedias and travel writing, examining the various sources for geographic knowledge in the Middle Ages. They look closely at the manuscript copies of the French text and its complex images, delving into their origins, style, content, and meaning. Ultimately, this volume seeks to unpack how medieval white Christian Europeans saw their world and how the fear of difference—so pervasive in society today—is part of a long tradition stretching back millennia.
This volume is published to accompany an exhibition on view at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center from June 11 to September 1, 2024, and at the Morgan Library & Museum from January 24 to May 25, 2025.
Devotion is a fully embodied activity that engages the senses as well as the heart and mind. The Materiality of Devotion: From Manuscript to Print provides visitors with the opportunity to explore a variety of objects, texts, and images that supported devotional practices in the medieval and early modern world. The exhibition invites visitors to consider both the form and the content of these sources, which include traditional theological and biblical material as well as musical scores, cityscapes, and poetry. Though these materials have been removed from their original contexts (manuscript leaves excised from full books and books removed from their sacred or secular settings), the exhibition offers a glimpse into the rich and endlessly multimodal world of premodern devotion.
The exhibition draws on Pitts Theology Library’s medieval manuscripts as well as its world-renowned early print collection, and also benefits from generous loans made by the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library and the Michael C. Carlos Museum.
This exhibition catalogue was in part funded by Mellon Humanities PhD Intervention Program and the Laney Graduate School New Thinkers/New Leaders Program.
As I am currently working on further projects related to my research, I have not uploaded my dissertation here, but please feel free to reach out to me should you be interested in reading portions.
The exhibition drew on Pitts Theology Library’s medieval manuscripts as well as its world-renowned early print collection, and also benefited from generous loans made by the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library and the Michael C. Carlos Museum.
Workshop: “Immaterial Culture," hosted by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (2021).
Getty has joined forces with Smarthistory to bring you an in-depth look at select works within our collection, whether you’re looking to learn more at home or want to make art more accessible in your classroom. This six-part video series illuminates art history concepts through fun, unscripted conversations between art historians, curators, archaeologists, and artists, committed to a fresh take on the history of visual arts.